If I get the script right, it says "Lieblingsgeschichten" which is like..."favorite stories"? "Love stories"? No idea.
'Favourite stories' yeah.
The dedication says "To dear daughter Katia, from father and mother. 1899, April 23rd." I have no relatives named Katia in that time period...I think. Might have to check with my grandmother. I think there's also an advertisement for Robinson Crusoe... I think that's an advertisement, anyway.
Yeah, advertisement for two versions of Robinson Crusoe, for three Marks and one Mark twenty, respectively.
'Favourite stories / Stories for well-behaved children ages eight to twelve / By Franz Wiedemann / The sixth edition of the "Twentyfive favourite chapters" / With six pictures in color print / Leipzig, Alfred Dehmigke's publishing house'
'Dedication'
'Be greeted by God [Fairly common old-timey German greeting] / all you dear aunts and [old-timey word for] cousins [both in diminuitive], all you [various first names, all in diminuitive], and however else you may be called, in all the German lands around. And now, here is the book that I had promised you and for which the illustrator has painted such wonderful pictures. Go ahead and read it, but pay attention when something comes along that should be remembered. And I think there's this and that occurring in this book which you should keep in mind. [Literally: at which you can put a thought-line into your heart.] But still I've taken care that all in all you won't find in here too many sour things which would force your faces to become strongly earnest; on the contrary that you can every now and then smile, or laugh if you like, at what you read, which I hope you won't take offense at. [Only a German story book could include a warning about possible enjoyment and a preemptive apology for it, I think.]
And so read and tell each other stories from this book, and if you like it, it will be very cruelly [yes, that's what's written there] dear to
Your
old Uncle'
'The Chapter before the first one / In which the book takes its beginning'
I won't translate this word-for-word, since I have a hard time reading the script and the whole thing's rather long and uninteresting, but I'll give you the gist: The old uncle from the page before emphasizes that punctuality is vital, and that he learned to be punctual during his soldiering days. He then goes on a bit about how he's an old man and needs the proper warmth and lighting for telling stories, and his old friend the tobacco pipe, which he has a girl in his audience fetch. And I think - the page ends about here - that he then tells the children not to interrupt him during his storytelling.
It's a framing device basically.
I can't read the big title, but the text in the box below that says 'The heroes of the German wandering/trekking/hiking-times'. I've no idea who they might be.
All in all it seems like a fairly standard children's book to me, but judging by the language it's fairly old. Nobody would talk like that nowadays.
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Topic: [MILK] There were 12 eggs here what did you do with them? (Happy thread?!) (Read 16289342 times)