"Das Familienbilderbuch", a children's book handwritten and hand-illustrated by the Jewish-German artist Philipp Erlanger. Germany [Braunschweig?], 1922. German.

Pencil, ink, and watercolor on paper.

A unique, hand-illustrated children's book, created by the Jewish-German painter and sculptor Philipp Erlanger. The book contains twenty-five vibrant watercolor illustrations depicting scenes of rural life, accompanied by handwritten German captions. Among the scenes illustrated: horses pulling a cart, donkeys transporting grain to a mill, farm and domestic animals, farm children, peasants at work, and more. The front cover features an additional illustration, signed "Ph. Erlanger".

Erlanger created this book as a gift for his niece, Lotte, in honor of the silver anniversary (25 years) of his sister Josephine and her husband, neurologist Saul Siegfried Löwenthal. In the years that followed, the book was passed down to each new child born into the family, until 1935, when the family left Germany.

Several handwritten inscriptions on the cover and front endpaper document the book’s history (in German): on the front endpaper, a dedication from Josephine and Siegfried (signed "Uncle and Aunt Löwenthal") gifting the book to Philipp’s son, Ralph; on the front cover, a second inscription in Philipp’s own hand (dated 1931) gifting the book back to "Lörchen" – the daughter of Lotte, the book’s original recipient, who was then about a year old; at the bottom of the cover, an unsigned inscription from 1935 gifting the book to "Our Uri" – the son of Lotte’s brother, who was about two years old at the time (that same year, the family left Germany and immigrated to Eretz Israel).

Philipp Erlanger (1870-1934), a Jewish sculptor and painter born in Frankfurt, studied at the Städelsches Kunstinstitut in Frankfurt and the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. His style was influenced by his teacher, the German painter Heinrich Johann von Zügel (1850-1941), known for his depictions of farm animals and pastoral scenes. Following his sister, Erlanger moved to Braunschweig, where he exhibited his paintings and sculptures and where he passed away. In 1935, his sister and her family left Germany for Palestine, bringing this book with them.

[25] leaves (illustrated on one side). 27.5X20.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and minor blemishes. Some pencil and colored pencil markings. Wear to pages. Hardcover, cloth-covered boards (with a “window” on the front cover, containing the additional illustration). Stains and defects to cover (to cloth and illustration). Small tears along the spine.