Paper engineers and mechanical

devices of movable books of the

19th and 20th centuries
Mara Sarlatto
Introduction
More then a mere container of texts, a pop-up book is a material
object, with a form and a language, in which the presence of
movable elements and the possibility to decompose the support
have contributed to changing both production and reading
practices. In pop-up books the support does not merely contain
the text but itself becomes a communicative space.
The term pop-up was used in the history of books for the first
time in the 1930s, by the US publisher Blue Ribbon Books Inc.
and, since 1933, has been a registered trade mark (Patent no.
1913797) (Ghirardelli and Missiroli 1994-2003; Faden 2007).
Precursors of pop-up books are considered to be animated or
movable books, which use paper mechanisms to animate the
images by pulling on cardboard tables and/or transforming the
book support into a three-dimensional structure. In pop-up
books, the element of surprise is offered by the presence of paper
components that are fixed to the pages but can be lifted, almost
like a sculpture, to create unexpected three-dimensional effects.
The a posteriori identification of these printed objects as movable
books or pop-up books presents some complexity, linked to the
many and often dissimilar forms of products embraced by the

JLIS.it Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016)

DOI: 10.4403/jlis.it-11610
M.Sarlatto, Paper engineers and mechanical devices…

definition. Although the term pop-up, or three-dimensional, does

not often appear in the title of the book, they are frequently
labelled as pop-up books, toy books, surprise books, puppet
books, movable books, novelty books, eccentric books, action
books.
The decomposition of the printed book underlying the operation
of the movable book was used historically for different purposes
(educational, mnemonic, ludic, cryptographic), as also described
in the contribution by Gianfranco Crupi in this issue (2016). At
the end of the 18th century, some publishers had adapted this
decomposing mechanism to meet the expectations of a younger
audience that wished to interact and play with the book-object:
and thus the birth of the children's movable book. The
developmental stages of this type of book destined for young
readers were marked by the different paper-engineered devices
used: starting from a two-dimensional structure, simulating
movement and/or three-dimensionality, then came three-
dimensional structures which broke the conventional structure of
the book, going beyond the confines of the pages.
In 18th century European publishing, seeking new products and
new readers came the English publisher John Newbery (1723-
1767) who, considered the founding father of children's literature,
was the first to exploit its potential, also in economic terms,
offering a series of interactive books that children could also play
with (Darton 1982; Tosi and Petrina 2011). Along with these
children's books spread the idea that an object could be both
book and toy at the same time (Mosca Bonsignore 2011).
After Newbery, other printers/publishers devoted their attention
to the research of editorial models that could attract the
audiences they targeted. Between the late 18th century and the
first half of the 19th century, the growing number of publications
of this special book genre was supported by new reproduction
techniques − lithography and, above all, chromolithography −
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which led to an increase in the mass production of low-cost

coloured images. Moreover, around the mid-19th century came a
key figure in the production of toy books, the paper engineer, “una
figura fondamentale che può coincidere o no con quella
dell’illustratore” and who “trasforma la pagina in una scultura
pieghevole” (Loi 2012, 17). It is to these design skills that we owe
those fantastic images that move on or are lifted from the page,
creating an appealing three-dimensional effect.
The production of the movable book required considerable
changes to the production process: to produce a book, both
automated, in-series phases were required along with some
almost unique manual activities, and between the late 19th and
early 20th century (a period that saw the increasing mechanisation
of production processes) this led many publishers to hire
specialist craftsmen to oversee all the hand-performed activities
involved in the production of the movable elements (Franchi
1998). The design of the mechanical devices by the paper
engineer, the mass-production of the various elements and the
manual assembly of the various parts led to an unusual
contamination of the classic roles involved in the publishing
industry. The production of a movable book required the careful
design of the devices moving the images, to ensure that they are
not damaged when the book is opened and closed. The
complexity of the operations involved in the production of a
movable book therefore drove publishers to frequently adopt
models that could be re-used in different books.
The text accompanying the figures of movable/pop-up books
was generally very simple: the stories were mainly conventional
ones, already known to the audiences, and this is why what
characterised them was not so much the subject narrated but
rather the methods identified for their figurative representation,
where the designers/paper engineers could express all their
creativity (Reid-Walsh 2005, Reid-Walsh 2006). In fostering visual

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M.Sarlatto, Paper engineers and mechanical devices…

and tactile exploration over the narrative thread, movable books

were based on the knowledge acquired elsewhere by the reader,
which in some cases was used to fill the gaps left by the poor
narrative quality of the text: "it is likely that their young reader’s
external knowledge (or, at very least, the reader’s parents or
nanny) compensated for the book’s relative paucity of narrative
information" (Faden 2007, 79). In toy books, therefore,
“svolgono un ruolo non marginale aspetti non verbali, come la
qualità della carta e della stampa, la presenza, o meno, di
illustrazioni e colore: non in quanto elementi che impreziosiscono
l’oggetto materiale, ma in quanto elementi sintatticamente e
semanticamente rilevanti, elementi narranti o co-narranti” (Negri
2012, 368).
The pop-up book thus became a place of experimentation, on
one hand, for publishers and paper engineers who adapted the
structure of the book to the reading methods deemed most
appropriate to the type of readers targeted, and on the other
hand, for readers who, required to interact with the book-object,
had to find a balance between "part text, part image, and part
sculpture" (Karr Schimdt 2006: iii).
The development of children's movable books, which peaked
with the production of the very first pop-up books, has in this
article been traced through the history of the mechanical devices
used in some selected movable books, produced between the
mid-18th century and the end of the 19th century, and some of
their key figures – Dean and Son, Lothar Meggendorfer, Ernest
Nister, S. Louise Giraud, Vojtĕch Kubăsta (publishers/paper
engineers) − whose skill led to the definition of specific
characteristics and the success of this editorial genre.

The first children's movable books

Movable components in books destined for children were first
used by the London-based publisher Robert Sayer (1725-1794)
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(Brown 2006; Lee Hendrix 2008). From 1756 Sayer produced a

type of movable book, using 'lift the flap' type devices, called
metamorphoses books, turn up books or harlequinades, which took their
name from the popular character Harlequin, who was the key
character in many stories. "Movable books, generally called
metamorphoses, and also known as mechanicals,
transformations, harlequinades, turnouts, and dissected pictures,
usually consisted of folded and hinged pages which in various
combinations composed pictures" (Brown 2006, 358).
Harlequinades, which were very popular in England, were also
exported to other countries. Robert Sayer's metamorphoses
books frequently contained brief instructions on how to lift the
flaps and other indications to the readers, to convince them to
help the characters in their enterprises and therefore, implicitly, to
continue reading (Reid-Walsh 2005)1.
The very first children's movable books were produced in
London by the publisher Dean and Son in the late 1850s. To
produce their movable books, Dean set up a department of
craftsmen who produced the movable devices by hand, while to
design the books the paper engineers based themselves on the
principle of the peep show.
The tunnel book, or peep show book,2 a type of movable book
which enjoyed great success in the 19th century, is made from a
series of sheets that open accordion-style. There are no pages to
leaf through or any text to read: the viewer looks through a hole
in the first picture to see the others in perspective, almost like a
miniature stage set with scenes and backdrops. When the book is

1
For an overview of the metamorphic pictures produced between 1650 and 1890,
consult The Union Catalog of Early Movable Books, a database of metamorphic
pictures produced by Penn State University, http://sites.psu.edu/play/the-union-
catalog-of-early-movable-books.
2 http://allegrobookcollection.typepad.com/.a/6a0134859ae390970c0134867
10c71970c-pi
JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016). Art. #11610 p. 93
M.Sarlatto, Paper engineers and mechanical devices…

open,3 the sheets are kept at a constant distance by paper tabs

that are folded over the different layers when the book is closed.
In the books produced by Dean and Son, each illustration is
arranged along three or four shaped planes, held in parallel to
each other by strips of cardboard. By pulling a ribbon on the
back of the background image, the whole scene is raised to create
a three-dimensional effect. The printed text is visible only when
the illustration is raised. The paper-engineered mechanism
described was used to produce the books in the Scenic Book series;
the first story represented was Little Red Riding Hood,4 followed by
Robinson Crusoe, Cinderella and Aladdin (Haining 1979).
Around 1860 Dean and Son also published the first theatre
books: Royal Movable of Punch and Judy and Royal Movable of Punch
and Judy Played before the Queen. Theatre book5 is a special type of
movable book, the support of which can be transformed into a
theatrical stage used to represent the narrated story; the
characters (actors) may be still or, using mechanical elements,
animated. The origins of the theatre book probably lie in the
wooden optical toys used by travelling story-tellers to show
fantastic and fairytale worlds to their spectators. In the early 19th
century, the wooden walls were eliminated and the first multi-
level scenes were created using only paper, as was then done with
the books known as peep show books or tunnel books.
In the books produced by Dean and Son, there is no real
decomposition of the support: the book keeps its conventional
shape, the story developed by turning the pages, but the
characters of the stories are represented on each page on a

3 http://allegrobookcollection.typepad.com/.a/6a0134859ae390970c0133f34c
ca67970b-pi
4 http://www.popuplady.com/coll03-dean.shtml
5 https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/scua/montanar/ali.htm

JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016). Art. #11610 p. 94

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theatrical stage and, like puppets,6 can be moved by the reader

using paper tabs and levers. The text, almost like a script,
contained the lines of the characters on stage.

Lothar Meggendorfer
"There is little doubt that the most elaborate and ingenious
movables even produced were those of Lothar Meggendorfer
made during the 1880s and 1890s" (Haining 1979, 65). The
technical skill and creativity of the first paper engineer in the
history of the movable book, Lothar Meggendorfer (1847 –
1925), combined with the level of printing expertise achieved in
Germany in the late 19th century, made his movable books among
the most amazing in the history of the movable book.
Meggendorfer began to create movable books in 1880 and
continued up to the start of the First World War, when
publishing in Europe practically came to a standstill. The
inspiration for his first movable book, Lebende Bilder, made in
1878 for his son Adolf as a Christmas gift (Franchi 1998), came
from a children's birthday card with relief images. Over his long
career, Meggendorfer produced over sixty books7. His meeting
with Jakob Ferdinand Schreiber, a German publisher of
illustrated books, cut-out sheets and paper theatres, was
particularly fortuitous: together they organised a team of
designers, cutters, colourers, to cover all the production phases of
the movable book. As described by Waldo Hunt, Meggendorfer
created a model for each book, with coloured images and
movable paper elements, complete with instructions for the
assemblers of each copy (description of the various assembly

6http://www.thornbooks.com/thorn/images/items/18739d.jpg
7For a full bibliography of the works of Meggendorfer, consult Schiller 1975;
Friederich and von Katzenheim 2012. For information on his biography, cf.
Krahè 1983
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phases, assembly order, printing suggestions) (Trebbi 2012). The

subjects of the stories were selected by Meggendorfer, who did
not base his animation solely on classic fairytales; his stories were
filled with everyday characters, and the comic elements came
from ordinary situations showing the human side of each
character; irony, along with his artistic skills, helped to make his
stories both original and famous (Allegro 2009). The influence of
puppet theatre, in which Meggendofer worked all his life, is
reflected in the representation of his characters: clear facial
features such as a wide mouth, big eyes and potato nose are
frequently found in his books, adding a clearly comical effect.
Other recurrent themes in his stories are music and animals, both
of which he was passionate about. The fame and originality of his
books, which charmed and entertained readers of all ages, were
linked to the paper devices he created: pull tabs to move the
pictures (mechanical pictures), panorama books, harlequinades
and revolving pictures.
In movable books with pull tabs, the illustrations include
elements that are animated by the tabs. These were created using
cardboard, string, elastic bands and thin metal wire. The images
were moved by a pull tab (made from sufficiently strong
cardboard to ensure prolonged and repeated use), which the
reader pulled to move the picture. The elementary effect obtained
is that of a picture running vertically or horizontally, or which
oscillates like a swing (Hiner 2012). The mechanical pictures
created by Meggendorfer reached a considerable level of
complexity: often his works contained up to five elements that
were moved simultaneously and in different directions,
combining both sliding and oscillating effects. The multiple and
synchronised movement of the different parts by a single pull tab
was made possible by a complex system of levers hidden between
the pages, linked together by small spiral-shaped metal rivets (up
to 12 rivets per picture) (Montanaro 1996). The 1884 edition of
Neue Thierbilder (Monaco, Braun & Schneider, 33x24cm) is a
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superb example of the paper-engineering skill of Meggendorfer.

