Paper engineering
Pop-Up Books through the Ages
From the Newberry website.
Pop-up books go back centuries. Since at least the 1100s, readers have been lifting flaps, spinning dials, and opening elaborate three-dimensional spreads in the pages of books. The earliest interactive texts were intended for scholars. Over time, pop-up books found new audiences and grew in popularity, engaging a wide range of users from emperors to mathematicians to children.
Featuring books, maps, and ephemera from the Newberry collection, Pop-Up Books through the Ages traces the extensive history of hands-on reading. Tactile, interactive components can be found in everything from a 1489 astronomical calendar and a 1775 battle map to a 1932 edition of Pinocchio. Viewing these different items in one place, visitors will see how the art, science, and business of pop-up books evolved over hundreds of years.
The Smithsonian held a major exhibition in 2010: "Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop, and Turn."
Movable Book Society
The Movable Book Society honors the best in paper engineering through its awards program.
Meggendorfer Prize for Best Paper Engineering – Trade Publication. The Movable Book Society presents the Meggendorfer Prize for Best Paper Engineering for the most outstanding commercially published pop-up or movable book at its biennial conference. The award honors Lothar Meggendorfer (1847-1925), a legendary 19th-century illustrator and movable books paper engineer.
Meggendorfer Prize for Artist Books. This prize honors the best pop-up and movable artist book created in the past three years.
Emerging Paper Engineer Prize. This honor recognizes excellence in paper engineering among undergraduate and/or graduate students worldwide.
“Pop-up Books Are More Than Meets the Eye.” Smithsonian Magazine June 17, 2010.
I wish I could see this exhibit. Hearing about pop-up books brings up happy memories of childhood. We had a couple of pop-up books that were brought out at Christmas and other special days for us to read and treasure. Lots of fun but long gone.
Thanks for the fun memories. The artists who created those books moved on to become package designers. They create those cardboard boxes to hold a product using minimal materials via careful fold and crimps.