Rosie's Ramblings

February 5, 2002

Hello Out There,

I'm devoting this month to some of my favorite needle books -- The Pop-Ups. I fell in love with these books from the first time I saw them. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, these needle books have a scene which pops out when the book is opened. I remember thinking that I would never actually own one. Now I have twenty.

Although they are found here in the USA, they seem to be more plentiful "down under" in Australia and New Zealand. This is especially true of the "Novelty Needle Book" series made in Japan. I would give ANYTHING to own a Novelty Needle Book catalog....just to see everything that was made. The novelty pop-ups usually feature nursery rhyme or fairy tale characters. Quite a number of companies made pop-ups. Some that come to mind are Wittekind, Dosco, Akra and Prym. I'm sure there are others. Quality varies, but I firmly believe the European ones are prettiest.

I have made a vow that if I ever find a pop-up in person, I will yell "Eureka". So far I have not had to embarass myself. Thank heavens for eBay, or I would never even know that they existed.

I am displaying four this month. The first is from the "Novelty" series. It is the Old Women Who Lived in a Shoe. The reverse shows children of the world playing "Ring Around the Rosie". Here is its inside.

I'm not sure of the fairy tale/nursery rhyme origin of the second "Novelty" series book. Perhaps someone can enlighten me. It pictures a little girl feeding ducks. Here is its back. Here is its inside. This one seems newer than most.

The third book is titled Dolly and I. It is marked "Falcon" - Made in Japan. Here is its inside. The last was a gift from a generous friend in New Zealand. It is marked Wittekind and was made in Germany (Thank you again, Erin). Here is its inside. I didn't include a picture of the reverses of the last two because they both feature uninteresting pin cushions.

If you have an unusual pop-up, send me a picture! I love seeing them. If you don't have a pop-up, write me anyway. Sometimes it's lonely in cyberspace.

Rosie

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