Friday, November 23, 2012

Kinetic Pop up Books

I am still very intrigued by this book in the photograph I just created. I want to share with you a bit of what I have learned about the history of kinetic  pop up books.
 By their nature, we think of books as being two dimensional. But way back in the thirteenth century, Catalan  poet Ramon Illul used a revolving disc, also known as a volvelle, to illustrate his theories. I have one inside of this creation  of mine. Most early books were dedicated to the scholarly pursuits.It was not until the 1860's that publisher Dean & Sons of London, claimed to be the originator of mechanical books for children. I know I have bought pop up  books to give to a child, but somehow they are still in my personal library. Such fun to turn the pages and see what unfolds!
McLaughlin Brothers of New York brought the " Little Showman's Series " to America in the 1880's with three dimensional scenes. In 1929, Louis Giraud of London was influential with  some of his books described as " living models". In the 1930's, Blue Ribbon Publishers of New York first used the term "pop up" when they published animated Walt Disney characters. Now, there are pop ups with  music or lights. Whatever your fancy, it seems to be out there. 
I got into book arts because I am a calligrapher.I like making everything by hand. One of a kind, that is the challenge. To create an original.

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