For Braun the manuscript was fortuitous . Initially the sales of Max and Moritz was slow , but sales figures improved after the 1868 second edition . Overall there was 56 editions and more than 430 @,@ 000 copies sold up to Busch 's death in 1908 . 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 .