NY: G.W. Carleton, 1879. Octavo. (96)ff. Features forty-eight color lift-the-flap illustrations (including the title page) in which the closed image illustrates the beginning of a verse and the open image depicts its conclusion. With numerous classic rhymes by Mother Goose, including the full versions of Old Mother Hubbard, and a.... More about The Old Fashioned Mother Goose Melodies Complete with Magic Colored Pictures

London: Dean & Son, (1859). Small quarto. (8)ff. Eight hand-colored engravings, all with movable parts. These movable images are operated through paper tabs and show the titular old woman with a host of animals as she tries to tame her newly purchased pig. The text of the story lies below... More about Old Woman and Her Silver Penny

Berlin: (Carl Schauer, c. 1895). Small quarto. (8)pp. Four full-page color plates with volvelles. Each plate depicts a particular scene—”Das Theater,” “Die Menagerie,” “Der Bildermann,” and “Das Karussel”—which is described in lyric verse on the facing page. The turning mechanisms then change a certain portion of the image. For example..... More about Was kommt nun? Ein ergokliches und unterhaltendes Bilderbuch

Paris: Capendu, A., (n.d.). Small quarto. (14)pp. Six full-page color plates with movable elements, plus black & white illustrations scattered throughout the text. The movable images are operated through tabs, which bring to life a band of young boys playing tricks on a giant ogre, and the ogre at the..... More about Le Petit-Poucet

Mantova: Corraini Editore, 1996. First edition, with English text. This engaging and tactile picture book uses layers of printed translucent overlays and cut-out paper windows to create illustrations that transform as the pages are turned. This provides forward momentum for the story, which is told mainly through images with very... More about The Circus in the Mist

Tours: Maison Alfred Mame et Fils, (c. 1920). Quarto. 127pp., + (16)ff. One of sixteen copies, with a signed original gouache for one of the sixteen color plates by Neziere, opposite p. 63. Highly colored and caricature-like in style, the painting illustrates "L'Ane et le Petit Chien (The Little Dog... More about Fables de la Fontaine

(c. 1830). Optical toy with forty-two hand-colored engraved slides. The Polyorama Panoptique was popular from the 1820s through the 1850s as a small-scale version of Daguerre's famous Diorama. The toy consists of a wooden box attached to a paper concertina, which can be adjusted as needed, and a lens in... More about Polyorama Panoptique

Lausanne: F. Payot; Vevey, Loertscher and Jacot-Guillarmod, (1889). Oblong octavo. (24) ff. A panorama which opens out to show a colorful wedding procession of musicians, vintners, farmworkers, and costumed villagers. The Roman goddesses of the harvest, Ceres and Pales, follow their attendants in ox-drawn chariots, and Bacchus' chariot is pulled... More about Album Officiel de la Fête des Vignerons, Vevey 1889

(Germany: c. 1850). Very rare boxed set, consisting of two identical 7-inch-tall female paper dolls, both two-sided. With eight brightly colored costumes, also two-sided, and eight hats and hairstyle pieces. The wardrobe includes outfits for all occasions: a practical brown-striped skirt and warm lace-trimmed cloak, a stately crimson damask gown... More about Die Garderobe der Dame. La Garderobe des Dames. The Wardrobe of Ladies

Milan: Ulrico Hoepli, 1945. Folio. (14)ff., two of which fold out, + (7) strips. Intact and unused paper activity book designed by Italian artist Edina Altara. Includes a wide variety of colorful paper toys and dolls: an illusionist, finger-puppet dancing girls, a three-dimensional carousel, a regiment of soldiers, birds and... More about Il Libro Giocattoli

Mainz: Jos. Scholz, (c. 1890). Four stand-up scenes with forty-five die-cut paper figures, which can be used to stage the fairy tale of Snow White. The pieces include thirteen two-sided figures for our major players, including Snow White, the Seven Dwarves, Prince Charming, and the Evil Queen; six additional one-sided... More about Mährchenspiel Schneewittchen

(Germany): S & C, (c. 1920). Three die-cut bottom fold easel-back figures comprising two Santas and a Christmas Tree. Each figure stands 5 3/4" high. The two Santa figure are shown holding a doll, teddy bear, a jester and a Christmas bush. One Santa is shown in his traditional red... More about Three Christmas-themed die-cut paper doll set

Flansham: Greenleaf Press, (1915). 16mo. (16)pp. Inscribed, "With best wishes from the folk at Flansham. Xmas 1915," and illustrated with nine tipped-in engravings. The publication and illustrations were done by Stuart, Robin, and John Guthrie, the sons of James Guthrie of the Pear Tree Press. This is the first book... More about A Nosegay of Verses