Word of the Day: Amanuensis

Amanuensis \uh-man-yoo-EN-sis\ noun

1.  A person employed to take dictation or to copy manuscripts.

Origin: Amanuensis comes from Latin, from the phrase (servus) a manu, "a slave with handwriting duties," from a, ab, "by" + manu, from manus, "hand".

Vintage Movable Review: Black Cat, White Cat

Today we are looking at a pop-up book of opposites. Black Cat, White Cat was created by Chuck Murphy in 1998. (It should not be confused with the excellent Yugoslavian adult comedy that came out the same year.) This smaller format, five spread book was published by Simon & Schuster as a follow up to his successful series that includes One to Ten and Color Surprises. Chuck Murphy is one of most solid paper engineers ever to lay scissors to paper and his work is among the first I turned to when I was teaching myself about pop-ups. He has a very easy and distinctive style, with high contrast graphics that compliment the rhyming text. I always get the feeling that his books are all very well thought out with careful attention paid to his children audience. You can read more about Chuck’s ideas from an older interview with Robert Sabuda and learn about his background from a short biography found at Random House.

I’ll leave you with a short video of the finale in this book. Still pictures just would not suffice. Enjoy!

~Kyle

We're Having a Giveaway!

This month to celebrate the release of our newest book Encyclopedia Mythologica: Monsters & Dragons, we are having a giveaway contest!  One lucky reader can win a personalized copy of a Limited Edition Encyclopedia Mythologica: Monsters & Dragons!  The Limited Edition Encyclopedia Mythologica: Monsters & Dragons is a cloth bound pop-up book that has a special pop-up in the cover of the book and has a cloth covered slipcase.

Enter to win by commenting on this post and leaving your name and email address.  We will choose a winner at random and the contest will close on June 15th.  We will contact the winner via email to confirm the personalization of the book.  Good luck!

Word of the Day: Pogonip

Pogonip \POG-uh-nip\ noun

1. An ice fog that forms in the mountain valleys of the western United States.

Orign:  Pogonip originates as a word of the Shoshone people, paγɨnappɨh, "thunder-fog".

History Lesson: Captain Blood

On May 9, 1671, Thomas Blood, who was an Irish adventurer better known as "Captain Blood," was captured for attempting to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.

He had disguised himself as a priest and managed to get up to the Jewel House and past the keeper.  The keeper's son showed up unexpected and was able to sound an alarm about the robbery.  King Charles was so dazzled with Blood's audacity to steal the Crown Jewels that he made him a member of his court instead of punishing him.

Artist Watch: Luisa Canovi

I had the pleasure of meeting Luisa Canovi at the beginning of last year and was lucky enough to work along side her in an internship at her studio.  She's an incredible artist specializing in origami, suminagashi (whirled patterns that are produced on paper when ink is floated on the surface of water, very much like marbling paper), mobiles, oriental binding, and many other arts related to paper.  She introduced me to the magic of paper, teaching me the secrets and the beauties of this material.  Check out more about her incredible paper sculptures and her other works here:

http://www.origami-do.it

~Gio

Weekly Beast: Nomura's Jellyfish

Nomura's Jellyfish (Nemopilema nomurai) is a very large jellyfish that was discovered to be a new species in 1921.  The average diameter of a Nomura's Jellyfish is 6.6 feet and they weigh up to 440 pounds!  They primarily live in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.  Though because of global warming these jellyfish (well, most jellyfish in general) are starting to inhabit more of the ocean, including the North Seas, Mediterranean, and Chesapeake bays.

Word of the Day: Autoschediastical

Autoschediastical \aw-toh-SKEE-dee-az-tik-uhl\ adjective

1.  Something improvised or extemporized (to do or manage something in a makeshift way).

Origin: Autoschediastical enters English from the Greek by way of the German autoschediázien, "to extemporize."

Whats Popped Up: Pop-up Events

Matthew Reinhart had a great time this past Saturday at Books of Wonder sharing his new Dragons & Monsters pop-up book and signing copies along side prestigious picture book illustrators Leo & Diane Dillon. If you missed the event, you can still stop by the bookstore and see the paper dragon window display and pick up an autographed book.

And if you are in the D.C. area tomorrow be sure to catch the final talk in a series of pop-up lectures when Bruce Foster will talk about “The Magic and Math of Harry Potter, The Pop-Up Book” at noon in the Carmichael Auditorium at the National Museum of American History.

~Kyle

Word of the Day: Lineament

Lineament \LIN-ee-uh-muhnt\ noun

1.  A distinctive shape, contour, or line, especially of the face.  Or a distinguishing characteristic feature.

Origin:
Lineament comes from Latin lineamentum, "feature, lineament, from linea, "line".