The book contains eight hand-coloured pictures with pull tabs
generating multiple movements.8 The presence of complex
movements made possible simply by pulling the cardboard tab is
also widely illustrated in the book Lustiges Automaten Theater9
(1898, Esslingen, Monaco, J.F.Schreiber, 37x26cm).10 In both
books, the text is given on the opposite page.
The swing effect is skilfully obtained in a scene from Fur Brave
Kinder (1884 Munchen, Braun & Schneider, 33x23cm) where two
children have fun shaking a pear tree.11
Meggendorfer's editorial productions also include panorama
books, with folded pages that, once open, create a three-
dimensional structure consisting of a number of successive
scenes. Worthy of mention among his three-dimensional books
are Im Stadtpark, Das Puppenhaus and Internationaler Circus, his most
famous work, a panorama measuring around 1 metre when fully
unfolded. Internationaler Circus (1887, Esslingen, J.R. Schreiber),
considered one of Meggendorfer's masterpieces, when opened in
a semi-circle reconstructs a circus tent with six sections; it counts
around 450 characters, orchestra players, acrobats, clowns,
tightrope walkers and the audience (Franchi 1998; Brian 2013).
The text, given in the last panel of the panorama book, consists
solely of the show programme.

8 position 1: http://allegrobookcollection.typepad.com/.a/6a0134859ae3909
70c0133f32894b9970b-pi , position 2: http://allegrobookcollection.typepad.
com/.a/6a0134859ae390970c0133f3289803970b-pi.
9 http://allegrobookcollection.typepad.com/.a/6a0134859ae390970c0134864

c344e970c-pi
10 position 1: http://allegrobookcollection.typepad.com/.a/6a0134859ae39
0970c0133f328c31 d970b-pi; position 2: http://allegrobookcollection.typepad.
com/.a/6a0134859ae390970c0133f328 d33f970b-pi.
11 position 1: http://allegrobookcollection.typepad.com/.a/6a0134859ae390

970c0133f3294 dae970b-pi; position 2: http://allegrobookcollection.typepad.

com/.a/6a0134859ae390970c0134 864cc2a8970c-pi.
JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016). Art. #11610 p. 97
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The techniques used by Meggendorfer to move the pictures also

included harlequinades (mix and match books, flap books,
transformation books). Each page of the book is cut into two or
three horizontal sections, and each one can be turned separately
to replace a portion of the image with that on the next or
previous page. This offers an infinite number of combinations
and creates a comic effect.
Viel Kopf, viel Sinn (1898, Stuttgart, J.F. Schreiber, 28x20cm) is a
light-hearted set of faces drawn in pencil and red crayon divided
into three parts, so that the forehead, eyes and mouth on each
face can be changed. The book contains only pictures, with no
accompanying text.
Meggendonfer also used discs or volvella12 in his movables to
transform a figure into another (revolving picture). The upper
disc has cut-out parts that reveal the image printed on the lower
disc: an infinite number of combinations can be obtained by
rotating the volvella. Revolving pictures with rotating disc can be
found in Lustige Drehbilder (1892, Esslingen J.R. Schreiber): where
the head is, the upper disc has an oval aperture through which
various expressions drawn on the disc below can be seen (from
four to twelve). Some plates have two characters, so where their
heads are there are two discs of different sizes.
The complexity of the paper-engineered devices designed and
created by Meggendorfer involved many manual operations to
obtain the finished printed product. The first products, with
hand-coloured pictures, were of a high quality, and due to their
high price were destined for a wealthy market; with the spread of

