Paper Peepshows: an 18th century method to give books a third dimension

In the middle of the 18th century Martin Engelbrecht from Augsburg invented a way to bring drawings to life using a certain kind of perspective. He used a special cabinet with lenses and mirrors. More than half a century later printers in Vienna, London and Paris invented a similar effect with what we would now call a pop up book. Paper peepshows became available to a wider audience. The rich history of these graphic treasures is described by Ralph Hyde in his book about the Jaqueline & Jonathan Gestetner Collection. Gestetner, the man behind the Gestetner small format offset presses collected dozens of these unique paper peepshows which Hyde has now documented. An inspiration for any creative communicator. The book can be ordered via this link.