“Album Books with Dances and Marches" 1924-1928

Album Books 1, 2, 3 and four untitled, unnumbered Books

In spite of his announcement in the "Final Text" of 1922, Wölfli did not stop writing and composing; he only changed the design and the manner of illustrating the following eight Books. The Album Books have a consistently horizontal format and are thinner and easier to handle than the Books with Songs and Dances. The old continuous numbering of the Books comes to a halt; only a few of the Books get a title.

Four of these Books contain a middle part in which drawings done on good paper are bound. These Wölfli made for sale, originally they were series of 24 drawings. In their layout and format the Album Books recall standard picture albums. Evidently, in the design of these albums, Wölfli was at pains to bring the drawings into some relation with his narrative work. The added drawings are numbered on the back and provided with "Explanations," which refer only to the "preceding pictures" and not to the songs or texts of the albums. The texts are dated 1924 and 1925, whereas the drawings are from 1927 and 1928, when Wölfli evidently bound them into albums and titled them. The four Books without titles and numbers were probably also conceived as albums. No drawings are inserted into their midsections, but it is evident from the binding in the back of the cover that these once contained more pages, that is, that drawings previously contained in the Books were eventually taken out.

The texts and songs of the eight “Album Books” contain 201 pasted reproductions, which Wölfli titles Picture-Puzzles and numbers as a continuous series. In witty, mock-heroic verses of horror tales, he celebrates current events, personages, and places in Switzerland and abroad. The Federal Council, the Swiss army and technical innovations are some of his themes: "Picture-Puzzle, No. 40. Dissolved. The Coffeehouse National in Bern! That had a beautiful hall! Coffee now!! That I like! And I am not yet bald! I often think not of a distant place but of the beautiful Emmental! Up in the sky is glimmering a star! I am the Princi-pal. Is 16 beats, march. St. Adolf II, Bern."

(Elka Spoerri)