12 The term “volvella”, from the Latin volvere, to turn, refers to overlapping
paper discs that are free to rotate around a central axis through which they are
fixed to the support. Volvellae were used to calculate dates, identify the
position of the stars, decipher codes (cf. the contribution of Gianfranco Crupi
in this volume)
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chromolithography, the colour quality improved and production

costs fell, thus also the sales price: between 1880 and 1900,
Meggendorfer's works were reprinted and many copies were sold.
His movable books appeared in many international editions: in
Germany published by J.F. Schreiber of Stuttgart and Esslingen
and Braun & Schneider in Munich, in England, Grevel and,
occasionally Dean, in France, Capendu and Dambuyant &
Guignard, without forgetting the various translations into Italian,
Spanish, Russian, Swedish and Bohemian (Dawson 1995). In
particular, Hoepli was the main Italian publisher of
Meggendorfer's books: Storielle buffe with six movable pictures and
text, from 1884, was the first Italian edition of a movable book by
this ingenious paper engineer, followed in 1886 by Sempre allegri
bambini. Hoepli published several editions, taken from various
books by Meggendorfer: in fact, the most important illustrations
published in a book in Germany were frequently used to create
another edition, perhaps in a different country from where the
original edition was published.

Ernest Nister
Another important figure in the editorial panorama of children's
movable books was Ernest Nister (1842–1909), from
Oberklingen, Germany. In 1877 he bought a small lithography
workshop in Nuremburg. Even after 1888, when he opened a
branch in London, all printing phases were carried out in
Germany, exploiting the high technical quality achieved in
chromolithographic printing, and the London branch was used
only to distribute the finished product. Nister was a book creator,
and supervised all the phases involved in the creation of the
finished product. In fact his books are easily identifiable by the
high quality of the pictures and above all the ingenuity of the
moving mechanisms used. During his life Nister produced over
500 children's books, but from 1890 onwards his production was
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dedicated almost exclusively to movable books. The illustrations

in his books are a snap-shot of an ideal world in which well-
dressed, wealthy children play in flower-filled meadows in the
English countryside. The images represent the triumph of
chromolithography; the use he made of pastel colours is a trade
mark in his works, which are still reprinted today and continue to
bear witness to the publisher's poetic world. Nister often reused
illustrations in other books, adding some extra elements that were
not found in the original work. The figurative part was usually
accompanied by short, simple texts in rhyme, printed on the
opposite page. He also personally selected the books produced in
Germany he considered adaptable to the English market, and
made commercial contacts with the US publisher E.P. Dutton,
which allowed him to export his works also to New York, where
they became very successful (Whitton 1986; Lavender and Smith
1997-1998).
Nister's contribution to the movable and pop-up book world is
represented by some mechanical devices, the most noteworthy of
which were dissolving or revolving pictures. Before him, Dean
and Son had produced similar pictures, the operation of which
was based on Venetian blinds (changing or transformation
picture), but Nister perfected the technique with circular images,
accompanied by a short text and generally surrounded by a floral
or geometrical frame. By rotating a cloth ribbon positioned
around the perimeter of the picture, the upper image dissolves,
sliding through a radial slot, beneath the image below, which was
previously hidden. The underlying element of this effect is the
volvella: two overlapping illustrated disks fixed to the page by a
central pin, around which they are free to rotate. The ribbon
movement is reversible. Nister obtained a patent for the
revolving picture mechanism in both England (Patent no. 10870
of 1899) and Germany. This mechanism can be found in the
books Round Pictures for All Little Folk (c. 1910, Dutton & Nister,
Bavaria, 19.8x19.1 cm), Magic Moments (c. 1910, Dutton & Nister:
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London, 28.0x26.3 cm), Twinkling pictures (c. 1899, Nister:

London).13 While in the book What a surprise. A mechanical book for
children (Dutton & Nister, New York and London),14 the changing
pictures are square rather than circular in shape. The operation is
based on the overlapping of two square pictures, each of which
has a diagonal 45° cut. By moving the tab which, contrary to the
other books by Nister, can be found along the side edge of the
page, the illustration on the upper dial is divided along the
diagonal and with a semi-circular movement it disappears,
revealing the image below. On each page there is a short text
above the picture.
Nister created a series of other paper-engineering solutions used
to produce his movable books, for example in the Panorama
Picture Books,15 in which the pictures are arranged along two
parallel planes with respect to the surface of the page, suggesting
a sense of depth and three-dimensionality. On opening the
books, the imaginative publisher welcomed his readers by
illustrating the features of his inventions and providing a reading
guide (Plunkett 2007). Like other publishers of his time, Nister
also produced other types of books, and his catalogue included
annuals, story books, toy books, poetry books, books on religious
topics as well as calendars, birthday cards with pop-up elements,
toys and puzzles (Franchi 1998).

