Eyes Open, Eyes Shut (Movable Pull‑Tab Cut‑Out Book, circa 1920s)
Publisher: Unknown
Date: Circa 1920s
Binding: Stiff pictorial wraps, saddle-stitched as issued
Format: 8vo (approx. 7 x 5 inches)
Pages: [Unpaginated, likely 6–8 leaves]
Movables: Full-page cut-outs with functioning pull-tabs
A delightful and exceptionally scarce early 20th-century movable book, Eyes Open, Eyes Shut features comical cut-out figures whose facial expressions change when tabs are pulled—their eyes open and their tongues extend. The anthropomorphic animals and characters (including a dog, cat, sailor, monkey, clown, and more) are rendered in full color with accompanying rhymed text on opposing pages. All characters are enhanced by precision-cut holes for eyes.
Each spread consists of a red-outlined preliminary sketch with a rhyme on the verso and a full-color movable figure on the recto. The eye and tongue movements are achieved by simple internal paper mechanics.
Condition: Very Good. Light wear to edges and corners; all movable parts intact and working. Colors bright, no tears or losses. A well-preserved survival of a fragile and highly unusual piece of movable book history. See photos.
Collector’s Corner:
No publisher imprint, copyright notice, or ISBN appears on the book, and no other institutional or retail copies are recorded in WorldCat, the NCC, or trade bibliographies. The style and materials suggest Central European or American manufacture in the 1920s. The format, with its fully functioning pull-tabs and emphasis on expressive figures, shows similarities to early novelty productions by publishers such as B. B. Ltd., Raphael Tuck, or unbranded German toy presses.