Jan Marcin Szancer (1902 Kraków-1973 Warsaw), The Nutcracker

mixed technique, paper, 50 × 35.5 cm
Signed l. d.: "jms."

This illustration was reproduced in the 1957 (published by Nasza Księgarnia) and 1989 (published by Książka i Wiedza) editions of "The Nutcracker."

"Trumpets and drums sounded; the assembled kings and princes, dressed festively, began to descend to the feast. The king received them with warm hospitality, as the lord of the land, he took the first place behind the table wearing a crown on his head and with a scepter in his hand. Already while eating the liver sausages, it was noticed that the king was getting paler and paler and raised his eyes to the sky. Silent sighs rippled from his chest and it seemed that great pain was tugging at his heart. When the bowel came down, he sank down with loud sobs on the back of his chair, covered his face with his hands, howled and moaned. Everyone got to their feet, and the court medic tried in vain to grasp the hapless king's pulse. Finally, after applying various remedies, such as burnt feathers and the like, the king came to himself a little and exclaimed in a barely audible whisper: - Not enough pork fat! The distraught queen threw herself at his feet and, crying, cried out: - O my unfortunate, O poor royal spouse! How much suffering you must endure. Here at your feet lies a guilty woman, punish her severely, punish her! Ah, it was Mysibaba with her seven sons, her cum and cum devoured the lard, a... - at this point the queen tilted her head back, fell down and fainted."

E. T. A. Hoffmann, "The Nutcracker," Warsaw 1957, pp. 37-38