Figure set:Max & Moritz

Max and Moritz first caused trouble in 1865 in a series of stories by German author and artist Wilhelm Busch. In the books, the boys pull a number of mischievous pranks, but ultimately meet a gruesome end, reminding young readers that bad behavior results in punishment every time. Since its 19th-century debut, Max and Mortiz, regarded as the forerunner of the modern comic strip, has remained a staple of German culture. Several translations and adaptations of the stories have emerged over the years, both in Germany and beyond, and the prank-pulling pair inspired Rudolph Dirks's popular comic stirp "The Katzenjammer Kids." The A. Schoenhut Company, a Philadelphia toy maker, produced several figures based on popular comic characters, including Felix the Cat, Happy Hooligan, Maggie and Jiggs of "Bringing Up Father," and Max and Moritz. The duo first appeared in 1907 as a part of the Schoenhut Humpty Dumpty Circus, sold in a set with two pigs, a wheelbarrow, and a ladder. The toy maker apparently believed that the rascally pair would have no trouble fitting in under the Big Top.