The first movable books actually predate the print culture. The earliest
known examples of such interactive mechanisms are by Ramón Llull (c.1235-1316)
of Majorca, a Catalán mystic and poet. His works contain volvelles or revolving
discs, which he used to illustrate his complex philosophical search for truth.
Through his logic, he divided categories of things and ideas, substances,
adjectives and verbs, and knowledge and actions, into superior and inferior
groups. Each group was made up of units designated by letters, which were then
assigned appropriate sectors on circles of different sizes. The circles were cut
out and placed one on top of one another as "a method of obtaining a higher
knowledge of all things by simple mechanical means (the turning of circles) in
the shortest time" (Lindberg 51).
"During the nineteenth century, the French took an early interest in paper dolls
and went on to produce fine paper toys, including movables. The publisher A.
Capendu of Paris released several movables under the series Libraire enfantine
illustrée. Some were "pull-out" books, in the style of McLoughlin’s Little
Showman’s Series. However, the series also included "pull-the-tab" movables,
similar to those of Meggendorfer. Le Chaperon rouge, or Little Red Riding Hood,
is an example of a tab operated movable from the series…"
Pop Up and Movable Books: A Tour through Their History
From the Nineteenth Century to the Present
The University of North Texas Libraries
[Thanks to Evan "JabberWokky" E. for the .gif help ^_^]
