Einführung in die Buchillustrationen | Introduction to the Book Illustrations last book project, Bille der Backfisch, the illustrations resemble painting-like compositions with staggered spatial planes and are no longer attached to the text as vignettes but rather occupy entire book pages, which the publisher emphasized in advertisements. The commissioned work brought her into contact with socio-political themes, such as orphaned young people looking for their place in a new family, the search for the right profession, or the emancipation of adolescent girls. In this way, she was able to bring her social awareness to bear on her illustrations and translate the content in a way that was appropriate for the images. 1 For more on the importance of Hans Scholz for Ruth Baumgarte, see: Volume I, Lethen, p. 27, and Gillen, pp. 71–73. 2 Julia Knopf and Ulf Abraham (eds.), BilderBücher. Theorie (Baltmannsweiler 2014), p. 3. 3 Jens Thiele, Das Bilderbuch. Ästhetik – Theorie – Analyse – Didaktik – Rezeption (Oldenburg 2000), p. 13 [translated]. 4 Ruth Baumgarte, Anthology of poetry, 1944–46, 1948, Estate of the Ruth Baumgarte Art Foundation [translated]. 5 Deutsches Buchschaffen (Bielefeld 1947). 6 Eduard Busse was Ruth Baumgarte’s first husband; they divorced on August 13, 1946. From 1943 to 1952, she used the name Ruth Busse. At the time of the exhibition, they were already divorced. Documents, see: Estate of Ruth Baumgarte. 7 See the exhibition review “Drei junge Künstler,” in: Freie Presse, October 26, 1957. 8 In the certificate from the Staatliche Industrieschule dated August 28, 1944, it states: “She was a full-time guest student here. Within the framework of the possibilities given here, Ruth Busse was promoted as an individual student.” [translated] Ruth Baumgarte was enrolled from May 1, 1944 to March 30, 1945. No public source thus far makes any reference to whether she designed toys. There are only hints at this in a short biography compiled by high school students in 1986 for a small exhibition brochure; see: Bielefelder Maler(innen) sehen ..., Helmholtz-Gymnasium, Biele- feld June 21, 1986, unpaginated: “She earned her tuition by pro- viding backgrounds for cartoons and designing toys. She also worked for magazines.” [translated] 9 For example, a private stamp can be found on the reverse side of a drawing Sketch for Scene from Tiefland (CR 73), which Baumgarte used from 1947 until her second marriage in 1952: “Ruth Busse, Painter and Graphic Artist, Bielefeld.” [translated] 10 See the association membership card in the artist’s estate preserved in the Ruth Baumgarte Art Foundation. 11 See: “Graphiker zeigen ihr Können. Eine Schau von Arbeits- proben Bielefelder Gebrauchs- graphiker,” in: Freie Presse, May 10, 1952. In addition to Ruth Baumgarte (mentioned here with the surname of her first husband, Busse), Prof. Kraft, Alfred Resch, Rudolf Stephan, Siegfried Kirsche, Fritz Schreiber, Erwin Diekmann, and Herbert Lange also exhibited their work at the Hotel Drei Kronen. 12 See the report on a studio visit to the painter Ruth Baumgarte, in: Westfalen-Blatt, June 12, 1986. 13 Ruth Baumgarte, in: Bielefelder Maler(innen) sehen … (see note 8) [translated]. 49 Baumgarte worked as a book illustrator for a total of eight years and, as with her work as a press illustrator, stopped in 1955. From 1952 onwards, as one of the first female artists in West Germany, she ventured into a new field of activity in the area of factory and workers’ imagery through her second husband Hans Baumgarte, which would occupy her until 1969, in addition to freelance work. After that, she devoted herself exclusively to her work as an independent painter and draftswoman. 14 Quote from the typescript text 20 Eva Heuer, Bilderbuch, Stuttgart 1995, p. 10. 21 The book focuses on the youth’s vulnerability rather than the qualities Hitler had formulated in his speech to the youth in September 1935: “the strong young man [...] as swift as a greyhound, as tough as leather, and as hard as Krupp’s steel.” [translated] 22 Baumgarte also played with the intertwining of text and image in the drawings for the Barmer Ersatzkasse health insurance company (CR 3041). The lifelike characterization of people also points ahead to the workers’ portraits in the calendar sheets (CR 3134–3227), which were created from 1952 onwards out of the artist’s knowledge of work in the factory halls. 23 Quote from the typescript text “Und Mämchen steht Modell” in the estate of the Ruth Baumgarte Art Foundation [translated]. 24 Unfortunately, no original cover illustrations have been preserved. 25 Evi and the Silver Heart, 1955, p. 15 [translated]. 26 The edition of the book in the possession of Thomas Baumgarte has a dedication by the author Kurt Berkner: “in Dankbarkeit” (in gratitude), September 7, 1955. “Und Mämchen steht Modell” in the artist’s estate preserved in the Ruth Baumgarte Art Foundation [translated]. 15 Cf: Gerhard Ulrich, Gezeichnet, geschrieben, erlebt. Bilder und Texte (Gütersloh [undated]) [translated]: In his autobiography, Ulrich described, among other things, how he drew on the streets of Berlin. Until the end of his career, he maintained a conservative, academic basic attitude and took a skeptical stance toward avant-garde trends. As late as 1972, he depicted himself in his Self-Portrait in the style of nineteenth-century portraits with reed pen and sheets of text in hand in front of an urban backdrop. 16 Siegfried Krüger maintains that Ruth Baumgarte and his sister Marlies Krüger planned a children’s book with the title Ein Schuh geht um die Welt (A Shoe Goes Around the World) around 1960. However, no publisher was found. The manuscript and the illustrations are lost. 17 Thiele 2000, p. 12 (see note 3) [translated]. 18 The theme is part of a picture book tradition: Albert Sergel’s Dideldumdei. Verse für die Kleinen (Verses for the Little Ones) was published in 1909, with illustrations by the draftsman and painter Hans von Volkmann. 19 Dideldumdei, 1947, p. 9.