Exhibition “Sempre allegri, Bambini!”

Lothar Meggendorfer and the Movable Book in Italy between the 19th and the 20th century

Movable Books and Picture Books in Italy between the 19th and the 20th Century
The Hoepli Case

In Italy, the history of movable books intertwines with that of picture books, and both represent innovations in a national context generally lagging behind the international scene. Starting from the 1870s, movable books and colour picture books imported from abroad were circulating in our country, particularly via some Milanese publishers such as Hoepli and Vallardi.

The focus of this exhibition is the role of Hoepli who, alongside his editions of Meggendorfer’s books, published large picture books for very young children, ABC books of extraordinary graphic quality, and movable books based on different mechanisms: scenic books, pull-tab books, dissolving-view books, all of which demonstrate the creative potential of these precious artefacts. The first of these, Il libro magico del bene e del male (The Magic Book of Good and Evil), based on vertical shutter pull-tabs, appeared in 1879, derived from a German edition by Schreiber from 1865 that was widely distributed on the international market.

Over time, Hoepli broadened his sources beyond the German-speaking world, turning to other publishers such as the Anglo-American Nister, from whom he imported both picture books and movable books, including Gira, gira… (1899).

Thanks also to Hoepli’s detailed catalogues, it has been possible to shed light on a large part of this production, which is rare and scarcely represented in libraries. The volumes are displayed here in their Italian editions or, when these are not available, in the corresponding foreign-language versions that have been located.

The exhibition itinerary also includes a showcase devoted to a selection of movable books published by Antonio Vallardi.