Activity Books

There are a number of books that require the reader to interact with the pages and pictures by manipulating tabs, folds, slots, flaps, wheels, stencils, panoramas (or concertinas), colored cellophane or some other device to make the figures appear to "move." Some require the use of scissors, or paste or both. It is generally accepted that the first of these to be shared with children were the harlequinades or metamorphoses of Robert Sayer who began creating them in the 1770s. The French were the first to produce pages with pull-tabs and in London S. and J. Fuller's Temple of Fancy turned out a series of riches-to-rags-to-riches tales, complete with a cut-out head that could be moved from one appropriate outfit or setting to another as the tale progressed. Ingenious peep-shows were created by M. Engelbrecht in Germany where a century later the world was enchanted by the movable world of Lothar Meggendorfer. Kubasta of Czechoslovakia and Paul Faucher of Paris maintained the tradition into the 20th century. Today these masters are called "paper engineers."

Militarisches Ziehbilderbuch

MILITARISCHES ZIEHBILDERBUCH by Lothar Meggendorfer. Munchen: Braun Und Schneider, n. d.
Lithograph illustrations, color printed, created by C. Wolf & Sohn, Munchen. Wonderful military toy book by the master. Exhibit checklist 15.1 (View this item)

Das Zauberboot

DAS ZAUBERBOOT. By Thom Seidmann-Freud. Berlin: Herbert Stuffer, 1930.
Lithograph illustrations, color printed. Freud (the niece of Sigmund Freud born Martha Gertrude) and her husband started a small publishing firm in Berlin in the 1920s. Shown is "Das Neue Wunderhaus". By pulling the tab at the bottom of the page, scenes in the windows change. Exhibit checklist 15.2 (View this item)

ABC Painting, Reading

ABC PAINTING, READING. Racine, WI: A. Whitman, 1934.
Lithograph illustrations, color printed. Alphabet rhymes. Coloring book with printed page examples. Exhibit checklist 15.3 (View this item)

Designs of Architectural Models To Be Erected With Richter's Anchor Blocks, No. 4

DESIGNS OF ARCHITECTURAL MODELS TO BE ERECTED WITH RICHTER'S ANCHOR BLOCKS, NO. 4. Leipzig: Verlag Von Richters Verlags-Anstalt, n. d.
Instruction booklet with relief illustrations, color printed. Original box and bricks. Exhibit checklist 15.4 (View this item)

Hokusai Drawing Book

HOKUSAI DRAWING BOOK (ryakuga): A book on drawing by one of the world's greatest artists. The wooden blocks were created in 1812 but this printing, from the original blocks, was probably made during the Meiji period (late 19th century) based on the design of the covers and the paper used. Exhibit checklist 15.6 (View this item)

The House That Jack Built Alphabet

THE "HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT" ALPHABET. By Walter Crane. London and New York: Ward, Lock, and Co, [ca. 1880s].
Relief illustrations, color printed, called color chromoxylographs. A coloring book with one page printed in color and one page to be colored by the child. Exhibit checklist 15.7 (View this item)

Children's Drawing Book

CHILDREN'S DRAWING BOOK by J. & P. Coats. Pawtucket, R. I.: American Works, The Coats Thread Co., n. d.
Relief illustrations, uncolored. A 19th century advertising booklet with designs over a grid to aid duplication. Coats was a premier manufacturer of sewing and embroidery threads. Exhibit checklist 15.8 (View this item)

Le Petit Paysagiste: Modeles de Dessine, Pour de Jeunes Enfant, Graves Par Les Meilleurs Artistes

LE PETIT PAYSAGISTE: MODELES DE DESSINE, POUR DE JEUNES ENFANT, GRAVES PAR LES MEILLEURS ARTISTES. Paris: Chez Bellavoine, Libraire, [ca. 1820].
Hand colored cards to be used as drawing models. Exhibit checklist L.103 (View this item)

Nister's Panorama Pictures: A Novel Colour Book For Children

NISTER'S PANORAMA PICTURES: A NOVEL COLOUR BOOK FOR CHILDREN. London: Ernest Nister; New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., [1890-1899].
Relief illustrations, color printed in Bavaria. Ernest Nister took over a chromolithographic shop in Nurnberg in 1877. At his death in 1909 the company had 800 employees with publishing houses in Nurnberg, London and New York. Some of his paper engineering techniques were patented. The company survived the First World War but closed in 1927. Its archives (records and file copies) have never been found. Exhibit checklist L.106 (View this item)

Counters

COUNTERS
In the original wooden box. Ivory rectangles stained red with letters incised exposing the white layer under the surface. Exhibit checklist L.16 (View this item)