Ernest Nister, London; E. P. Dutton & Co., New York, [n.d., ca. 1910].
Changing Pictures (Movable Transformation Book). Verses by Constance M. Lowe.
4to (11 3/8 x 9 inches). [16] pp. Pictorial glazed boards, cloth-backed spine. Printed in Bavaria. No date, but circa 1910 based on catalog listings and printer’s device. Title-page vignette features young girls holding lanterns among garden foliage. Cover and content design attributed to Ernest Nister, a hallmark of his transformation books jointly published with Dutton for the transatlantic market.
Movable Mechanism:
Each of the six transformation pages contains two separate revolving wheels—one at the top and one at the bottom—each independently operated by its own silk ribbon. These wheels do not function in tandem; instead, each can be manipulated individually, allowing the viewer to change different parts of the image in a variety of ways. This dual-ribbon, double-wheel format is an unusually sophisticated variation on Nister’s typical transformation design. All mechanisms are operated by original silk cords that remain attached and functional.
Contents:
Six full-page color transformation plates show scenes that change when the attached silk ribbons are pulled. Each illustration is backed with verses by Constance M. Lowe and surrounded by pictorial border engravings. Scenes include:
A baby tugging at a cat and tearing the hem of the cat’s ribbon round; it scampers off in alarm.
A little girl rocking her doll in a cradle, as a younger child watches.
Two children in a donkey cart, coaxed forward by a pony boy.
Two girls hanging lanterns in a summer garden (as seen on the cover).
A baby reaching from a tree for a kite tangled in branches.
A sleepy boy abandoned by his dog, who has run to greet a returning master.
Each transformation consists of a top chromolithographed sheet with die-cut openings that reveal a hidden image underneath when the ribbons are pulled.
Condition:
All six transformation mechanisms are fully functional and retain both original silk pull ribbons. One movable has some paper loss on the foreground die-cut sheet (not the moving scene beneath)—see photo. Several interior pages have mild chipping along the outer edges, consistent with age and handling. Some pages remain bound; others are loose but present. Boards show moderate corner wear. No writing or repairs noted. Binding worn but original.
Collector’s Corner:
This title is quite scarce. No other copies are currently found in online records or institutional library catalogs. The only confirmed holding we could locate is in the Winterthur Museum collection. It is cataloged and described in Peeps into Nisterland (p. 310).