Eric Chaim Kline, Bookseller

Die Odenwaldschule [WITH] Odenwaldschule [WITH] Die Odenwaldschule in Bildern (Odenwald School. Status in the Educational System and Introduction in Words and Pictures)

Huguenin, Elisabeth et al

Weimar: Hermann Böhlau Nachfolger, 1926. First edition. Softcover. 1. Huguenin, Elisabeth; Emmi Hirschberg (transl.); Peter Petersen (Foreword). Quarto. xlix, 83pp, (1) 4 photographic plates. Original brown wraps with black lettering and ruling on cover, black lettering on spine. Frontispiece photograph of Paul Geheeb. A typological attempt. Translated from the French by Emmi Hirschberg, with a foreword on the status of the state boarding school in the German reformed educational system of the 20th Century, promoting the community, personality and self-determined actions. The description of the Odenwald School includes a description of the geographical and cultural environment of the school, chapters on everyday work and personal hygiene at the school, the intellectual work, character building, religious education and the social activities and festivals. Contains 15 b/w photographs of the school and its location as well as the daily education and social activities. Last page with educational publications by Peter Petersen. Laid in four printed pages of an essay by Dr. Werner Meyer on theatrical work. Text in German. Wraps with wear, small chips and closed tears; front cover detached with one third of spine missing at tail, small chip at head of spine. Light creasing at corners of block. Wraps in fair, interior in very good condition.

2. n/a. Odenwaldschule. Darmstadt. Printed by Willi Simon, ca. 1930. First edition. Octavo. 27 (1), (4)pp. Original brown wraps with black lettering on cover. Detailed descriptive introduction of the Odenwaldschule, directors Paul and Edith Geheeb, with twenty-three b/w photographs of the school, its location and surroundings as well as educational and social activities. Each page with b/w photograph by Gerling Sr. at top. Contains short list of literature on the Odenwald School at rear. Laid in four printed pages with terms of admission to the Odenwald School. Text in German. Light general wear. Printed pages with terms of admission with brief inked note at end of text. Overall in very good condition.

3. n/a. Die Odenwaldschule in Bilder (The Odenwald School in Pictures). Berlin-Leipzig. Friedrich Ernst Hübsch Verlag. No date. First edition. Octavo. Unpaginated, 28pp. Original photo-illustrated stapled wraps with black lettering on cover. Comprehensive pictorial documentation of the school and the educational work, showing the geographical environment, the various buildings of the school,interiors of the buildings, the work during classes, leisure time, work in the garden, hiking, music and theater, sport and gymnastics, pictures from the life of the youngest students, and a photo of a meeting at the Goethe Square. The photographs, with captions and brief descriptors, by Paul Wolff, H. C. Junghanns and members of the school. Nine pages with local, illustrated advertisements at rear. Text in German. Covers detached and reinforced with narrow paper strip at spine. Centerfold detached but present. Light wear along edges and rubbed. Overall in good condition. All volumes protected in modern mylar. fair to very good. Item #47034

The Odenwaldschule was founded in 1910 by Edith and Paul Geheeb. It was located in Heppenheim in the Odenwald region, a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Württemberg. The concept of the school aimed to integrate mind and body education and was part of the Reformed Education Movement at the beginning of the 20th century. One of its characteristics was the abolishment of age groups and the preference of a course system that allowed students of different ages to learn from each other in intellectual, artistic and vocational disciplines. Accommodations were arranged in the same fashion and teachers and students communicated with each other on a first name basis.

Being internationally recognized in the 1920s, the personnel included teachers from England and the USA. In 1934 the Geheebs emigrated to Switzerland and formed the Ecole d'Humanité starting with twenty-five students. The school was taken over by the National Socialists in 1939 due to its free spirited approach, contradicting the national socialist schooling concept. After the war Martina Specht, a socialist and member of the resistance during the Third Reich, was head of the school from 1945–1951. The following decades saw many changes and improvements at the thriving school until accusations of sexual abuse first surfaced in 1998, unleashing an avalanche of cases the school never recovered from completely until it was closed in 2015 due to financial difficulties, despite numerous attempts to save the school.

Price: $950.00