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The Flap Book (ENGL 333)
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The Flap Book (ENGL 333)
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Lecture 8: The Flap BookJanuary 25th, 2023
Introduction
● Like most movable books in general, flap books (also known as turn-ups or
metamorphoses) are a hybrid form.
● “[F]lap books embrace a wide variety of topics: initially concerned with biblical subjects
and moral instruction, they quickly turned to secular pastimes, such as puppet theatre,
equestrian entertainments, and the pantomime. The sections of the pantomime featuring
Harlequin were especially popular. Books drawing on these entertainments, later known
harlequinades, were first published around 1767 by Robert Sayer”
○ Using books to teach morality (religion is important here!)
● Big takeaway: you have the rise of public education in the 1700s (education is
considered something to be necessary…). Those who could send their kids to school
wanted to engage their kids in education (the flap book engaged them with colours!)
Sidebar: What Was the Commedia Dell’arte?
Immensely popular throughout Europe from the 16th to the 18th centuries.
● Influenced theatrical performance and creation (including Shakespeare), music, art and
film up to the present day.
● Performances were not scripted; they were improvised based on the characteristic actions
of the standardized (or ‘stock’) characters (or ‘masks’)
● Commedia included pantomime performance
● Harlequin was among the most popular characters
● Harlequin and other commedia characters survived in England as part of pantomime,
especially popular at Christmas, as well as in the Punch and Judy puppet plays.
○ “In terms of design, flap books are narrow octavo books consisting of a single
engraved sheet of paper folded perpendicularly into four sections. A second sheet
is cut in half and hinged at the top and bottom edges of the first so that each flap
can be lifted separately. The sheets are folded into four, like an accordion, and
then stitched into a paper cover. A verse on each section of the flap tells an
episode of a story, concluding with instructions to turn a flap to continue. When
the flap is turned either up or down, the viewer sees that half of the new picture
fits onto the half of the unraised flap. The act of lifting one flap after another
creatures a ‘surprise’ unfolding of the story”
○ Harlequin causes a problem and the problem is solved dramatically and then later
forgotten or marginalized for the rest of the play.
● Students being taught to distrust their senses.
Back to the Flap Book
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