13 http://digisrv-1.biblio.etc.tu-bs.de:8080/docportal/receive/DocPortal_
document_00051377.
14 http://www.popuplady.com/mm03-nistersuprise.shtml.
15 http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?a=10&c=8801&mode=
singleImage&treasures WallImage=2.
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The first real pop-up books

Dean and Son, Meggendorfer and Nister may be considered the
stars of the early golden age of movable books: a lucky period
that ended when the First World War broke out16.
The contribution of Germany which, in the previous century, was
so essential in the production and printing of movable books, was
lacking, and neither England or America was able to match
Germany in either printing or chromolithography. The result was
a decline in both the quantity and quality of the movable books
produced.
Around the 1930s, the work of publisher Saint Louis Giraud
(1879-1950) began to make its mark: between 1929 and 1949, he
designed and produced a series of annuals, firstly for the Daily
Express newspaper and later as an independent publisher under
the name Strand Publications. Giraud's career lasted exactly
twenty years from the first annual for the Daily Express,
published in autumn 1929, until the last of the sixteen Bookano17
Stories, at Christmas 1949, six months before he died.
As a businessman, Giraud welcomed anyone with a good idea for
making books, evaluating the proposals and deciding which ideas
were worth putting into practice. This was the case of Theodore
Brown (1870-1938), an English inventor specialised in the
production of magic lanterns, who knocked on Giraud's door

16 Between the late 19th century and the early 20th century, movable books
were produced which can more than others be defined as multimedia objects,
in which the addition of light and sound helped to increase the effect
of surprise in the animated illustrations.
17
The term Bookano derives from the merger of the words “book” and “meccano”
(the metal construction toys). These were thick books, inside which four or more
pages had pop-up illustrations.

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with some small models made by folding and cutting paper. The
publisher was impressed by the models, immediately
understanding their potential in the children's book sector. With
Brown, he therefore decided to deposit the model on which the
operation of these pop-ups was based with the Patents Office.
The invention, patented in Great Britain and later in the United
States, produced an authentic three-dimensional picture, rather
than a series of planes arranged one behind the other. This
description of the model for the patent was accompanied by
technical drawings showing how to make a three-dimensional
house, which was later used in the Daily Express annuals no.s 1
and 2 and in the Bookano Stories no.s 2, 4, 5, 6 and 14 (Dawson
1991a). Shortly after obtaining the patent, Giraud had already
mobilised the support staff needed to produce the pop-up
annuals: paper suppliers, printers and cutters, assembly staff.
Direct testimonials talk of a team of fifty girls employed to
assemble and glue the pop-up components. The folding and
gluing phases were very delicate as the correct pop-up effect and
the possibility to correctly and repeatedly open and close the
book depended on their precision.
Giraud created the first authentic pop-ups. Each of the books
published for the Daily Express18 and the whole Bookano19 series
contained at least five double pages in which the support paper is
cut, folded and glued so that when the page is opened a complex
three-dimensional model appears, seen from all four sides. The
effect of the living models, as the publisher decided to call his
productions, is surprising: the illustration is perpendicular to the
page, and often contains elements that move as the pages are
opened and closed. Like other annuals of the period, his also
contained a compendium of stories, pictures, comic strips on
different subjects, from fairy tales to earthquakes.

