Blue Ribbon Books
The "Pop-Up" Buck Rogers in a Dangerous Mission (Pop-Up Book)
New York: Blue Ribbon Books, 1934. First edition. From the Midget Pop-Up Series.
Miniature pop-up book, measuring approximately 3 3/4 x 5 inches. 60 pages. Includes one double-page color pop-up illustration and black-and-white illustrations throughout the text. Stapled binding with pictorial boards.
Issued as part of Blue Ribbon’s Midget Pop-Up Series, this title is one of five small-format volumes published in the early 1930s. The pop-up features Buck Rogers in a dramatic interplanetary action scene, rendered in vibrant color. The remaining text is fully illustrated in black and white, with dynamic line drawings extending the science fiction narrative for young readers.
Condition: Pop-up is fine, complete, and stands cleanly. Covers are in good condition with edge wear consistent with age. Several interior pages or signatures have been carefully tipped back in using bookbinding tape; see photos. Still a desirable and complete copy of one of the scarcest and most sought-after pop-ups of the Depression era.
Collector’s Corner:
Blue Ribbon’s Midget Pop-Up Series was among the earliest efforts to bring dimensional illustration into small, affordable children’s books during the early 1930s. Each title included a single central pop-up and black-and-white content adapted from existing children’s favorites and pop culture icons. According to auction authority Hake’s, The "Pop-Up" Buck Rogers in a Dangerous Mission is perhaps the most highly sought title in the series.
The complete Midget Pop-Up Series consists of:
The "Pop-Up" Buck Rogers – A Dangerous Mission
The "Pop-Up" Mickey Mouse – In Ye Olden Day
The "Pop-Up" Pop-Eye and the White Savages
The "Pop-Up" Little Black Sambo
The "Pop-Up" Peter Rabbit
Each title captures the stylistic energy of early 1930s commercial art and character licensing. The Buck Rogers volume, in particular, represents a major moment in science fiction’s crossover into youth publishing and merchandising.