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Puppets were popular toys in Germany for both boys and girls. If a German child was lucky they would get a whole puppet theater. American readers will remember the puppet theater from "Sound of Music", actually those were marionettes. They were a little complicated to operate. But even very young children can play with hand puppets. They were called a Kasper Theater. Kasper is a traditional German pupet character going back hundreds of years. He comes from the same tradition as Punch and Judy in England. The origins are the Italian Commedia dell’arte. Kasper is the most important hnd puppet character. Other names include Kasperl or Kasperle--Little Kasper). Early characters were Pickelhering, and Hans Wurst (Jack Sausage), and Polcinell. These characters varied from performer to performer, but they were normally a silly, simple, and almost always rude. These characters were not just for children but performed for adult audiences. Slapstick commedy was the rule. The modern image of Kasper was influed by a string puppet, Kasper Larifari, in the play "Prinz Rosenrot und Prinzessin Lilienweiß oder Die bezauberte Lilie" (Prince Rose-Red and Princess Lily-White or The enchanted Lily) by Graf Pocci in Munich (1858). Pocci depicted Kasper as a rather dim-witted, but essentially good hearted and brave individual. He assisted Prince Rose-Red who to of course rescue the Princess from the bad wizard Negromanticus. Kasper and other characters even today in German apper in streets, parks, markets or fairs. The plays vary, but essentially Kasper has to face a range of adversaries (witch, devil, crocodiles, and many more). And of course he does it with slapstick humor.
Puppets were popular toys in Germany for both boys and girls. There were both hand puppets and marionettes. These were a little complicated to operate. But even very young children can play with hand puppets.
If a German child was lucky they would get a whole puppet theater. They were called a Kasper Theater. These could be very basic like the one the children here are enjoying (figure). Or they could be quite large and ornate.
American readers will remember the puppet theater from "Sound of Music", actually those were marionettes.
Kasper is a traditional German pupet character going back hundreds of years. He comes from the same tradition as Punch and Judy in England. The origins are the Italian Commedia dell’arte. Kasper is the most important hnd puppet character. Other names include Kasperl or Kasperle--Little Kasper). Early characters were Pickelhering, and Hans Wurst (Jack Sausage), and Polcinell. These characters varied from performer to performer, but they were normally a silly, simple, and almost always rude. These characters were not just for children but performed for adult audiences. Slapstick commedy was the rule. The modern image of Kasper was influed by a string puppet, Kasper Larifari, in the play "Prinz Rosenrot und Prinzessin Lilienweiß oder Die bezauberte Lilie" (Prince Rose-Red and Princess Lily-White or The enchanted Lily) by Graf Pocci in Munich (1858). Pocci depicted Kasper as a rather dim-witted, but essentially good hearted and brave individual. He assisted Prince Rose-Red who to of course rescue the Princess from the bad wizard Negromanticus. Kasper and other characters even today in German apper in streets, parks, markets or fairs. The plays vary, but essentially Kasper has to face a range of adversaries (witch, devil, crofies, and many more). And of course he does it with slapstick humor.
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