773 - Meggendorfer, L.

Meggendorfer, L. Look at Me! A Pull-String Picture Book. Esslingen, J. F. Schreiber, n.d. (ca. 1899). Landscape 4° (26.5 x 36 cm). [9] leaves with 8 color lithographic plates featuring moving parts and a pull-tab mechanism, as well as several illustrations in the text. Color-illustrated original half-linen binding. (Publisher’s No. 105). - Bilderwelt 2053. Hauswedell 832. Katzenheim 284 ff. Krahé 119 (with color illustrations on pp. 43, 130, and 146). Klotz, Picture Books 3678/131. LKJ II, 460. Ries 711, 49. Wegehaupt IV, 1442. - First published in 1888. The publisher’s notice on the back of the last plate consists exclusively of advertisements for Meggendorfer titles, including the pull-out picture book *Prinz Liliput*, published in 1898. - One of Meggendorfer’s best-known pull-out picture books. Featuring the pull-out pictures: St. Nicholas Is Coming. - The Duet. - The Carpenters. - The Stubborn Donkey. - In the Nursery. - At the Barber’s. - House Music. - The Teased American. The last plate and the publisher’s advertisement are no longer included in later editions. — “In the pull-out pictures of this book, Meggendorfer presents a particularly ingenious mechanism, as seen, for example, in the illustration of Kru and Kra (see Krahé, p. 130). The movements of the two characters are precisely coordinated. While Kru plays his accordion, Kra accompanies him on the guitar. Not only the arms but also the mouth areas are movable, creating the impression of a call-and-response song” (S. Blöcker in *Bilderwelt*). - Cover slightly rubbed and lightly stained; the St. Nicholas illustration has two closed tears along the edge; the page margins and pull tabs show some finger stains; a very good and fully functional copy.