A. CAPENDU (publisher).
Cendrillon (Pull-Up Diorama Booklet).
Paris: Librairie Enfantine Illustrée [A. Capendu], ca. 1890
A rare single-scene 19th-century multiple-layer pull-up or stage-set diorama, issued as part of Capendu’s Librairie Enfantine Illustrée series. This theatrical movable resembles the format of McLoughlin Bros.’ Little Showman’s Series and the German theatrical pop-ups by Loewensohn of Fürth.
This title features a unique structural element: the front board folds downward to form a “roof” for the stage set, allowing the theatrical scene to be fully enclosed. The short narrative text, printed upside down by design, is revealed when the board is folded into place—serving as both structural support and story panel.
The diorama consists of four intricate, fully original die-cut layers forming a dramatic fairytale tableau. In a particularly striking detail, a girl figure is shown running while on fire. The pop-up mechanism is fully functional and constructed with original blue paper hinge tabs and pull ribbon.
This single-scene diorama was also issued as part of Théâtre Miniature: Guignol, published by Capendu’s Librairie Enfantine Illustrée. That work comprised a bound toy theatre with four chromolithographed scenes — Croquemitaine, Guignol, Circus Corvi, and Cendrillon. The individual scenes from the theatre were likewise sold separately, much as Capendu did with the Grand Théâtre en Actions layered diorama booklets (ca. 1884), which were available both as a complete set and as stand-alone publications.
This rare Cinderella adaptation stands apart from standard toy theater formats due to its architectural innovation and narrative integration. Its scarcity is notable—despite an extensive search, no institutional holdings or additional copies have been located.
Condition:
Very Good. All original parts are intact and unrestored. Pop-up mechanism functions smoothly with all four diorama layers rising cleanly into position. Original blue hinge tabs and pull ribbon present. All layers are intact and present, with only minor edgewear to two levels. The front and rear covers retain their original artwork and exhibit some paper loss at the extremities. The fold-down “roof” feature is fully intact. No repairs. A well-preserved and highly unusual survival.
Collectors Corner:
According to Theo Gielen (Movable Stationery, Vol. 5, No. 3, September 1997, “Movable Struwwelpeters Worldwide”):
“In 1885 the publishing house of A. Capendu in Paris brought out a peculiar book with the title Théâtre Guignol (Punch and Judy Theater): each of the four pages has a very colorful pull-up, which, when opened, consists of three cut-out cards, one behind the other, picturing characters and props, the rear card picturing the background scenery, like a toy-theater. On the back of the rear scene is a printed play that can be performed in the paper theater pulled up, telling the stories of Punch and Judy, Cinderella, Circus Corvi and a story of an ogre. The book has been bound as a leporello so the four theaters can be placed one beside the other, forming a beautiful whole, extending to over one meter. The scene with the ogre surely is the history of the inky boys known from Hoffmann’s Struwwelpeter, shown also by the picture of Struwwelpeter on the front cover of the book — here in his French manifestation of Pierre l’Ébouriffé. It is really a beautiful book, and the paper engineering was used about the same time for the more well-known theatrical picture book showing the same kinds of scenes of Robinson Crusoe, Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood, and Sleeping Beauty. The four scenes of Théâtre Guignol were published by Capendu a few years later, about 1890, as a series of four separate books under the series name Librairie Enfantine Illustrée (see Whitton, p. 71, with a picture) and the part with the inky boys was then entitled Croquemitaine. Both the complete book and the four separate scenes are very rare.”
No copies located in WorldCat, BN Opale Plus, BnF Gallica, or international library catalogs as of July 2025.
Research suggests is unrecorded in the major bibliographies of movable books and toy theatres.