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Biographical/Historical Information

Marcus Behmer was born October 1, 1879 in Weimar, Germany. He was a son of the painter and professor Hermann Behmer (1831-1915), and he evolved into a significant font and book artist, illustrator, graphic artist, and painter. He published his work under his real name and also under the pseudonyms of Marcotino and Maurice Besnaux. In 1897 he started his apprenticeship as a stage painter at the Munich Vereinigte Werkstätten, sponsored by the German journalist and editor Otto Julius Bierbaum. since 1902, Behmer drew, wrote and designed books for Harry Graf Kessler’s Cranach Press, but above all for the publishing house Insel. He also worked for other publishers, such as for Paul Cassirer. In 1903, Behmer moved to Berlin, and in the same year, he became a member of the Wissenschaftlich-humanitäres Kommitee, one of the first organizations in the world that campaigned for homosexual rights. From 1914 to 1917 he served as a soldier in the German Army. In 1937 he was sentenced to two years imprisonment by the Nazis for living openly as a homosexual. Marcus Behmer died September 12, 1958 in Berlin, Germany.

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Citation

Behmer, Marcus: Indian tale, Leo Baeck Institute, 78.549.