Toy and Movable Books
Little Henry had an exciting life — he was kidnapped, forced to beg, sold to a chimney sweep, became a regimental drummer, joined the navy, fought fiercely in battle, and was promoted to midshipman. Each stage of his saga is represented by a costume into which his head can be fitted.
The Orphan Girl was published by Dean & Co., the earliest mass-producer of books with pull tabs, see-through holes, and other moving parts.
The Lady’s Toilet, here represented by an unlicensed American adaptation, compares the virtues suitable to a young woman with items on her dressing table; the symbolism is revealed by lifting a flap.
Larger flaps are used in Metamorphosis, whose short verses are revealed along with transforming images as you open the segments successively.
This “metamorphic” structure was also used in Cinderella: larger flaps change the scenery while smaller flaps reflect the narrative.
Ernest Nister was the first publisher to introduce automatic pop-ups, where opening the page brought the figures up into three-dimensional tableaux, as Puss in Boots does.