Page - 60 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/02

60 | Philippe Bornet www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/2, 55–86 The preface also introduces the volume as an addition to another book, also published by the Calwer Verlag, the Lesebuch der Erdkunde (“Reader of Geog- raphy”) by Eduard Schwarz, a work intended for the classroom and meant to be an illustrated (but mostly textual) depiction of the world’s natural and human geography.12 Even if its publishing policy evolved slightly towards more scholarly works under Gundert’s direction,13 the Calwer publishing house specialised in literature for young people. It published, for example, a Missionsblatt für Kinder (“Missionary Paper for Children”), following the model of the British Church Missionary Juvenile Instructor of the Church Mis- sionary Society (hereafter CMS) and of the Juvenile Missionary Magazine, of LMS. This context suggests that the volume was intended as a pedagogical tool, and indeed, contemporary advertisements recommended it warmly as an illustrated atlas for geography classes as well as for “Missionsstunden”, that is, catechesis in public schools. A review published in the Evangelisches Missionsmagazin, the journal of the Basel Mission, praised the use of this volume by schoolteachers and clergy, stressing the volume’s exceptionally cheap price14 – one way to secure a large diffusion.15 Even though a thin booklet giving some context and explanations was published one year later, in 1884,16 the quasi-absence of text in the original volume certainly singu- larised the work and broadened its audience, while also suggesting that the images were self-evident. In sum, the book certainly targets the usual audience of the Calwer Verlag: mostly young people, parents, and teachers belonging to a Pietist middle class. For these reasons, the volume can be considered a visual geographical history of the entire world intended for educational purposes, a kind of updated version of John Comenius’s Orbis Pictus of 1658 with a Christian evangelical subtext. A closer look, however, reveals that while some images conveyed an obvi- ous message related to missionary propaganda, others were more ambigu- 12 Schwarz 1866 and Schwarz 1869. 13 An example is Wurm 1908, a handbook about the history of religions. See however the title of Josenhans 1855, unambiguously intended for a young audience. 14 As advertisements in the Calwer Missionsblatt, the Calwer publishing house’s official periodical, inform us, the book was available in different sizes, for different prices: as a booklet for 6 Marks, in slightly larger size (175 × 110 cm), for 10 Marks, and in full size (165 × 243 cm) for 12 Marks. The prices correspond approximately to USD 30, USD 60 and USD 70 today, see www.measuringworth.com [accessed 15 March 2021]. 15 Anonymous 1883b, 224. 16 Anonymous 1884.