11 March 2022 press release

The German Museum of Books and Writing in Leipzig and the Museum für Kommunikation Frankfurt have revealed a surprisingly different side to renowned illustrator Axel Scheffler “Der Grüffelo“ (The Gruffalo): their exhibitions showcase the artwork created by the London-based graphic artist on hundreds of envelopes sent to friends and colleagues on both sides of the Channel over more than four decades. Titled “A Friendship in Correspondence”, the exhibition in Leipzig consists of around 200 selected envelopes which also contained correspondence with numerous artists in Leipzig.

Axel Scheffler has decided to use this occasion also to express concern about the current situation in Ukraine: He is donating an original drawing that focuses on the conflict, and which will be auctioned off on the opening night. The proceeds from the auction will go to an aid organisation.

Anyone who believes that developments in modern communication technology have caused letters written on paper, folded, and sealed with a moistened adhesive strip to lose their meaning has never yet found an envelope from Axel Scheffler in their mailbox. Despite being compressed onto the smallest envelopes, these great artistic gestures are full of personal allusions and prove that we have only learnt to appreciate the value of personal, even handwritten letters since the dawn of e-mail, WhatsApp, Signal etc. The greater the space occupied by electronic information in our daily lives, the greater the distinction between ubiquitous forms of communication using bits and bytes and other forms of communication using paper. The omnipresence of digital communication glorifies analogue communication – this applies to letters and books alike.

Whether playful, cheeky, insinuating, shy or provocative: besides portraying entertaining scenarios, the combinations of text and artwork in Scheffler’s letter illustrations are expressions of intricate, highly symbolic worlds, the deeper meaning of which can be decoded by two people alone: the person who sealed the letter and the person who opened it. In many of the letter illustrations, contemporary history is interwoven with the story of the relationship. They often allude to world events such as Brexit, the Queen, Europe etc.; sometimes the affable or intimate relationship between the sender and the recipient is hinted at by pictures of animals, ranging from ants and snakes to mice and elephants.

The recipients include Rotraut Susanne Berner, Anke Kuhl, Philip Waechter, Thomas M. Müller, Jörg Mühle, Tilman Spreckelsen, Yvonne Kuschel & Beck, Moni Port, and many others. A network of friendships in correspondence which spans a remarkable stylistic and figural compass yet is portrayed in an incredibly small space. Scheffler’s letter illustrations are playful tributes to the almost 1,000-year-old cultural tradition of writing on paper. The exhibitions in Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main present a total of approx. 400 envelopes from an endless treasure trove of letters.

Axel Scheffler (b. 1957) mainly became famous for his illustrations of “Der Grüffelo“ (The Gruffalo), which was written by British author Julia Donaldson and published in 1999. Sold 17 million times and translated into well over 100 languages, the two Gruffalo volumes are listed among the 15 best-selling children’s books of all time.

A sister exhibition titled “Of Monsters, Mice and Men. Axel Scheffler’s Fantastical Letter Illustrations” will be on display at the Museum für Kommunikation Frankfurt from 11 March to 24 July 2022.

The exhibitions are accompanied by a richly illustrated publication edited by curator Jakob Hoffmann and Stephanie Jacobs and published by Péridot-Verlag in Cologne; it is available from bookshops or the Museum for 16.99 Euro. Review copies are available from the publisher.

The German Museum of Books and Writing is also launching a new virtual exhibition in the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (German Digital Library) with the title “Write Again Soon... the Cultural History of Letters”. The exhibition explores the early days of letter-writing and asks what went into a good letter in the 18th century. It tells strange stories about secrets and takes a look at the present and future of written communication.

A Friendship in Correspondence. Axel Scheffler’s Fantastical Letter Illustrations
Exhibition of the German Museum of Books and Writing at the German National Library in Leipzig
16 March to 25 September 2022
Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, Thursday 10:00 to 20:00
Public holidays (except Mondays) 10:00 to 18:00
Admission free

Information: www.dnb.de/brieffreundschaft

...schreib mal wieder! Zur Kulturgeschichte des Briefes (Write Again Soon... the Cultural History of Letters)
Virtual exhibition on the platform of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek
https://ausstellungen.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/brief

Background

The book has shaped our culture and civilisation like no other medium. For centuries our knowledge about the world and its peoples has been stored in books. The task of the German National Library’s German Museum of Books and Writing is to collect, exhibit and process evidence of book and media history. Founded in 1884 in Leipzig as the Deutsches Buchgewerbemuseum (German Book Trade Museum), it is the oldest museum in the world in the field of book culture, and also one of the most important with regard to the scope and quality of its holdings. The Museum also pays close attention to issues relating to the future of media in our networked societies.

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Images for editorial use

Images for editorial use with reports on the exhibition. Press image material is only available in German.