Vintage Movable Review: Six Brave Explorers

I am a huge fan of Kees Moerbeek. This Dutch designer has made dozens of books over the years and his newest title, Aesop’s Fables releases in October. But today, we are looking at one of my favorite pop-up books he created with his wife Carla Dijs. Six Brave Explorers was produced by Intervisual for Price Stern Sloan in 1988. It was printed and bound at Carvajal in Columbia. I was once told that during the design of this book, Kees and Carla were told that the book was too expensive so they had to cut some corners. And cut they did. This six-spread book has a unique triangular format that sliced their paper usage nearly in half. What a creative idea!

The format of this counting book is based off the “Ten Little Indians” children rhyme and Kees is not afraid to interject a little death and colonialism in the pages. The simple central pop-ups stand tall over the main characters and an easy flow is established throughout the book. This book was such a success that two other titles: Four Courageous Climbers and Oh, No Santa soon followed. Let’s hope that many more books spring from the mind of Kees Moerbeek.

~Kyle

Word of the Day: Bloviate

Bloviate \BLOH-vee-ayt\ verb

1. To speak or write at length in a pompous or boastful manner.

Origin: Bloviate is compared to blowhard "a boaster or braggart".

Word of the Day: Elbow Grease

Elbow grease \EL-boh grees\ noun

1.  Hard work; vigorous exertion.

Origin:  Elbow grease was a metaphor for manual labor, as in elbow grease is the best wax for polishing furniture.  Now in an extended sense it can refer to any effort, physical or mental.

DIY Pop Up: Mother's Day Card

Mother's Day is this Sunday!  Have you made your mom a card yet?  Why not make her a fantastic pop up card to show her how much she means to you?  Click the link here to get started!

History Lesson: Munch's 'The Scream' is Recovered

On May 7th, 1994, one of Norway's famous paintings, "The Scream" by Edvard Munch was regained almost three months after it was stolen from a museum in Oslo.  The painting was found in a hotel about 40 miles south of Oslo.  It was recovered undamaged.

The fragile painting was stolen during a 50 second break-in on February 12, 1994.  The two thieves that broke in left a note on the wall reading "Thousand thanks for the bad security!".  In January of 1996 four men were convicted and sentenced in connection with the theft.

Weekly Beast: Chaetopterid Worm

The Chaetopterus pugaporcinus dwells at 3,000 to 4,000 feet under the ocean's surface.  It has a segmented body like other polychaetes but the middle segments are highly inflated giving it a round shape.  These worms are approximately the size of a hazelnut.  The Latin name translates into "Chaetopterid worm" which roughly translates to "resembling a pig's rear".

Word of the Day: Peripatetic

Peripatetic \pair-uh-puh-TET-ik\ adjective

1. Of or pertaining to walking about or traveling from place to place; itinerant.
2. Of or pertaining to the philosophy taught by Aristotle (who gave his instructions while walking in the Lyceum at Athens).

Origin: Peripatetic derives from Greek peripatetikos, from peripatein, "to walk about," from peri-, "around, about" + patein "to walk".

Artist Watch: Simon Schubert

Simon Schubert is a Cologne, Germany based artist.  He was born in Germany in 1976.  He works in white paper that is folded to create images and mixed media sculptures.  Schubert is inspired by Surrealism and Samuel Beckett.

His folded white paper pieces are usually of imagined architectural scenes.  Check out more of Schubert's work here.

Whats Popped Up: Adie Pena Visits

A surprise guest dropped by the studio last Friday after a long delayed flight from Manila, Philippines. Pop-up collector and advertising guru, Adie Pena was in New York for one of his biennial visits to the States. It had been years since we last met at the Movable Book Society conference in Washington D.C. and I was eager to hear what Adie has been up to. It looks like he is busier than ever as teaching three advertising courses at the De La Salle -College of Saint Benilde, as well as helping with a local theater production that involves a dress that unfolds over the entire stage as figures appear like pop-up elements.

Adie has been collecting pop-up books and movable advertising for over 18 years and is known as one tough critic of paper engineering but we were able to get a some smiles out of him with a few sneak peeks of our upcoming projects like Puppies and Rescue. We hope that he enjoyed the city during the wonderful weather this weekend and his return flight was smooth enough for him to concentrate on his other passion, anagrams.

~Kyle

Word of the Day: Benthic

Benthic \BEN-thik\ adjective

1.  Of or relating to the bottom of a sea or lake.
2.  The animals and plants living at the bottom of a sea or lake.

Origin: From Greek benthos ''depth of the sea"