Das Baby-Liederbuch

The Baby Songbook

Tom Seidmann-Freud (née Martha Freud) (1892-1930) was a German illustrator and book artist and niece of Dr Sigmund Freud. Her movable and pop-up books were particularly well regarded.

When she was only twenty-two years old, Seidmann-Freud composed verses and produced the illustrations for the charming 1914 songbook seen above [sourced from the State Library of Berlin].

Because Seidmann-Freud was Jewish, many copies of her books were destroyed during the nazi era and remain scarce items in the book trade.

"As an adult, [Seidmann-Freud] was noted for her eccentricities as well as her artistic talent, in particular, her decisions to adopt a man's first name and to wear men's clothing. A long history of emotional instability preceded a major breakdown after the failure of her husband's publishing venture and his suicide in 1929; she took her own life the following year.

Seidmann-Freud has been characterized as a member of the Jugendstil (German Art Nouveau) movement. Her artwork often featured people and objects simply but precisely rendered in ink, their outlines carefully filled in with watercolors using the pochoir (stencil and layering) technique."

The quote above (and a wider variety of her illustrations) can be found at the Tom Seidmann-Freud homesite {well worth a visit}. [also; and]

UPDATE: See Will's December 2012 post on 50 Watts: The Rabbit Dreams of Dr. Freud's Niece.

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