BEWEEGBAAR PRENTENBOEK – VERTOONINGEN
Leyden (Leiden): P.J. Trap.
Lithography by P.W.M. Trap.
Circa 1863–1865.
Rare early Dutch movable picture book Complete with original blank front and rear flyleaves and 8 hand-colored
lithographic plates and pull-tab mechanisms.
Royal octavo (26.7 × 17.8 cm).
Original printed pictorial wrappers.
Eight hand-colored lithographed movable plates with pull-tab mechanisms and accompanying verses.
Dutch edition of Dean & Son's Dean’s New Moveable book of Leotard, Blondin as the Ape, Female Blondin, etc
This edition belongs to Dean & Son's international publishing network. The firm worked with European publishers to issue localized versions of its most successful children's books, adapting both language and content for foreign markets while retaining distinctive Dean characteristics. The present example is one such continental edition, produced for Dutch-speaking readers but deriving from a Dean & Son original.
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DESCRIPTION
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An early Dutch movable book issued by the Leiden publisher
P.J. Trap, titled “Vertooningen” (“Performances” or “Exhibitions”),
forming part of Trap’s mid-19th century series of engineered children’s picture
books. Among the earliest surviving Dutch movable books, Vertooningen is an exceptionally scarce production from the pioneering Leiden publisher P.J. Trap. Issued in 1864 as part of Trap's celebrated series of hand-colored movable picture books, it belongs to the first sustained wave of mechanical children's books published in the Netherlands. Original Trap movables are seldom encountered in either institutional collections or the antiquarian trade, making Vertooningen one of the more elusive examples of early Dutch paper engineering.
The book consists of hand-colored lithographic plates, each
with an integrated pull-tab mechanism (trekstrook) activating movement within
the illustration. The printing credit on the cover reads “Steendr. v. P.W.M.
Trap,” identifying the lithographic printer within the Trap publishing family. Small nineteenth-century bookseller's label of J.H. & G. van Heteren affixed to the inside front cover
Thematically, the volume presents scenes of popular
entertainments and spectacles of the era — circus acts, theatrical pranks,
trained animals, and contemporary performance figures.
(All mechanisms appear largely functional; Some tabs appear below the scene and some on the side; see VG condition report below.)
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MOVABLE SCENES
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1. Animal Circus Performance (Monkey Musician and Donkey Act)
A trained monkey violinist performs while a costumed showman presents a donkey. The pull-tab animates the performers, creating a comic circus spectacle typical of nineteenth-century animal exhibitions.
2. Swans in the Water Basin
Two children and a lady observe a pair of elegant swans gliding upon a pond. The accompanying verse contrasts the purity of the swans with human conduct, giving the scene a mildly moralizing character.
3. Performing Monkeys and Acrobatics
Three costumed monkeys perform acrobatic tricks within a circus ring, including a handstand atop a chair. The pull mechanism animates the central performer and reinforces the illusion of movement.
4. Jan Klaassen and Katrijn
The famous Dutch puppet-show character Jan Klaassen attempts to frighten Katrijn by striking at a shuttered window with a broom. A sliding action reveals the comic reversal in which Katrijn surprises him instead.
5. Blondin on the Tightrope
A depiction of the celebrated French acrobat Jean-François Gravelet ("Blondin"), balancing upon a high wire. The scene reflects the enormous international fame generated by Blondin's Niagara Falls performances during the 1860s.
6. Elephant Exhibition
Children ride atop a trained elephant under the supervision of a keeper. The scene likely represents a traveling menagerie or zoological exhibition, popular forms of public entertainment in the nineteenth century.
7. Workshop Discipline Scene
A craftsman supervises two boys within a workshop or storehouse. One child appears to be punished or corrected while another wields a tool. The scene carries a didactic lesson concerning work, discipline, and behavior.
8. Blondin's Pancake-Cooking Feat
A second Blondin scene showing the performer cooking pancakes while balanced upon a tightrope. Contemporary accounts frequently highlighted such stunt performances, which combined danger with comic showmanship.
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CONDITION REPORT
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Binding:
Original printed wrappers present. Moderate rubbing and edge wear consistent
with age. The book block shows separation at the rear hinge but remains
structurally stable.
Text and Plates:
Lithographic plates remain bright and well-preserved with strong original
hand-coloring. Moderate foxing and age spotting to blank versos.
Mechanisms:
The pull-tab mechanisms remain present and operational. One tab
shows evidence of early repair/replacement. Complete other than minor loss to one movable component
(donkey leg). Some small loss to one backing sheet.
Overall:
A rare survival of an early Dutch movable with functional mechanics — uncommon
in this degree of completeness.
