Los Angeles: Wm. M. Cheney, 1964. (36)pp. Two-page spread diagram of various kinds of pocket knives, to illustrate Cheney's discussion of their benefits, shortcomings, types, and history. Bound in paper-covered boards. Fine. (3 7/8 by 2 11/16; 98x68mm). More about A Treatise on Pocket Knives
Paris: Nouvelle Librairie de la Jeunesse, (1890). Small quarto. (14)pp., including paste-down endpapers. A stencil-colored cut-figure book, with each page cut into three sections so that one can make numerous combinations of the head, body, and legs of "Mon Oncle Gaspard." The Gaspards range in profession and character, from a.... More about Mon Oncle Gaspard. Album a Transformations
Kansas: 1898-1899. Oblong octavo. (19)ff. A double accordion-fold album of thirty-one woven paper designs in brown and coral. Included in this group are two weavings with movable elements, and one in the form of a frame with an image in the center. These examples of a popular kindergarten activity were... More about Weaving (cover title
Amsterdam: (n.d.). Small octavo. (15)pp. With eight full-page illustrations, printed in orange and black. At the back of the volume are a head and two legs set to rotate on brass rivets; when unfolded, they align with the torso on the upper cover to create the illusion of a full..... More about Anneliesje
London: C. Arthur Pearson Limited, (c. 1900). Small quarto. (12)pp. Six full-page color illustrations, each of which is folded at the top, and, when unfolded, the scene changes to reveal a surprise. For example, a boy reaching for a nest is suddenly attacked by birds, hunters in a tree are... More about A Book of Surprises
Paris: Capendu, A., (c. 1900). Oblong octavo. (12)pp. Illustrated with six movable color images. These appear opposite poetic retellings of such familiar La Fontaine stories as "Le Corbeau et le Renard" ("The Dove and the Fox") and "La Cigale et la Fourmie" ("The Cicada and the Ant"). The illustrations move... More about Fables de La Fontaine Animees
London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, (1912). Quarto. (13)pp. Six full-page color plates, each of which depicts anthropomorphized animals, accompanied by lyricized fables printed on the opposing page. The fables included are "The Fox and the Stork," "The Wolf and the Lamb," "The City Rat and the Country Rat," "The... More about Fables of La Fontaine
Amsterdam: Cohen Zonen, (n.d.). Octavo. (10)pp. Four full color movable images, and black & white illustrations throughout. The movables illustrate humans and animals taking part in charming circus scenes: monkeys clamber about a ladder, an elephant balances a clown upon its trunk, another well-dressed elephant plays the tuba in front..... More about Levende Beelden in het Circus
(N.p. c. 1835). 24mo. (56)pp. 98 hand-colored chalk lithographs. This book is part of a genre of minor magic tricks, known as flip books or blow books, in which the magician fans the pages using small notches at the foreedge. By flipping through one tab, the magician suggests that the... More about Magical Blow Book
London: Dean & Son, (n.d.). Small quarto. 8ff., printed one side only. Eight pages with full hand-colored images—sometimes more than one to a page—all of which bear movable features. These are manipulated through paper tabs toward the bottom of the illustration. Pulling a tab back and forth causes Mother Hubbard's..... More about Old Mother Hubbard. Dean's Moveable Books
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
(London): Mssrs. Harvey and Darton, 1828. Oblong 64mo. (30)ff. Robustly illustrated with engravings of the Tunnel's construction, and punctuated with explanatory text for the project's history and the various aspects of its creation, given in lay terms. The Thames tunnel was the first known tunnel to have been built successfully... More about Sketches of the Works for the Tunnel under the Thames from Rotherhithe to Wapping
Paris: Dean & Son / A. Capendu, (mid-19th century). Small quarto. (8)pp. Contains four color movable illustrations, with other whimsical circus imagery throughout the accompanying text. The movable images, which operate by pulling tabs, show clowns balancing on their heads, performing tricks with dogs, and riding donkeys. Copyrighted by Dean... More about Travail Fantastique par les Clowns. Albums d'Images a Mouvements
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
NY: Bouillon-Sanders & Chopp, (1926). Quarto. (16)pp. Illustrated throughout in color and black & white, and in a bright orange binding featuring the main character, Willie, with fully movable arms. A "Willie Wait a Minute," who is always postponing his responsibilities to play just a minute longer, is able to... More about Down the Rabbit Hole
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
c. 1835. Movable figure of a black Arabian horse mounted to a hand-colored landscape backdrop that measures 10 by 8 3/4 inches (251x196mm). The horse is articulated using a series of metal pins that allow it to be manipulated into various positions. Accompanied by eight interchangeable rider figures, all of... More about Der Spatzier-Ritt, zum freundlichen Doerfchen oder das Mieth Pferd / La Promenade à Cheval, ou...
(c. 1800). Set of twenty early nineteenth-century hand-drawn and hand-colored toy theater characters, mounted on wires. This set of characters is crafted in the tradition of the "penny plain, twopence colored" toy theaters sold throughout Europe in the nineteenth century. These ready-made kits would include all the parts for reproducing... More about Handmade toy theater character set
British made, (c. 1930). Moveable doll set, complete with original envelope and instructions. The Charlie Chaplin doll, with his signature mustache and bowler cap, is decked out in a red and yellow waistcoat with a matching red bow tie and yellow flower. His legs are jointed at the hips and... More about The Original, Amazing Dancing Charlie Illusion
London: Bancroft & Co, (c. 1960). Quarto. 7, (1)pp. Tri-fold pictorial boards, with lower cover unfolding into a table-top pop-up image of the many animals boarding Noah's Ark. The scene has a humorous flair; a fox plays chess with a stork and a panther, a male crocodile smokes a pipe... More about Noah's Ark
Moscow: Malich, c. 1980. Square quarto. 8ff. Illustrated with eight pop-up illustrations, two of which have movable elements. These illustrations were engineered by Viktor Andrievitch. The text is a Russian folk-tale, translated here into Portuguese by Natalia Voinova. The tale follows a hare whose wood house is taken over by... More about A Raposa, a Lebre e o Galo
Marcham, Oxford: Alembic Press, 2005. Two oblong quarto volumes. (22); (22)pp., accordion-fold. One of thirty-five copies. The two volumes are meant to be opened in tandem: the first volume contains a poem by Anne Bell printed in grey ink, illustrated with color linocuts, including five pop-ups, by the Australian-born painter... More about Corrugations; Some speculations on Australian Tin
(1968). An uncommon die-cut pop-up card depicting a nativity scene set in ancient Bethlehem, beneath palm trees and a starry night sky. Cattle, goats, sheep, and an elephant surround the manger, as the magi and others bring gifts. Presiding over the scene is an angel carrying a banner proclaiming "Gloria... More about Vánocní Betlém [Bethlehem Christmas
(Bangor: Tatlin Books, 1996). (12)ff. A prayer for safety on the way, with subtle decorations in color. The first eight pages unfold to show a wheel-like design. "Very little pagan influence can be seen in this poem, which seems more prayer than charm." A handsomely designed and printed book on... More about Anglo Saxon Journey Charm
