Hans Christian Andersen was a friend of the Danish Baron Henrik Stampe (b. 1821) and his wife Jonna Drewsen (b. 1827), as well as of Jonna's father, Adolph Drewson.[1][2] He became godfather to their daughter Christine (30 October 1856 – 9 March 1884), who had been named for her paternal grandmother Christine Stampe (née Dalgas).[2]
Together, Andersen and Adolph Drewsen compiled a scrapbook for Christine's third birthday in 1859.[3] Its 122 pages contain over 1,000 pasted-in pictures, in some cases accompanied by hand-written captions or poems.[3] There are also a few paper cuts, an art form at which Andersen was adept.[3] The images were collected from all kinds of European publications, and the result offers a unique pictorial snapshot of European culture of the 1850s.[3] Similar books exist for Christine's sisters Astrid, who became a women's rights activist, and Rigmor, who married the composer Victor Bendix.
Publication
Inspired by the book, Christine's granddaughter-in-law Countess Alette Bardenfleth set up a foundation to support projects related to Danish history, literature, language, and music. The foundation published Danish, English, German, and Italian editions of Christine's Picture Book in 1984; a Swedish edition appeared the following year.[3] A documentary of the same title was made for Danish television in 1985.[4]
The book is now in the collection of the Silkeborg Kunstmuseum, which worked with the Royal Library of Copenhagen to create a digital edition of Christine’s Picture Book in 2005.[5]
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