In celebration of World Pride, June Object of the Day posts highlight LGBTQ+ designers and design in the collection. This post has been excerpted and adapted from “Celebrating Pride Month with Paper Engineers,” originally published on Unbound, the blog of Smithsonian Libraries. The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library includes more than 2,000 pop-up and movable books dating from the sixteenth century to the present day—one of...

Unlike the vast number of entertainment options available to the 21st-century consumer, those in the early 18th century looked to paper peep-shows for leisure entertainment. A peep-show can also be thought of as a set for a miniature theatre; a series of backdrops. German artist and publisher Martin Engelbrecht (1684-1756) is credited with the creation...

Design comes in many forms and the elaborate paper constructions developed in the world of pop-up books still amaze and surprise children and adults alike. Combining both color and senses, the Cooper Hewitt Library houses several of these gems–most notably works by David A. Carter. A master paper engineer, he has created over 90 books,...

The Cooper Hewitt Design Library recently acquired another Lothar Meggandorfer (1847-1925) movable book for its pop-up and movable collection. He is known for his children’s book illustrations, but is best known as a movable book designer.