Editing Wilhelm Busch (section)

===Publication of ''Max and Moritz''===
[[File:Wilhelm Busch, ca. 1882.jpg|thumb|upright|Wilhelm Busch, ca. 1882]]
Between 1860 and 1863 Busch wrote more than one hundred articles for the ''Münchener Bilderbogen'' and ''Fliegende Blätter'', but he felt his dependence on publisher Kaspar Braun had become constricting. Busch appointed [[Dresden]] publisher Heinrich Richter, the son of Saxon painter [[Adrian Ludwig Richter|Ludwig Richter]], as his new publisher&nbsp;– Richter's press up to that time was producing children's books and religious [[Christian devotional literature]].<ref>Weissweiler, p. 118</ref> Busch could choose themes, although Richter raised some concerns regarding four suggested illustrated tales that were proposed. However, some were published in the 1864 as ''Bilderpossen'', proving a failure. Busch then offered Richter the manuscripts of ''Max and Moritz'', waiving any fees. Richter rejected the manuscript as sales prospects seemed poor. Busch's former publisher, Braun, purchased the right to ''Max and Moritz'' for 1,000 [[Bavarian gulden|gulden]], corresponding to approximately double the annual wage of a craftsman.<ref name="Diers 45 46">Diers, pp. 45–46</ref>

For Braun the manuscript was fortuitous.<ref name="Diers 45 46"/> Initially the sales of ''Max and Moritz'' were slow, but sales figures improved after the 1868 second edition. Overall there were 56 editions and more than 430,000 copies sold up to Busch's death in 1908.<ref>Diers, p. 63</ref> Despite at first being ignored by critics, teachers in the 1870s described ''Max and Moritz'' as frivolous and an undesirable influence on the moral development of young people.<ref>Weissweiler, pp. 132–133</ref>