Dating this book: This
title is documented in Het Nederlandsche Boek (1863), p. 120, where it is
listed as:
“Vertooningen. Beweegbaar prentenboek. Roy. 8°. (8 gelith.
gekl. beweegb. prenten met versjes.) Leiden, P.J. Trap. ƒ 1,25.”
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COLLECTOR’S CORNER
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A copy of this edition is included in the Temperley Collection and described in A Moveable Feast: The Temperley Collection of Paper Engineered Pop-Ups, Transformations, and Other Surprises (Daniel Crouch Rare Books, 2026).
During the early–mid 1860s, Trap issued a small but
important series of Dutch movable (“Beweegbaar”) books — among the earliest
engineered pull-tab picture books produced in the Netherlands. Recent scholarship places Trap within the first sustained wave of Dutch movable-book publishing. While the earliest known Dutch movable title may be H.A.M. Roelants' De nieuwe Rijschool of 1856, the years 1860–1866 witnessed the emergence of several publishers producing movable books derived largely from English models. Among these, P.J. Trap of Leiden became one of the most important participants, issuing a series of movable books between 1862 and 1866, most of them adapted from Dean & Son originals.
The bookseller label shows that this copy of Vertooningen was retailed through the Amsterdam firm J.H. & G. van Heteren. The same firm is known from Dutch trade records to have acted on behalf of other publishers, including H.A.M. Roelants of Schiedam, publisher of the early movable book De Nieuwe Rijschool (1856).
Most of these titles represent a continental parallel to early
English movable books issued by Dean & Son, and predate the more
mechanically complex German productions of Lothar Meggendorfer in the
1870s–1880s.
Known titles in this Trap movable series (including a couple
Dean translations) include:
Het nieuwe Huis — 1862
Pull-movement book; 8 plates showing construction/furnishing of a house. Based on Dean’s The History of how Ned Nimble built his Cottage — 1861.
Kinderspelen — 1864
Movable picture book. Leiden, P.J. Trap. 1864. Royal octavo. With 8 lithographed, hand-colored movable illustrations with verses. Price ƒ1.25.
Later appears in Jan Vlieger’s 1876 catalog with only 6 plates.
Vertooningen — 1864
Pull-movement book with circus/performance scenes, including Blondin the tightrope walker.
Royal octavo. (8 lithographed, hand-colored movable illustrations with verses.) Price ƒ1.25.
Later appears in Jan Vlieger’s 1876 catalog with only 6 plates.
Based on Dean’s New Moveable book of Leotard, Blondin as the Ape, Female Blondin, etc
De van ouds bekende Chinesche Schimmen — 1864
Shadow-play movable book with black movable figures over colored backgrounds, covered by transparent sheets.
Based on Dean’s The Popular Performance of Galanti Show — 1861.
Kindervreugd. Nieuw beweegbaar prentenboek. - 1864
8 leaves with 8 lithographed, hand-colored movable plates. Gr. 4°. (8 bl. met 8 gelith. gekl. beweegbare platen.) Leiden, P.J. Trap. f 1,25."
Roodkapje — 1866
Royal octavo. Eight colored lithographs with movable mechanisms. Cloth binding. Original publication price ƒ1.25.
Later acquired/listed by Jan Vlieger.
Honderd wisselde Tafereelen — 1866
Flip/transformation book with six colored lithographs; small pictures fold back to create new scenes.
Although Trap's best-known movable books appeared between 1862 and 1866, advertisements indicate that the firm continued issuing movable picture books at least into 1868.
Trap’s movable books may not have been commercially successful, because by 1870 four of them appear in the catalog of Amsterdam publisher Jan Vlieger after the Trap firm stopped producing movable children’s books, the trade was taken up around 1875 mainly by I. de Haan in Haarlem and Jan Vlieger in Amsterdam. In his 1870 prospectus, Jan Vlieger listed four Trap titles: Chinese Shadows, Children’s Games, Performances, and Little Red Riding Hood — acquired from Trap in Leiden. The price dropped from 1.25 guilders to 80 cents, which strongly suggests remaindering/discount resale rather than a successful fresh edition.
Dutch movable books from this very early period are scarce,
particularly in functional condition. Compared to English and German examples,
Dutch productions were issued in smaller quantities and survive far less
frequently.
“Vertooningen” is especially notable for its contemporary
cultural references, including the figure of Blondin — a rare documented
appearance of this international celebrity within early movable book format.
About the Publisher and Lithogapher:
P.J. Trap was a mid-19th-century Leiden bookseller and
publisher active in illustrated juvenile literature and popular print
production. Operating during a period of rapid development in European
mechanical picture books, the Trap firm participated in the early Dutch
adaptation of the movable book format, issuing a small but significant series
of “Beweegbaar prentenboeken” between 1862 and 1866. These works represent
among the earliest engineered pull-tab picture books produced in the
Netherlands and form an important provincial contribution to the broader
European history of movable publishing.
