Bancroft & Co. / Artia
Tip + Top Go Camping (Pop-Up Book)
London / Prague: Bancroft & Co. Ltd. / Artia, 1962.
First edition. Square 4to (250 × 255 mm; 10 × 10¼ inches). Original cloth-backed pictorial paper-covered boards. Six double-page color pop-up scenes, each incorporating integrated movable elements such as tabs and rotating parts.
A vibrant example from the celebrated Tip + Top pop-up series designed by Czech artist and paper engineer Vojtěch Kubašta (1914–1992), one of the most influential figures in 20th-century movable book design. In this title, the energetic brothers Tip and Top embark on a whimsical camping adventure. Each spread unfolds into a richly colored three-dimensional tableau, depicting scenes such as pitching a tent, fishing, paddling a canoe, and encountering wildlife.
Condition: Pop-ups all complete and fully functional. No missing or repaired parts. Binding clean and firm with minor edgewear and light bumping to lower corners. Interior remarkably well preserved with no writing or ownership marks. Near fine overall.
Collector's Corner:
In Pop-Ups from Prague: A Centennial Celebration of the Graphic Art of Vojtěch Kubašta (Toronto Public Library, 2014), Ellen Rubin, Kubašta expert, author, and movable book researcher, shared: “He wanted to create real characters reflecting 20th-century children, and taking into account a worldwide market, he needed to use names that were accessible in any language.” This quote, from a 2013 email from Kubašta’s daughter, Dagmar, sheds light on the origin of the Tip + Top characters.
Originally conceived by Czech artist and paper engineer Vojtěch Kubašta for international audiences, the Tip + Top series was produced by the state-run publishing house Artia in Prague and distributed globally between the early 1960s and early 1970s. These books were never published in Kubašta’s native Czech and were instead intended as cultural exports, often co-published with local firms in target markets. The series was issued in numerous languages—including English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Finnish, Swedish, Japanese, Polish, and Hungarian—with localized titles and occasional variant cover art. Though the content and illustrations remained largely consistent across editions, the publisher imprint, language, and title often changed depending on the region. What follows is a consolidated reference list of known international editions of each title, organized by language and market. Vojtěch Kubašta’s pop-up books have been published in 24 different languages, but we have so far identified editions of the Tip + Top series in only 13 languages.
Tip + Top Publisher List (with Publisher and Printer Info)
Czechoslovakia: Published and printed by Artia, Prague — the original producer of all Tip + Top titles.
United Kingdom: Published by Bancroft & Co., London, co-produced and printed by Artia.
United States: Published by Westminster Books (an imprint of Bancroft), printed by Artia.
France: Published by Librairie Sedon, Rochefort; printed by Artia (likely — editions typically note “Imprimé en Tchécoslovaquie”).
Germany: Published by Carlsen Verlag, Hamburg / Reinbek; most editions likely printed by Artia, though some may be local reprints.
Italy: Published by Cino del Duca, Milano and Le Edizioni Mondiali, Milano; printed by Artia (confirmed in most editions).
Spain: Published by Bancroft y Cía., London (Spanish-language Bancroft imprint); printed by Artia.
Netherlands: No separate Dutch publisher listed; editions such as Tip + Top boven de wolken are directly published and printed by Artia.
Belgium: Distributed bilingual or Dutch/French editions; produced and printed by Artia, no local publisher confirmed.
Sweden: Published by Bokkonsum, Stockholm; printed by Artia (Czechoslovakia).
Finland: Published by Tammi, Helsinki; printed by Artia (noted as “pain. Tšekkoslovakiassa” on the colophon).
Poland: No local publisher listed; Polish-language editions were produced and printed by Artia.
Hungary: No local publisher listed; Hungarian-language editions were printed by Artia and distributed locally.
Japan: Published by Iwasaki Shoten, Tokyo (e.g., Building a Car); printed by Artia, edited by Da Kapo Doujin.