18 http://www.library.unt.edu/rarebooks/exhibits/popup/daily.htm.
19 http://www.library.unt.edu/rarebooks/exhibits/popup/bookano.htm.
JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016). Art. #11610 p. 103
M.Sarlatto, Paper engineers and mechanical devices…

The editorial model chosen for the Daily Express annuals was later
maintained to produce the Bookano stories: covers coloured with
historical and/or mythological figures, paper elements glued
directly to the card and, above all in the last Bookano, a
predominance of ochras, oranges and reds. The books
presumably targeted children aged between five and ten.
Giraud's books became very popular and, compared to those of
his predecessors, were never expensive: they were printed on
rough, absorbent paper, with cheap covers and poor quality
bindings. For these reasons, many of his books did not withstand
the wear and tear of time and frequent use. The quality of
Giraud's books is almost exclusively linked to the presence of the
pop-up pictures, while the quality of the texts and images was
poor.
From the second Daily Express annual, Giraud began to introduce
a preface in rhyme in each book, presented by the Wizard who
illustrated the devices found in the book to the readers. To
produce the books in the Bookano series, much of the preparatory
work was outsourced to craftsmen, who received packs
containing one hundred printed sheets and instructions on how
to assemble them, folding and gluing the various parts.
In 1939 the outbreak of the war caused a serious recession for all
independent publishers who, due to the reduction in the amount
of paper in circulation and, above all, the lack of labour, could no
longer maintain a constant production of pop-up books. Despite
this, the annuals continued to be published: issues seven and
thirteen of the Bookano series were produced using materials from
other volumes; it was only with issues 14, 15 and 16, produced
respectively in 1947, 1948 and 1949 was the splendour of the first
productions reached once more (Dawson 1991b).

JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016). Art. #11610 p. 104

JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016)

Vojtĕch Kubăsta
From the late 1950s, a series of innovative pop-up books,
produced by the Artia publishers in Prague, made its appearance
in Europe: Vojtĕch Kubăsta was the paper engineer behind these
ingenious paper architectures.
Kubăsta (1914-1992), of Austrian origins but Czech by adoption,
having moved to Prague in 1919, was an architect, illustrator,
graphic artist and paper engineer. In the 1950s, at the height of
the renaissance of children's literature, collaboration began with
the state publishers Artia, to which he proposed his first pop-up
works, consisting of small theatres in book form (Curletto 2011;
Findlay and Rubin 2005). To create his hýbačky (‘that which
moves’), Kubăsta was technically inspired by the Americans of
German origin, Benjamin and Geraldine Clyne, who between
1939 and 1954 created the The Jolly Jumps-ups20 series (Pierluigi
2011). The stage was a single sheet, cut into and cut out so that
the images took on a three-dimensional appearance when the two
consecutive pages were opened at 90°. This method avoided the
burdensome task of assembling and gluing the various elements.
Kubašta worked on this technique, introducing asymmetrical
planes and V-folds, with a high impact in terms of perspective; he
also included cellophane, aluminium and other elements in the
illustrations, to add a touch of reality to the portrayed scenes. The
inclusion of these elements was not merely decorative but also
helped to create the illusion of a small theatre. The book opened
at 90°, with the cloth spine at the top, the text arranged parallel to
the spine, the bindings in coloured cord and the card folded and
folded again to recreate the images. Some books also had
movable elements21 in the cover. The individual scenes making up
Kubăsta's books were printed separately in Velký Šenov or

20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFrpZ5anWXM.
21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT60FZna4vg.
JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016). Art. #11610 p. 105
M.Sarlatto, Paper engineers and mechanical devices…

Bratislava and then assembled by hand in Nepomuk and Brtníky

by female workers (Pierluigi 2011).
In 1960 the versatile Prague-based designer invented the
Tip+Top series, stories about two inseparable friends, one thin
and one fatter, who in some tales were accompanied by their dog.
Often the two characters tackled technical jobs (such as building
a car), so that Kubăsta could demonstrate his construction skills
(Findlay and Rubin 2005). While for the animated editions of
classic fairy tales he chose the format 20.5x26.5 cm, for his so-
called "panoscopic" books, albums that could be opened to 180°
(Pierluigi 2011), he used a larger size (33x25 cm), which enhanced
the attractive three-dimensional effect. According to the Opus
VK 1989 census, Christopher Columbus (1954) was the first pop-up
book in the Panascopic Model Series. Each book in the series
comprises three cardboard parts with an illustrated story in the
central part. Once the two sections with the illustrations are
opened the pop-up22 picture lifts up from the page.
His collections of Prague memorabilia, maps of the old town and
antique prints, inspired many of his works. Puppet theatres
(popular in Czechoslovakia around the mid-19th century) were
also a great source of inspiration for him in his works, and indeed
between 1930 and 1940 Kubăsta collaborated with the director of
a famous puppet theatre, designing the stage sets (Czech villages,
castle interiors, etc.) and sometimes even the costumes.
There is still not a complete list of Kubăsta's works: in 1989, the
paper engineer himself, with Helena and Eduard Škoda,
attempted to compile a file, the Opus VK, containing some of his
works, probably his favourites23. In addition to pop-up books,

