Toy and Movable Books
Little Henry had an exciting life — he was kidnapped, forced to beg, sold to a chimney sweep, became a regimental drummer, joined the navy, fought fiercely in battle, and was promoted to midshipman. Each stage of his saga is represented by a costume into which his head can be fitted. The Orphan Girl was published by Dean & Co., the earliest mass-producer of books with pull tabs, see-through holes, and other moving parts.
The Lady’s Toilet, here represented by an unlicensed American adaptation, compares the virtues suitable to a young woman with items on her dressing table; the symbolism is revealed by lifting a flap. Larger flaps are used in Metamorphosis, whose short verses are revealed along with transforming images as you open the segments successively. This “metamorphic” structure was also used in Cinderella; larger flaps change the scenery while smaller flaps reflect the narrative. Ernest Nister was the first publisher to introduce automatic pop-ups, where opening the page brought the figures up into three-dimensional tableaux, as Puss in Boots does.
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Shury, Daniel Nathan. The History and Adventures of Little Henry, Exemplified in a Series of Figures. London: Printed for S. and J. Fuller at the Temple of Fancy, Rathbone Place, 1810.
The Orphan Girl. London: Dean & Co., 35, Threadneedle Street, 1812.
Murray, Hannah Lindley. The American Toilet. New York: Printed and published at Imbert’s Lithographic, 1827.
Sands, Benjamin. Metamorphosis, or, A Transformation of Pictures, with Poetical Explanations, for the Amusement of Young Persons. Philadelphia: G. Strong, 1834.
Perrault, Charles. Cinderella. New York: McLoughlin Bro’s, N.Y., 1882.
Weedon, Lucy L. The Land of Long Ago: A Visit to Fairyland with Humpty Dumpty. London: Ernest Nister, 1898.