Titles in this series that we have found so far include:
Tip + Top Go Camping
English – Tip + Top Go Camping
German – Tip + Top im Walde
Hungarian – Tip + Top az erdőben
Dutch – Tip + Top in het bos
Italian – Tip + Top al campeggio
French – Tip + Top partent en camping
Japanese – キャンプへいく (Kyampu e iku)
Spanish – Tip + Top en su campamento
Swedish – Tip + Top i skogen
Tip + Top Build a Motorcar
English – Tip + Top Build a Motorcar
Dutch – Tip + Top bouwen een auto / Tip + Top als autorijders
French – Tip + Top construisent une voiture
French (variant title) – Tip + Top et les automobiles
Finnish – Tip + Top autoilijoina
Spanish – Tip + Top fabrican un coche
Swedish – Tip + Top kör bil
Italian – Tip + Top costruiscono un’automobile
Tip + Top Go Flying
English – Tip + Top Go Flying
Dutch – Tip + Top boven de wolken
French – Tip + Top prennent l’avion / Tip + Top et les avions
Hungarian – Tip + Top a repülőtéren
Finnish – Tip + Top lentämässä
Italian – Tip + Top tap e gli aerei
Japanese – そらをとぶ (Sora o tobu)
Tip + Top and Tap Look at a Ship
English – Tip + Top and Tap Look at a Ship
French – Tip + Top et Tap regardent un bateau
Dutch – Tip + Top kijken naar een schip
German – Tip + Top als Seefahrer / Tip und Top als Seefahrer
Italian – Tip + Top + Tap marinai
Japanese – ふねにのる (Fune ni noru)
Tip + Top On the Farm
English – Tip + Top On the Farm
Dutch – Tip + Top op de boerderij
French – Tip + Top à la ferme
Finnish – Tip + Top maalla
Polish – Tip + Top w zagrodzie
Japanese – トップとタップ のうじょうへいく
Spanish – Tip + Top en la granja
German – Tip + Top auf dem Bauernhof
Tip + Top Visit the Zoo / In the Menagerie
English – Tip + Top Visit the Zoo / In the Menagerie
French – Tip + Top dans la ménagerie
French (variant) – Tip et Top au zoo
Polish – Tip + Top w zwierzyńcu
German – Tip + Top im Zoo
Dutch – In de dierentuin – Het grote uitklap platenboek (Rebo, 1987)
Japanese – TIP+TOP at the Zoo
Spanish – Tip + Top en el zoológico
Tip + Top Go to the Moon
English – Tip + Top Go to the Moon
German – Tip + Top und die Mondrakete
French – Tip + Top dans la lune
French (variant) – Tip et Top sur la Lune
Polish – Tip + Top na Księżycu
Italian – Tip + Top e il razzo lunare
Tip + Top and the Dragons
English – Tip + Top and the Dragons
German – Tip + Top + Tap im Drachenland
French – Tip + Top + Tap chez les dragons
Italian – Tip + Top + Tap e i draghi
Swedish – Tip + Top i Draklandet
References:
WorldCat (OCLC) – https://www.worldcat.org
Libris (Swedish National Library) – https://libris.kb.se
Kansalliskirjasto (Finnish National Library) – https://fennica.linneanet.fi
Biblioteca Nacional de España (BNE) – https://catalogo.bne.es
National Diet Library of Japan (NDL) – https://iss.ndl.go.jp
Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog (KVK) – https://kvk.bibliothek.kit.edu
Polish National Library – https://katalogi.bn.org.pl
LastDodo – https://www.lastdodo.nl
Barnebys – https://www.barnebys.com
Biblio – https://www.biblio.com
Abebooks – https://www.abebooks.com
eBay (regional domains)
Movable Book Society Journals & Catalogs
Rubin, Ellen G. K. Pop-Ups from Prague: A Centennial Celebration of the Graphic Artistry of Vojtěch Kubašta (1914–1992) New York: The Grolier Club, 2014
All books are returnable within 10 days of receipt if not delighted for any reason.