P.W.M. Trap – The Lithogapher
The lithography for these titles was executed by P. J. Trap's eldest son, P.W.M. Trap
(Pieter Willem Marinus Trap, 1821–1905), whose imprint appears on the present
example as “Steendr. v. P.W.M. Trap” (Steendruk van P.W.M. Trap). A documented
Leiden lithographer, P.W.M. Trap operated a workshop on the Papengracht, a
commercial thoroughfare long associated with printers and booksellers. His
hand-colored lithographic plates formed the visual and mechanical foundation of
the Trap movable series.
Pieter Willem Marinus Trap founded his lithographic business
in 1848. Over the course of its existence, the firm grew into a respected
establishment producing high-quality color lithographs for both the domestic
and international markets. The workshop printed for major Dutch publishers
including A.W. Sijthoff, M. Nijhoff, W.E.J. Tjeenk Willink, and J. Enschedé,
placing the firm within the professional mainstream of 19th-century Dutch book
production.
By 1847, contemporary trade commentary confirms that the
Trap firm possessed an in-house lithographer whose work was regarded as
exceptional. An article in Maatschappij-Belangen noted that P. W. M. Trap
“possessed a lithographer who, according to the unanimous opinion of competent
domestic and foreign evaluators, could be counted among the best in the
profession,” particularly in the drawing and engraving of plates. This early
recognition underscores the firm’s technical strength in lithographic illustration
and helps explain the high production quality evident in Trap’s illustrated and
juvenile publications during the mid-nineteenth century.
The firm’s physical expansion reflects its commercial
success. Initially located at the Utrechtsche Veer, the workshop later operated
from Nieuwe Rijn 3, with an associated warehouse at no. 2. In 1853 Trap
purchased a property on the Ouden Vest between the Janvossensteeg and
Volmolengracht for 3,000 guilders from A.W. Sijthoff. By 1865 he had moved the
business to Papengracht, where over time he acquired Nos. 30, 32, and 34. The
firm would remain established at Papengracht 30–34 until 1929, giving the business
a documented operating span of roughly eighty years, as confirmed by the
industrial-heritage designation “De steendrukkerij van de firma P.W.M. Trap
1848–1929.”
A contemporary account of the firm’s fiftieth anniversary in
1898 provides rare evidence of its stature within the Leiden printing
community. The jubilee was commemorated ceremonially, with numerous tributes
from colleagues, staff, and civic officials. Employees presented an ornate gas
chandelier; professional associates gifted three etchings by prominent Dutch
artists Israëls, Mesdag, and J. Maris; and the mayor of Katwijk personally
delivered an honorary diploma on behalf of the Leiden Lodge. Such public recognition
suggests a firm of considerable local prestige and professional esteem.
The presence of both the publishing imprint “Leiden, P.J.
Trap” and the lithographic credit “Steendr. v. P.W.M. Trap” reflects a
vertically integrated family enterprise, combining local publishing,
lithographic printing, and mechanical book production within Leiden’s
19th-century book trade. Although several of the movable titles were
adaptations of contemporary English models, their lithographic execution,
typography, and visual tone remain distinctly Dutch.
P.W.M. Trap also lithographed movable-style work for other publishers, including De partij van Mevrouw de Poes for P.C. Hoog in Rotterdam in 1861, based on Dean’s Pussy’s Party, and later Telkens iets anders for Nijgh & Van Ditmar in 1875, based on Dean’s New Book of Dissolving Pictures.
P. J. Trap – The publisher
Pieter Johannes Trap was already active as a publisher of
illustrated children’s books in Leiden by at least 1846. Contemporary
bibliographic records list several juvenile titles issued under the imprint
“Leiden, P. J. Trap,” including Het eerste boekje van mijn lieven jongen, an
English-derived picture book issued “with plates,” Het vernieuwde prentgeschenk
voor kinderen, and De gelukkodin, a retelling of Mother Goose printed with
colored illustrations. These publications demonstrate that the Trap firm’s involvement
in illustrated juvenile literature preceded the formal establishment of the
lithographic workshop and that children’s picture books formed an early and
sustained component of the family business
The Trap publishing and bookselling firm in Leiden was
established by P.J. Trap no later than the early 1830s and continued as a
family business after his death in 1852, formally transferring to his son
C.J.H. Trap in 1874. The lithographic branch under P.W.M. Trap operated in
parallel, forming part of a multi-generational Leiden printing dynasty. Pieter
Willem Marinus Trap was the son of Pieter Johannes Trap (1796–1852) and the
grandson of Pieter Hendrik Trap (1764–1831), both active as printers and publishers
in Leiden. His mother, Maria Oudshoorn (1795–1821), died one day after his
birth.
