Mechanical book: What a Surprise This book contains images that dissolve and transform into others to illustrate a series of fairy tales, including Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Ernest Nister, a German printer working in Nuremberg, developed several such movable books in the 1890s. Written by Constance M. Lowe Paper engineering by Ernest Nister Published...

Pop-up book: The Jolly Jump-Ups Journey through Space From the late 1930s through the 1950s, The Jump-Up family appeared in a series of popular books detailing its adventures, which ranged from exploring a new house and neighborhood to crossing America in a trailer. In this story, the family ventures into space, visiting other planets and...

Mechanical book: Tony Sargs Treasure Book This colorful movable book contains adaptations of Rip Van Winkle, Treasure Island, and Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Tony Sarg, a German-American craftsman and illustrator best known for creating puppets for the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade in 1928 and the 1933 Chicago Worlds Fair. Created by Tony Sarg (18821942)...

Pop-up book: Dick Tracy: The Capture of Boris Arson The popular comic-strip character Dick Tracy was created by Chester Gould for the Chicago Tribune in 1931. Harold Lentz, the paper engineer for this as well as for several other Blue Ribbon Books and Pleasure Books publications in the 1930s, was a master of beautifully crafted...

The phrase “Web 2.0” refers to the rise of social media over the past four or five years, in which users post their own content as well as shaping the way existing content is viewed through commenting, voting, rating, tagging, and other forms of interaction. Blogging is a big part of this. Most people are...