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METAMORPHOSES antique movable slice flap book - Bavaria -

METAMORPHOSES antique movable flap book - Bavaria -
movable slice flap book - Bavaria


 
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Title: NOVELTY METAMORPHOSES PICTURE BOOK Made in Germany- NEUESTES ERWANDLUNGS BILDERBUCH - NOUVEAUTE LIVRE DEMETAMORPHOSES.

Moveable changing pictures book - Bavaria

Undated - (ca. 1890)

Clown cover. flap/slice book with many funny combinations of animals and humans. 4 side chromolithograph pages.

"Optical Toys" who created and sold a 1999 repro of this work and printed on it's back cover that "this metamorphosis dates from the late nineteenth century and that this is a wonderful example of a long-ago drawing technique where each individual dot of color was applied by hand. It was called berlinern". Our observation of this nineteenth-century booklet however indicates Chromolithography which involved the use of multiple printing plates, each one for a different color, that were layered on top of each other to create a full-color image. The individual colors were applied using dots or small lines, rather than being blended together like in traditional printing processes. This process often resulted in images that had a distinctively "dotted" appearance, with the individual dots of color visible to the naked eye.


Note that this is the original nineteenth century edition - not the repro! However, we will be including a copy of the repro (also difficult to find) with your original metamorphosis as it makes a wonderful historical addition.

PAPER BOOKLET - 8.25" X 5.5" (21 X 14 cm.)

Condition: Very Good - Binding tight except cover tearing away 1/3 down on each end - see photo, else fine - all flaps are present.

Folds out to 3 sides each with 4 whole figures; inside, a system of 10 illustrated strips superimposed on 6 levels (three for each figure: head, trunk, legs / legs) that can be combined to form many other figures.

Collectors Corner:

The cheap paper metamorphosis-changing flap booklets that were produced in Germany during the late 19th century were primarily intended as novelties or amusements for children and adults alike. These booklets often featured whimsical illustrations of animals or people that could be mixed and matched by flipping different sections of the pages, creating new and humorous combinations. Some of the booklets were produced with different covers or packaging but contained the same interior illustrations. The illustrations in these booklets were often created by well-known artists of the time, who were commissioned to produce them for publishers. They were meant to be entertaining and fun and were often marketed as educational tools as well, with illustrations sometimes depicting various species of animals or showing different occupations and activities. The production of these booklets declined in the early 20th century, as other forms of entertainment, such as cinema and radio, began to gain popularity.

It's difficult to determine how many variations of these paper metamorphosis booklets were produced in Germany during the late 19th century, as many were likely produced by smaller, local publishers who may not have kept comprehensive records. Additionally, many of these fragile paper booklets have been lost or destroyed over time, making it even harder to determine how many variations there were. However, based on available information and surviving examples, it's clear that there were several different versions of these booklets.






In addition to being used for personal amusement, these booklets were sometimes used as promotional materials by companies, with their logos or products being incorporated into the illustrations.
$550.00



Product Code: A-3B

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