22 https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/scua/montanar/moko.htm.
23
A video of the exhibition is available on-line: “The Amazing Vojtěch Kubašta: A
Showcase of His Pop-up and Illustrated Children's Books” held at the Bienes Museum
JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016). Art. #11610 p. 106
JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016)

Kubăsta produced many nativity scenes, chocolate boxes, advent

calendars, wedding invitations, postcards, souvenirs of Prague
and Czechoslovakia, logos, ex libris, book covers, advertising
material, stamps, pencils, etc.: a rich and varied production that
marked the extraordinary editorial success of Kubăsta's works24.
Concluding this overview, we must remember that the first
modern pop-up book was produced in 1979, The Haunted House,
born from the collaboration between illustrator Jan Pienkowski
(1936- ) and paper engineer Tor Lokvig (Lee Hendrix 2008). This
date symbolically marks the start of mass production of movable
books. Here our journey among movable books ends, but
certainly not their production: from the 1980s, the mass-
production of this genre was accompanied by the production of
limited editions of movable books.
In the past twenty years, a new generation of paper engineers
(Robert Sabuda, David A. Carter, Ron van der Meer, Matthew
Reinahrt, to name but a few) have produced innovative paper
devices to enrich three-dimensional books and animate ingenious
and unimaginable paper sculptures among the pages of their
works. Not simply books for entertaining the readers, but
educational books simulating the operation of a machine, the
secrets of nature and the human body. With the exception of a
few cases, the books we can find on the market today are
produced in China, Colombia and Singapore, where large
publishers are based and who, thanks to the printing quality and
the short preparation times, are able to assemble thousands of
copies of each title by hand.

of the Modern Book, Broward County Main Library, from July 2014 to January 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bid3rOJY-QU.
24
In Italy his books are published by Cino del Duca and Le Edizioni
Mondiali, both from Milan.
JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016). Art. #11610 p. 107
M.Sarlatto, Paper engineers and mechanical devices…

Recently another product has appeared, the e-toy book: this kind of
electronic product has been omitted from this contribution as it
presents technical problems that are beyond the limits of this
article. The apps for i-phones, electronic popables with circuits activated
by sensors, to move objects and animals, switch LEDs on in
sequence and make the pages vibrate, using augmented reality
techniques, are the latest market trends in the field of toy books.

JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016). Art. #11610 p. 108

JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016)

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MARA SARLATTO, Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi

dell'economia agraria. [email protected].
Sarlatto, M. "Paper engineers and mechanical devices of movable books of the
19th and 20th centuries". JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016): Art: #11610.
DOI: 10.4403/jlis.it-11610.
ABSTRACT: The article investigates the development of children's pop-up
books, from the late 18th century to the late 20th century, focusing in
particular on the artistic personality of some publishers/paper engineers (Dean
and Son, Lothar Meggendorfer, Ernest Nister, S. Louise Giraud, Vojtĕch
Kubăsta). The contribution also illustrates the operation of some paper-
engineered devices designed and constructed by them. The investigation
deliberately excludes the digital pop-up book, which has different
characteristics and problems compared to paper books and is therefore
beyond the field of interest of this essay.
KEYWORDS: Mechanical devices; Movable books; Moving picture; Paper
engineer, Pop-up books.

Submitted: 2015-11-29
Accepted: 2015-12-12
Published: 2016-01-15

JLIS.it. Vol. 7, n. 1 (January 2016). Art. #11610 p. 112