- ITALY and other countries -
Children in the Netherlands, Norway and Russia also enjoyed toy theatres, although information about publishers from these countries is almost non-existent.
In Austria, toy theatres flourished little by little, influenced by the German market. In 1815, Matthias Trentsensky, a retired army officer, began printing lithographs and miniature toy theatres. For this, he hired Theodor Jachimovicz, an excellent set designer who distinguished himself thanks to his hand-coloured drawings (the quality of his work was so exquisite that Jachimovicz eventually became a set designer for the State Opera). The beauty and quality of Trentsensky’s toy theatres crossed national borders and started an interesting commercial incursion in London: wanting to rise above the common, a wealthy section of the British public thought Trentsensky’s sheets were much more sophisticated and elegant than those produced for the “Juvenile Drama.” After Trensensky’s death in 1868, the business was carried on by Stockinger & Morsach, who introduced colour lithography as a technique for graphic reproduction.
In Italy we could mention the “teatrini,” although the real tradition belongs to the famous Neapolitan nativity scenes. |