Early notices ( Nieuwsblad voor den Boekhandel (Amsterdam),
jrg. 17, no. 48, 28 November 1850.) indicate that Pieter Johannes Trap was
active not only as a publisher but also as a translator and distributor of
translated works, suggesting that the firm’s early catalogue included adapted
foreign literature prior to the establishment of the lithographic workshop.
By the mid-1860s the Trap firm was producing and supplying
printed cardboard sheets intended for cutting and assembly, indicating
participation in the broader nineteenth-century market for illustrated juvenile
and toy-book materials and suggesting a technical foundation for later
movable-book production. ( From: Nieuwsblad voor den Boekhandel (Amsterdam),
vol. 33, no. 3, 18 January 1866.)
Contemporary bibliographic literature further confirms
Trap’s technical reputation beyond local industrial memory. In the 1923
reference work Het Nederlandse boek in vertaling, P.W.M. Trap is singled
out among Leiden lithographers as “among the best in the field,” particularly
in the drawing and engraving of plates. The author emphasizes his precision
line work and notes his use of microscopic techniques in the execution of scientific
illustrations — specifically referencing plates prepared for botanical publications
on East Indian mosses issued by Dr. Molkenboer and Dozy. Such commentary
situates Trap not merely within commercial printing practice, but within the
technically demanding sphere of scientific lithography.
The same source records that Trap devised a mechanical
apparatus of his own construction in order to achieve perfectly even lines in
plate preparation — a detail of particular significance. This reference to
self-engineered technical innovation suggests that Trap operated at a level of
craftsmanship and mechanical sophistication comparable to leading continental
lithographic houses. The acknowledgment of his work by “domestic and foreign
judges” further implies a reputation extending beyond Leiden, reinforcing the
conclusion that the lithographic execution underpinning the Trap movable series
was the product of an established and highly skilled workshop.
References
Brinkman, C. L., ed. Catalogus van Boeken, Muziekwerken,
Kaarten, enz., in Nederland Uitgegeven. Amsterdam: C. L. Brinkman, 19th
century annual volumes. See entry for “Vertooningen. Beweegbaar prentenboek.”
Buijnsters, P. J. Lust en Leering: Geschiedenis van het
Nederlandse Kinderboek in de Negentiende Eeuw. Zwolle: Waanders Uitgevers,
2001. See section “Beweegbare boeken en andere bijzondere boekvormen.”
Gielen, Theo. “Lust en Leering: Dutch Movables in the 19th
Century.” Movable Stationery 9, no. 2 (May 2001): 3–14.
Haining, Peter. Movable Books: An Illustrated History.
London: New English Library, 1979.
Het Nederlandsche Boek. ’s-Gravenhage: [publisher], 1863.
Page 119–120. Trade listing for “Vertooningen. Beweegbaar prentenboek. Roy. 8°.
(8 gelith. gekl. beweegb. prenten met versjes.) Leiden, P.J. Trap. ƒ 1,25.”
Montanaro, Ann R. A Concise History of Pop-up and Movable
Books. Boston: The Boston Athenaeum, 1993.
Vaderlandsche Letteroefeningen. Jaargang 1865. Trade listing
for “Kinderspelen” and “Vertooningen,” Leiden: P.J. Trap.
Nieuwsblad voor den Boekhandel. Vol. 41 (1874): 9. Notice of
succession of the firm of P.J. Trap, Leiden, announcing continuation under
C.J.H. Trap following the death of P.J. Trap (1852) and formal transfer
effective January 1, 1874.
Burgers, Wibo. “Achter de gevels van Papengracht 30–34: De
steendrukkerij van de firma P.W.M. Trap 1848–1929.” Tijdschrift over de
geschiedenis van werkend Leiden, vol. 19, no. 1 (March 2008). With assistance
from Joop Gijsman. Dutch industrial-heritage article, Leiden (providing firm
history, property acquisitions, publisher partnerships, and operational dates
1848–1929
Maatschappij-Belangen. 1847. 261. (Mid-nineteenth-century
Dutch trade journal attesting to the exceptional reputation of P. W. M. Trap’s
lithographic department, with specific praise for the firm’s plate drawing and
engraving quality, recognized both nationally and internationally.)
Nederlandse Bibliographie: Lijst van nieuw verschenen
uitgaven 68, no. 7 (July 1923): 3. Leiden: A.W. Sijthoff’s
Uitgeversmaatschappij. (documenting P.W.M. Trap’s professional reputation,
including praise of his precision lithographic plate work, use of microscopic
detail in scientific illustration, and construction of his own mechanical
device for exact line production)
A Moveable Feast: The Temperley Collection of Paper Engineered Pop-Ups, Transformations, and Other Surprises (Daniel Crouch Rare Books, 2026).