Bühnen Bilder

Berlin: NA, 1929. Hardcover. Stab binding. Wool cord. Foil paper pastedown on cover, including spine. Very Good Minus. One of 20 copies, privately printed, with some elements of manuscript, by a German theatrical and movie costume and scenic designer and director. Oblong 8vo. 23by 26 cm. Unpaginated, 26 leaves, with content, excepting a single instance, on just one side. Plus inside front and rear cover with textual and pictorial content. 19 pages, including inside front and rear cover, are dominated by mounted illustrations. 11 pages are primarily text, with a few mounted illustrations on these pages. This self-published book is a survey and celebration of Hoppmann's career up to 1929. Much of the text is comprised of quotations from reviews praising Hoppman's work. The emphasis in this resume is also on scenic design, which constituted much of the professional work he had done up to that time. Later, in film, he was more active as a costume designer. Also, in this survey, many of the sets shown are for operas, although in terms of sets, opera is really no different than dramatic theater jn its demands. The works Hoppmann is here showcasing his contributions include "Wilhelm Tell", "Turandot", "Die Schoene Helena", "Don Pasquale", "The Marriage of Figaro", "The Tempest", Paul Hindemith's "Cardillac", "Carmen", "The Three Penny Opera", etc. Generally his designs were in the Expressionist spirit that was prevailing in the German world of the day. Although Hoppmann later seems to have become a very willing Nazi collaborator, he seems to have no misgivings on involvement of works by Jewish composers and others condemned as degenerate artists by the Nazis. The cover has a metallic silver pastedown. The pastedown is now heavily scuffed and blemished, especially by the spine. The spine itself is chipped at both extremities, especially the upper end. The front joint was at some point reinforced. The front board is in no danger of falling off but it does have a looseness that is disconcerting. Within some edge stains and pronounced age toning along the edges. York, 9-24, paid 450 pounds. (Inventory #: 19816)