Not one but two complete Froebel kindergarten albums today, which I chose to list side by side as they complement each other wonderfully--this one German, c. 1880s I believe, showcasing paper weaving, and the other American, c. 1890s, showcasing the exercises of paper pricking and thread drawing, very very finely in both cases. Both are clearly the work of kindergarten teachers, showing mastery of the exercises and materials, and tremendous dexterity of execution.
This is an accordion style album, made expressly for this purpose, filled in one direction with very fine paper full page weavings using colored paper strips for wefts woven through white paper warps. Running in the opposite direction are a variety of partial page weavings with vertical orientations woven in browns and yellows and creams, mostly two per page, and often with flagged ends to the paper strips. Among these is one tightly woven square with Froebel's motto written in cursive inside it: "Kommt, lasst uns unsern Kindern leben!" which translates to "Come, let us live for our children!". I've never seen that incorporated into one of these before, and for me, in addition to being quite an early and fine one, makes it extra special.
7 5/8" x 6". 30 faces of pages featuring paper weavings (weavings are adhered to both fronts and backs of pages in most cases). 9 accordion fold leafs plus covers. (4 pages of weavings per leaf) plus weavings on end pages. Overall very good antique condition, with a a few lost/removed works, as documented. There are a couple weavings where a few of the flagged ends of paper strips got folded; I've set them flat and put some weight on them to flatten them out; minor.
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