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
Attilio Mussino’s Animated Pinocchios: Picture Books, Movable Books and Educational Projects

After the success of the complete edition of The Adventures of Pinocchio published by Bemporad in 1911, Attilio Mussino produced the illustrations for a large-format album containing the first abridged version of the puppet’s story aimed at very young readers, which was also translated abroad. On the basis of current research, the first editions of these albums date back to the years before the First World War.

These same illustrations by Mussino provided the basis for the first picture book with movable figures inspired by Collodi’s masterpiece, which Bemporad presumably printed in those same years, before resuming full production after the war, in the 1920s.

In the 1940s, Mussino illustrated new animated versions for the publisher Franceschini, some with movable figures and others with relief figures.

The most interesting episode dates from the last years of Mussino’s life, when, living in Vernante and already elderly, he designed for the young readers of Il Giornalino, published by San Paolo, a series of cut-out illustrations to be assembled into movable plates. Displayed alongside these materials is the album devised by the great French artist Job for Hachette in 1907, which appears to be the first educational project on this theme.

To explore the construction process and the functioning of the plates created by both artists, several models have been recreated in card; these will also be used for educational workshops.

The section also includes a number of movable and three-dimensional cards created by the graphic designer Sergio Martinatto, whose extensive collection devoted to Pinocchio is housed here.