The Crib (Pop-Up Book)
New York: International News Company, [circa 1893]. Printed in Germany.
Large folio (35 × 28 cm). Three-panel fold-out pop-up book with chromolithographed nativity scenes. All parts original and functioning.
Description:
This exceptionally rare English-language edition of Die Krippe by J.F. Schreiber was imported and distributed in the United States by the International News Company of New York around 1893. Titled The Crib: A Picture Book for Standing Up, the edition retains the architectural triptych structure and vivid chromolithographic printing of the original German version. When opened and assembled, the book unfolds into a striking free-standing nativity scene measuring approximately 14 × 33 inches.
Each of the three connected panels presents a separate pop-up scene, with multi-layered die-cut paper figures staged in deep perspective. The titles of the three scenes are printed on the cover:
Scene 1 – The Birth of Our Savior in a Manger: A rustic stable with sheep, a cow, and a man leading a camel.
Scene 2 – The Adoration of the Herdsmen: Joseph and Mary appear in the background holding the Christ child, while multiple layers of figures—including shepherds, animals, and a mother holding doves—occupy the foreground. The viewer is drawn into the scene as a participant.
Scene 3 – The Adoration of the Three Holy Kings: An angel holding a palm branch stands beside a richly robed king atop a camel as they approach the Holy Family.
The front cover depicts Mary cradling the infant Jesus as Joseph looks skyward, flanked by adoring shepherds. Boards remain clean with only light toning and minor corner wear. A small tear to the upper corner of the front image has been professionally stabilized. Spine has been rebacked. All pop-up elements are complete, original, and fully functional. Fold-down supports are intact.
Condition:
Very Good to Near Fine. Light edge wear and faint age toning. Small repaired tear to upper front corner. Professionally rebacked spine. Pop-up mechanisms are original and in excellent working order.
Rarity: Despite its historical connection to one of the most prolific 19th-century German picture book publishers, The Crib is virtually absent from the public record. No copies are listed in WorldCat, and no institutional holdings have been identified in the British Library, Library of Congress, or other major collections. Furthermore, we have seen very few copies surface in major auction databases or antiquarian sales over the past two decades. The Crib is one of the most elusive movable English Christmas books of the 19th century.
Collector’s Corner:
The Crib is among the rarest known English-language pop-up books issued by the International News Company, the American import arm of the powerful American News Company. Known primarily for its distribution of European illustrated periodicals and gift books, International News Company imported German mechanical books and adapted them for the English-speaking market.
Like The Columbus Panorama and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, The Crib follows the same folio format with three connected scenes and elaborate die-cut paper engineering. All were printed in Germany and distributed by International News in New York as part of their holiday catalog.
An advertisement for The Crib appeared in the back of The Surrender of Margaret Bellarmine: A Fragment by Adeline Sergeant (New York: International News Company, 1895, p. 315). The ad promoted four “folio-size gift books for children presented in theater style”: The Crib, The Columbus Panorama, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, and selections from the Showman’s Series. No other known copy of The Crib is currently available online or recorded in major institutional catalogs, suggesting extreme scarcity in the English edition.
Publication Note Update:
A variant edition of The Crib has surfaced bearing the imprint “The A. Riffarth Co., 42 Barclay Street, New York,” a firm described in historical directories as “Church Furnishers, Publishers and Importers.” This company is not to be confused with the German printing house Meisenbach, Riffarth & Co., which specialized in chromolithography. The A. Riffarth Co. appears to have operated independently in New York, serving religious publishing markets. Whether they reissued The Crib or simply distributed overstock from International News Company remains unclear. The front cover of this edition states: THE CRIB THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS, THE BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOUR IN A MANGER, THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI. THREE PICTURES IN PERSPECTIVE FOR CHRISTIAN CHILDREN. A. RIFFARTH, 42 BARCLAY ST., NEW-YORK. The A. Riffarth version is most likely a later American reprint, c. 1895–1905
References:
Whitten, Blair. Paper Toys of the World. Cumberland, OH: Hobby House Press, 1986, pp. 20, 68. (Provides publication context for The Columbus Panorama and supports dating of The Crib.)
Advertisement in Adeline Sergeant, The Surrender of Margaret Bellarmine: A Fragment. New York: International News Company, 1895, p. 315. (Lists The Crib and related titles in International News Co.'s theater-style book catalog.)
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