TIP + TOP + TAP CHEZ LES DRAGONS 1964, A VOJTECH KUBASTA POP-UP BOOK, FEATURING SIX DOUBLE-PAGE POP-UPS OF TIP, TOP, AND TAP WITH DINOSAURS

KUBASTA, Vojtech. Tip + Top + Tap chez les dragons. Prague: Artia, 1964. Quarto, original half white cloth, original pictorial boards. $875.

First French edition of this dinosaur-themed installment in the Tip + Top + Tap series, featuring an original story and six wonderful, double-page, folio pop-ups.

This wonderful pop-up book includes an original story and six large, double-page pop-ups (10 x 10 x 10 inches) about two boys and their dog having adventures with dinosaurs. "Kubasta's talent as a graphic artist was to combine a robust graphic style of great charm and humor with a puppet-master's flair for story-telling in three dimensions" (John Michael Dawson). "His distinctive bold and colorful figures, as seen in this work, became increasingly popular. After the Czech publishing industry was nationalized in 1948, Kubasta began creating advertising materials for Czech products abroad that included three-dimensional cards for items such as Pilsner beer, porcelain and sewing machines. Beginning in the 1950s, he developed elaborate paper construction crèches annually each Christmas season… His beautifully designed and intricate pop-ups were later produced from the 1960s-1980s worldwide and became the inspiration for the revival of the pop-up book industry in America" (Stephen Van Dyke, Smithsonian Libraries). "Kubasta's faux-naif style with a Bohemian flavor is somewhat exotic to an American eye" (Ellen G.K. Rubin), and "today, original editions of his illustrations and books are sought after by collectors from around the world" (James A. Findlay). Kubasta's works were all printed in Czechoslovakia using a special pre-war press at the state-run company, Artia Prague. They were then published for various markets, including France. The moveable sections of Kubasta's pop-ups are often found damaged; this copy is mostly intact. Text entirely in French. See Montanaro, 312.

Moveable tab controlling Iguanodon's head fragile, Tip moveable not present in Brontosaurus pop-up, folding to fragile pull tab controlling Top's upper body in Brontosaurus pop-up, only light wear and soiling to binding. A bright, lovely copy in extremely good condition.