1915 Baumgarten Serio-Comic Propaganda Map, World War I

Germany's View of Britain during World War I.

This is a powerful 1915 pictorial zoomorphic serio-comic map of Europe, prepared by German illustrator Eugen von Baumgarten as propaganda during World War I (1914 - 1918). It depicts Great Britain as a spider ensnaring and eating its allies, who, unwittingly, have been caught in its web.

A Closer Look

Oriented towards the west, the map over Europe, which is dominated by a large spider representing Great Britain looming over Calais and in the process of eating a French poilu. The spider's web spreads over Europe and beyond, with its legs landing in British colonial possessions like Gibraltar, Malta, and Egypt, though a leg grabbing at Turkey has been pierced, while a ship sinks nearby. More distant countries, including the United States and India, are tied up. In the Black and North Seas, German U-boats snip portions of the spider's web. At right, a German eagle proudly surveys the scene.

The representation of other nations as animals was a common theme of seriocomic maps of the time, both dehumanizing and ridiculing the enemy. Aside from spiders, the belligerents of World War I were also depicted as dogs, wolves, lions, tigers, octopuses, and bears. (See, for example, our earlier listings: HarkHarktheDogsdoBark-johnsonriddle-1914, AHumorosWarMap-tanaka-1914, AhumorosAtlasoftheWorld-ryozotanaka-1914, and MappaHumoristico-soares-1916)

The Entente Cordiale

This work's title comes from the French version of a phrase used to symbolize the newfound Anglo-French friendship that emerged in the early 20th century, formalized in agreements signed in April 1904. At the time, Britain was reeling from its loss in the Second Boer War and increasingly concerned about the power of a rising German Empire. Three years later (1907), Britain signed a similar set of agreements with the Russian Empire (itself reeling from its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War), setting the stage for the wartime Triple Entente. However, unlike the German-led Triple Alliance, the Entente was not a single, formal military alliance but rather a sentiment supported by formal, but vaguely worded, agreements. While France and Russia did maintain a formal military alliance since the early 1890s, Britain's potential response to any continental conflict was ambiguous, and ultimately the kingdom entered the war primarily due to Germany's violation of Belgian neutrality (which Britain had assured in the 1839 Treaty of London, though this was also not a military alliance and did not obligate Britain to enter the war).

Chromolithography

Chromolithography, sometimes called oleography, is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process involved using multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Oftentimes, the process would start with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors were layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired product. Chromolithograph color could also be effectively blended for even more dramatic results. The process became extremely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when it emerged as the dominant method of color printing. The vivid color chromolithography produced made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda imagery.

Publication History and Census

This work was prepared by the satirical cartoonist Eugen Baumgarten in late 1914 or early 1915 (the sunken ship near the Dardanelles might be a reference to the Gallipoli Campaign, launched in February 1915). It is not signed as such, but the illustration of a fruit tree behind a fence (a pun on his surname) was a common signature of Baumgarten late in his career. This illustration was also issued as a postcard, with some modifications given the different format (P.J. Mode Collection, No. 1182.01). The only known examples of the map in the present, larger format in institutional collections are held by the P.J. Mode Collection of Persuasive Cartography at Cornell University and at the British Library.

Cartographer

Eugen Karl Joseph von Baumgarten (May 5, 1865 - December 9, 1919) was a German illustrator, caricaturist, graphic designer, and painter best known for his satirical and humorous illustrations and his propaganda illustrations during the First World War. Baumgarten was born in Regensburg but spent most of his life and career in Munich, beginning as a painter and art gallery owner in 1891. He began producing illustrations for various local and regional magazines, including Humoristischen Blätter, whose editor was his friend, Julius Beck (1852 - 1920), the Münchener Humoristischen Blättern, and Jugend, known for its striking Art Nouveau illustrations. He also prepared colorful advertisements, posters, and postcards for the likes of the Münchener Brauhäuser and Oktoberfest celebrations (his cousin, Hermann Roth, published the official Münchener Oktoberfest-Zeitung). Baumgarten also operated his own printing and publishing house. During the First World War, he produced propaganda illustrations reflecting the German perspective on the war. Baumgarten was known for employing several pseudonyms, abbreviations of his name, or even symbols that were puns on his name as signatures.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Slight foxing.

References

Cornell University, Persuasive Cartography: The PJ Mode Collection, #2097.01. OCLC 1064872271.