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
Pasquale Fornari: a key collaborator of Ulrico Hoepli

Pasquale Fornari (1837-1923) played a crucial role in renewing and modernising Ulrico Hoepli’s publishing for children. He worked with Hoepli in an intense and long-standing partnership from the 1870s onwards, and also produced the Italian adaptations of several movable books.

A teacher at the Regio Istituto per i sordomuti (Royal Institute for the Deaf-Mutes) in Milano, Fornari became a pioneer in the education of deaf pupils, combining classroom practice, research, and contributions to books and journals. His interest in illustrated lexicography and his commitment to promoting learning through images – in line with the object-based method derived from Pestalozzi – brought him close to Hoepli. From this encounter grew a fruitful collaboration that offered young readers – mainly through carefully adapted German works – modern and engaging books for both learning and leisure reading, distinguished by high graphic and educational quality.