1914 Lehmann-Dumont Serio-Comic Map, World War I

A biting 1914 serio-comic German chromolithographic map of the belligerents in the First World War, drawn by Karl Lehmann-Dumont and published by Leutert and Schneidewind. It presents the German perspective on the conflict, mocking its main opponents (France, Britain, and Russia) and their allies, as well as neutral countries.

A Closer Look

Presenting the European continent, the various countries are illustrated as exaggerated human figures playing on national and racial stereotypes. Text below the map explains the often-sardonic representations of countries. France is turning away in fear, having already been grasped by Germany, while the Gallic rooster crows about the 'victories' of 1870 - 1871 (when France was, in fact, humiliated by Germany in the Franco-Prussian War). Bees emanate from southern Germany, stinging Belgium, depicted as a 'poisonous toad,' and France. England, standing on bags of money, is in the process of getting punched by an armored fist from the North Sea (belying the lack of naval warfare there until midway through the war), with Ireland ready to cut a chain tying it to Britain. A British bulldog is strangled by a snake labeled 'India.'

Monstrous Russia clutches a vodka bottle and sits atop a powder keg, a reference to its Revolutionary instability. It opens its mouth to devour Germany and Austria but is stung by more bees, while also being attacked from Austria-Hungary. A seated figure straddling the German-Russian border pokes the Russian bear, representing the stateless Poles (and more specifically, the Polish Legions that aligned with the Central Powers in the hope of gaining Polish independence after the conflict). Similarly, Finland calls to Germany for liberation from Russia.

Serbia is depicted as a bomb-wielding madman and blamed for starting the conflict. The Kingdom of Montenegro (which joined the Triple Entente in support of Serbia), is dubbed a 'fat Nikita' who accepts Russian rubles for its halfhearted efforts against Austria-Hungary. Italy is hiding in its 'boot,' looking confused and uncertain (it was a member of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, but considered the grouping a defensive alliance and therefore did not join the fighting). Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and the Netherlands are all also teased for their neutrality.

The Ottoman Empire is lying back, smoking a pipe and nursing its wounds from the recent Balkans Wars, though holding a candle that might light the powder keg of revolution in southern Russia. This description suggests that this map was published before the Ottomans' surprise attack on Russian ports on the Black Sea on October 29, 1914. Countries in the Balkans are presented as pondering their next move, with additional references to the recent fighting in the Balkans (such as Bulgaria wiping off a bloodied sword). Finally, playing on the 'Yellow Peril' concept promoted by Kaiser Wilhelm, Japan is presented as tethered to England (its ally since 1902) and 'baring its predatory teeth' towards Germany.

Chromolithography

Chromolithography, sometimes called oleography, is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process involved using multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Oftentimes, the process would start with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors were layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired product. Chromolithograph color could also be effectively blended for even more dramatic results. The process became extremely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it emerged as the dominant method of color printing. The vivid color chromolithography produced made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda imagery.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by Karl Lehmann-Dumont and published by Leutert and Schneidewind in Dresden in the opening weeks of the conflict in 1914. As mentioned above, it predates the Ottoman Empire's entry into the conflict and most likely dates from mid-late August, when the Germans saw considerable success on the Western Front, pushing the British and French back and advancing towards Paris. The map is noted among the holdings of the University of California Los Angeles, the New York Public Library, Yale University, Harvard University, the State Library of New South Wales, and the National Library of Australia in the OCLC. It is also held by the University of Amsterdam and Cornell University (as part of the PJ Mode Collection of Persuasive Cartography).

The map appears to have also been printed in Chicago for the German-American community there, while Lehmann-Dumont produced a second serio-comic map with the same title, preceded by a '2,' that at a glance is similar to the present work, though all the figures representing the countries have been changed from humans to animals (with the exception of Germany and Austria-Hungary).