Kurt Schwitters, Käte Steinitz, Theo van Doesburg: Die Scheuche: Märchen (1925–) [DE, EN, ES]

19 November 2014, dusan

“In Die Scheuche: Märchen [The Scarecrow: A Fairytale] phrasing borrowed from German fairytales, grammar lessons, and religious texts combine into a formal hybrid that is cast in type. For the creators of this children’s book, such serious play with ready-made genres and print components offered a means of collecting the fragments of the past and assembling them to rebuild for the future. The narrative itself thematizes this pursuit: “once upon a time” there was a scarecrow well-appointed in the accoutrements of bourgeoisie comfort, complete with frockcoat, lace scarf, and cane. He is mocked by fowl and beaten by the farmer who made him. A child then pries the cane from the farmer (who has stolen it from the scarecrow) and with a single blow dismantles the order of ownership. The story ends with the ghosts of the items’ erstwhile owners arriving to reclaim their effects.” (Source)

Publisher Apossverlag, Hannover, 1925
12 pages, 13 x 16 cm
via Kunsthaus Zurich

Commentary: Leslie Atzmon (Design Issues, 1996)

Die Scheuche: Märchen (German, 1925, 22 MB, updated on 2020-9-5)
The Scarecrow (English, trans. Jack Zipes, typogr. Barrie Tullet, 2009, partial view on Google Books)
El espantapajaros. Cuento (Spanish, 2012, added on 2017-10-3)


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