In January 1919 a new magazine heralded the dawn of the Weimar era. Its aesthetic was a kind of demented Jugendstil, and its stories were dark gothic fantasies.
This is the story of Der Orchideengarten...
Der Orchideengarten: Phantastische Blätter (The orchid garden: fantastic pages) is probably the first ever fantasy magazine. Published in Munich by Dreiländerverlag, a trial issue appeared in 1918 before the first full 24 page edition was published in January 1919.
"The orchid garden is full of beautiful - now terribly gruesome, now satirically pleasing - graphic jewelery" announced the advanced publicity. It was certainly a huge departure from the Art Nouveau of Jugend magazine, which German readers were already familiar with.
Der Orchideengarten was founded by two Austrian writers: Karl Hans Strobl, who had published a 1917 collection of horror stories called Lemuria; and Alfons von Czibulka, a Bohemian-born artist and writer. Both had moved to Munich after the Great War.
Der Orchideengarten focussed on fantastic, occult and erotic literature. As well as original German stories the magazine carried translations of tales by Voltarie, Dickens, Guy de Maupassant, Poe and Hoffman amongst others.
Interior illustrations in Der Orchideengarten had many influences, from traditional woodcut prints to Art Nouveau. Artists included Alfred Kubin, Wilhelm Heise, Alfred Ehlers and Edwin Hemel.
The shattering effect of the Great War is evident in the style of the early Orchideengarten covers. Issue three has a gaping dragon's mouth against a dying sun, devouring a chain of corpses. Rolf von Hoerschelmann's interior illustrations reflect the horror of no man's land.
Later issues of Der Orchideengarten have a more everyday macabre slant. Here is Otto Pick's cover illustration for the December 1919 edition, for the story Das Tödliche Abendessen by Karl and Josef Kapek.
By 1920 the range of styles used by Der Orchideengarten had broadened. A sly humour had begun to creep in to the magazine along with a wider range of topics. Themed issues, such as "fantastic love stories" or "electric demons" were also published.
Problems dogged Der Orchideengarten: issue were withdrawn from circulation due to their lewd nature, sales were lower then needed, the price quickly rose from 80 pfennigs to 2 marks whilst the page count decreased. The magazine finally closed in November 1921 after 51 issues.
Whilst it was a niche publication, Der Orchideengarten illustrates how quickly things were moving artistically in Weimar Germany: from the chaos of the November Revolution to the cabaret of early 1920s Berlin.
The ever-excellent archives of the University of Heidelberg have full scans of Der Orchideengarten: digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/orchide… …… Do take a look if you have the time, and do explore their collection of other Weimar titles.
More stories another time...
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People who feel they have no voice can have a powerful creative spark, sometimes born of suffering or solitude. Mostly it's hidden, but in the 20th century it began to be admired, celebrated, and even perhaps exploited.
Let's look at the story of 'Outsider Art'...
Outsider Art, Art Brut, Visionary Art, Naïve Art: nobody has really settled on a name for artworks made by untrained artists which express a raw, energetic experience of the world. It's art from a different perspective, demanding to be heard.
Outsider Art began to be recognised in 1911 by Der Blaue Reiter group of artists in Munich. The group was short-lived but influential: fundamental to Expressionism and admiring of artworks created by people struggling with their mental health.
Today in pulp... I look back at '70s Argentinian superspy Namur, a lady who lives her life by the motto "Peligro Supremo!"
Namur is something of a mystery. She's an FBI agent who uses her unique martial arts skills to fight crime. However she always wears a mask to protect her identity.
Namur's boss at the FBI is the equally mysterious 'Taurus' who hides his identity behind a fan. It's such a secretive world fighting crime...
Today in pulp I take a look at back at the humble office copier!
It's a godsend to the busy office worker working on their debut novel...
The Victorian office of the future had a mimeograph machine. You turned the handle and it sharpened your pencils so you could hand copy better.
At least I think that's how it worked...
The Belle Époque French copied their documents with the Cyclostyle machine. Here a typical administrator explains its function to his enthused colleagues.
Are you writing a sci-fi or fantasy novel? Are you struggling to choose a title for it?
Well good news! I've analysed the titles of 1,500 DAW sci-fi and fantasy novels, and I think I've found the secret.
Come with me...
It turns out the most commonly used word in a DAW fantasy title is... sword!
Well d'uh! But think about it: 'sword' is being used as a shorthand term rather than a descriptive term here. It tells the reader it's one of 'those' fantasy novels, the sort they like...
...much like the word 'dragon' does. Dragons are a shoo-in for any fantasy book title (assuming there is a dragon in the story!) because it clearly signals to the audience this is a fantasy novel.