Slovenly Peter – Sligo Creek Tile

4 x 4 inches
$20.00
Slovenly Peter is the little boy who never combs his hair or trims his fingernails. He is the title character from the 1845 children's classic, "Der Struwwelpeter", by Dr. Heinrich Hoffmann (which carried the subtitle, "Cheerful Stories and Funny Pictures for Good Little Folks"). Hoffmann was one of the pioneers in humane treatment for mental illnesses, and wrote and illustrated this book to amuse his children and his patients' children during visits. Since then, in the German language, it has been surpassed only by the Bible in numbers of copies sold, and it has been translated into most other european and asian languages, as well. Though children have generally gotten the joke, adults have periodically wrestled with the book's over-the-top grisliness and moral judgements, and the book has undergone several waves of politically correct book-bannings.
We suggest these glazes for this tile:
Transparent

4 x 4 inches
$20.00
The schoolboys, when they Betsy saw,/Would point her out, and cry,/"Oh Betsy, what a sight you are!/Oh! Slovenly Betsy, Fie!"
This poem comes from one of the numerous Anglo-American knock-off editions which flourished in the late 1800s. Not part of Dr. Hoffmann's original, it tells the story of unhygienic Betsy, and how intense peer pressure caused her to knuckle under and change her ways. In a sense, hers is the only benign fate to befall any of the main characters, though I never have trusted those creepy schoolboys.
We suggest these glazes for this tile:
Transparent

4 x 4 inches
$20.00
See the naughty, restless child/Growing still more rude and wild/'Til his chair falls over quite/Phillip screams with all his might.
The story of Fidgety Phillip (in German, Zappel-Philipp) has been credited by the National Institute of Mental Health as being the first description of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). I always thought he was just a bratty kid. Hoffmann, skilled physician that he was, thought otherwise.
We suggest these glazes for this tile:
Transparent

4 x 4 inches
$20.00
The door flew open, in he ran/The great, long-legged scissor man/Oh! Children see! The tailor's come/And caught our little suck-a-thumb.
My grandmother used to read me the story of poor little Konrad, and what became of his thumbs. And it did get me to stop sucking them, though mostly it was to deprive her of the enjoyment she got from reading me the poem.
We suggest these glazes for this tile:
Transparent

4 x 4 inches
$20.00
Harriet would not take advice;/She lit a match, it was so nice!/It crackled so, it burned so clear-/Exactly like this picture here.
From the 1845 edition, poor Harriet (named Pauline in the original German) doesn't follow her mother's instructions, and plays with the wonderful matches-with predictable results. Her little cats (Minz und Maunz, die Katzen) are very sad. While teaching children the hazards of fire is important today, imagine how much more important it was in the 1800s, when matches were made of sputtering phosphorus, and young ladies wore voluminous (and flammable) skirts.
We suggest these glazes for this tile:
Transparent

4 x 4 inches
$20.00
A sloven will be always viewed/With pity by the wise and good;/While ev'n the vicious and the base/Behold with scorn a dirty face.
Another anglo-american appendage, this story tells us about two sisters. One was sweet and fair and well-kept. The other was as you see here. Interestingly, Dr. Hoffmann's poems deal mostly with problems of behavior, while the Victorian/Edwardian additions are far more concerned with hygiene and appearance.
We suggest these glazes for this tile:
Transparent

4 x 4 inches
$20.00
Here is cruel Frederick, see!/A horrid, wicked boy was he;/He caught the flies, poor little things,/And then tore off their tiny wings.
A lot of us grew up with kids like Frederick: idle, banal and cruel. It starts with animals and moves on to people. Frederick gets his in the end.
We suggest these glazes for this tile:
Transparent

4 x 4 inches
$20.00
Not any soup for me, I say: / O take the nasty soup away; / I won’t have any soup to-day.

This is the unfortunate story of Augustus (or Kaspar, in the original German) who decides one day that he will not eat his soup. Unfortunate, because the stocky lad (“And everybody saw with joy / The plump and hearty healthy boy”) then sticks to his resolution for a week’s time with, for the Slovenly Peter stories, predictable results. Knowing the author’s expertise in nineteenth century psycho pathology, one might be tempted to speculate that Dr. Hoffmann is here describing an actual eating disorder. Without diagnostic knowledge of any background which would have produced such a break in poor Augustus’ behavior, however, I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume it’s just a cautionary tale meant to get kids to eat their soup. Remember, after all, we’re talking about Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder (Cheerful Stories and Funny Pictures) here.
We suggest these glazes for this tile:
Transparent

4 x 4 inches
$20.00
Tom Bogus, the Sweet Tooth, seems to appear only in Anglo-American editions from the turn of the last century. It was a time when sugar cones and molasses jugs would have been commonly found objects. Dental hygeine was not the best. People lost their teeth at an early age-this happens to Tom. But what ultimately becomes of Tom Bogus is too horrible to relate in a family-oriented website.
The entire series of Tom Bogus and the two Tom Bogus Rhyme tiles may be had for $50.
We suggest these glazes for this tile:
Transparent

4 x 4 inches
$20.00
The entire set of Tom Bogus, Rhyme 1 and Rhyme 2 may be had for $50.00.
We suggest these glazes for this tile:
Transparent

4 x 7.75 inches
$35.00
From "Die Geschichte Vom Wilden Jager," we have the determined hunter out to catch some game. Frau Hare is less than impressed, as you see. Customers have been asking for this story for twenty years, proving that it is one of Dr. Hoffmann's most beloved. I think it's high time we gave the people what they want, don't you?
We suggest these glazes for this tile:
Transparent or Oxide

4 x 7.75 inches
$35.00
The hunter took a nap, and the hare has taken his glasses and his gun. Now he's about to learn that he shouldn't be hunting Frau Hare and her family.
We suggest these glazes for this tile:
Transparent or Oxide