Vol. 4 of the magazine 'Zur Geschichte des Kartonmodellbaus' is out!

The "Arbeitskreis Geschichte des Kartonmodellbaus (AGK) e.V". is pleased to announce the 4th volume of out annual magazine "Zur Geschichte des Kartonmodellbaus" (on the history of card modeling). The multitude of topics shows again that the research domain "history of card modeling" is varied and connects to many other topics of cultural history.

Barbara Hornberger reports about the exhibition of the "Stopfel collection" in the J. F. Schreiber museum of the Stadtmuseum (town museum) Esslingen. Volkmar Grobe lets us look into the faszinating world of railroad technology, demonstrated by exemplary models from around 1875 to now. The attempts to explain the "wonders of the railroad" range from simple cut-out figures via layered illustrations to complex moving card models.
In vol. 3 we already reported the discovery of Georg Harmann's sundial crucifix model (see also our accompanying press release). Now we have, through the cooperation of 3 authors, a first scientific assessment: Ludwig Engelhardt expains how to use the sundial, Dieter Nievergelt explains the modeling technique, and Constanze Lindner Haigis provides background information about the designer, about dating the card model and about the symbology in its graphics design.
Walter Ruffler illustrates the history of paper mechanisms (automata) from their beginnings to the most current designs, quoting many surprising examples. This article also includes a list of all paper mechanisms known to the author (who is an expert designer of paper mechanics himself). So far, Italy was a white spot as far as the history of card models is concerned: Alberto Milano closes this gap for the first time. In decades of systematic research and collecting he has collated an astounding amout of material and scientific assessments. He has allowed the AGK to publish it here.
Axel Huppers and Franz Skorupa present the 2nd half of a complete list of magazines and models of the Polish publisher 'Maly Modelarz' (the little modeler), including all cover illustrations from 1981 to 2003. This article is supplemented by a companion article by Richard Petersen and Maurice von Wagtendonk who highlight the peculiarities of these Polish models. Karl-Harro Reimers gives an account of the work of Rolf Bianchi, former production manager of the publisher J. F. Schreiber. This article also explains the many steps that are required to turn a completed card model design into a printed, ready-to-publish model. Finally, Axel Huppers comments upon the Opel Kadett A car of 1962 which is the original for this year's supplement model sheet.

When we founded the AGK it was quite obvious that interdisciplinary knowledge is required to fulfil the purpose of our association, namely the active participation in the research of the cultural and historical phenomena of card modeling in past and present, supporting card model exhibitions, and supporting actions to further the interest in card modeling in young people. The members of the AGK themselves can provide much of that knowledge, but occasionally we require information about unusual or very specialized topics. This year, for example, we could win (with the kind help of the "Deutschen Gesellschaft für Chronometrie e.V.") Ludwig Engelhardt for a cooperation; he is expert on sundials, both their function and their history.
Most of our articles could thus be completed with hints and helpful comments from the AGK itself and its "scientific neighborhood". To find original sources about card modeling is a difficult business; to get access to company documents or even a complete company archive is a stroke of luck that does not happen very often. This means that, despite the best efforts of our authors and editors, one or the other question may remain unanswered.

Futher information about card modeling:
Homepage of the AGK

Please direct inquiries to the chairman of the AGK: