Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed. 32 Bilder aus dem Silhoutten-Film (The Adventures of Prince Ahmed. 32 Images From the Silhouette Film)
Berlin: Verlag Ernst Wasmuth, 1926. First edition. Softcover. Oblong quarto. 9 1/2 x 11 1/4". Illustrated tan and black paper portfolio. 7-page text booklet + 32 plates. This lovely portfolio contains a collection of 32 loose plates of still images from the Lotte Reiniger's groundbreaking and influential animated film The Adventures of Prince Ahmed (1926). These gorgeous images are all finely printed in b/w photogravure and show astonishing images composed for this "silhouette film", including many of the the film most iconic images. Each plates is numbered, measures 11 1/4 x 9 1/4", and is protected with a tissue guard. The plates are accompanied by a seven-page text booklet containing the plot of the film and a list of plates.
Released in 1926, the film was among the first (and currently earliest surviving) feature-length animated films, and was pioneering in its epic scope, imagination and groundbreaking techniques. Utilizing the form of silhouette animation which she herself pioneered, director Lotte Reiniger and her team, devised the first predecessor to the now traditional multi-plane camera used in animation, to bring to life fantastical scenes and magical lands. The plot of the film was a pastiche of various tales from The Arabian Nights. Reiniger was at the helm of a group of talented cinematic collaborators which included co-director and cinematographer Carl Koch (her husband), animator Berthold Bartosch and animator and experimental film pioneer Walter Ruttman, among others.
Text in German.
Portfolio with some light rubbing, cracking, and minor chipping to extremities. Interior hinges and flaps reinforced with japan tissue. Age toning to the front cover of the text booklet, and tissue guards. All plates clean and vibrant, except for #12 with some light staining along the bottom margin of the plate, not affecting the image, #29 with a faint vertical stain in the in the lower part of the image (the only image with any staining), and #32 with minor foxing to the top and left margins. Portfolio in very good, plates in very good- to near fine condition overall. This portfolio of plates is rare to find in very clean condition. Portfolio and stack of plates protected in modern mylar. vg- to near fine. Item #53725
This set of plates was reprinted in 1972, 1974 and 1995, all of which were bound volumes. It has never been reissued in the form of loose plates.
Price: $950.00