Wenzel: Das Vogel-Album

The Bird Album

1950, Complete reprint of the unique copy.

Sometimes antiquarian finds stir something in us in a special way. This is true for Karl Wenzel's "Vogel-Album" in several respects. The author wrote this 500-page work by hand for his granddaughter Renate and added hundreds of self-drawn illustrations. The album is an intimate, unique work by a bird lover and still captivates with its attention to detail and wording.

When it fell into the hands of the antiquarian bookseller Joachim Ratz in the 1990s, he was immediately moved and knew that he had discovered a work of cultural and historical significance.

Wenzel used the "Vögel Mitteleuropas" (1926-1931) by Otto Fehringer, whose three-volume bird guide was very popular among nature lovers at the time, as a model for his drawings. He lovingly supplements the factual knowledge from it with his own observations. The "Vogel-Album" contains a wonderful snapshot of the bird world of 80 to 100 years ago, but it also impresses above all with the loving and elaborate work of the grandfather for his granddaughter. The Favoritenpresse publishes an identical reprint of the entire work, printed on high-quality Munken paper and with an introduction by Christiane Habermalz.

Author: Karl Wenzel

Unfortunately, despite intensive efforts, nothing can be found out about Karl Wenzel. He seems to have lived in Berlin, for which there is some evidence in the text. There is also a reference to his Silesian origin.

2021, 544 pages, approx. 250 drawings, hardcover edition

Language: German