Tumble Down Pictures – Something New for the Little Ones Movable Book by Ernest Nister / E. P. Dutton, 1898

Ernest Nister / E. P. Dutton
Tumble Down Pictures – Something New for the Little Ones (Movable Book)
London / New York: Ernest Nister / E. P. Dutton, [1898].

First and only edition. Quarto (200 × 255 mm). 16 pages. Half red percaline over color-pictorial boards. Floral-patterned blue-and-white endpapers. Verses by Maud Carlton. Illustrations by E. Stuart Hardy. Cover design by H. M. Bennett ("Woodland Creatures").

This scarce and delightful Nister movable book presents six charming transformation plates, each altered by a folding top or bottom flap operated via silk pull-tabs. The book’s subtitle—Something New for the Little Ones—highlights the novelty of these vertical fold mechanics, a lesser-seen alternative to horizontal flap or revolving formats. Each scene changes dramatically as the flap is lifted or dropped, inviting surprise and laughter. Illustrations by E. Stuart Hardy include both full-page color compositions and numerous whimsical pen-and-ink vignettes throughout.

The six movable scenes include:

1. Baby Riding by the Sea

2. Bunny Was Foolish

3. Jack and the Beanstalk

4. She Bought a Carriage and the Baby Cried

5. Play Makers Merry

6. He Calls This Work

Condition: All movables fully functional and original. Pages show minor wear, with expert conservation to some gutters. A few lower right corners show minor chipping. Boards lightly rubbed. Overall, a well-preserved and complete copy of a scarce Victorian movable. See photos for details.

Collector’s Corner:
Quite Rare: No copies of Tumble Down Pictures are known in institutional holdings or major bibliographic databases (e.g., WorldCat, British Library, or Library of Congress). Its Very few copies exist in auction records or sales catalogs. The work is cited in The Publishers’ Trade List Annual (1899), priced at $1.25, described as “movable pictures, with verses by Maud Carlton and numerous pen and ink illustrations.”

References (Chicago Style):

1. The Publishers’ Trade List Annual. New York: Office of the Publishers’ Weekly, 1899, p. 1221.

2. Hunt, Julia. Peeps into Nisterland: A Guide to the Children's Books of Ernest Nister. London: Casmelda Publishing, 2006.

3. Haining, Peter. Movable Books: An Illustrated History. London: New English Library, 1979.