SHREVEPORT – How would you like to have a back-row seat to some of the most historic gatherings in human history?
The audience is placed in the back row via tunnel or telescopic books, manuscripts in which the viewer looked through a peephole as the scene unfolded down an accordion-style tunnel.
Attendees can peruse these and other pop-up style books in the exhibit:” The Art of Pop-Up Books & Paper Peepshows” at the James Smith Noel Collection on the third floor of the Noel Memorial Library.
Three of the telescopic books capture the 1851 Great Exhibition, the first-ever international exhibition, held in London’s Hyde Park.
The viewer gazes down a replica of the lengthy Crystal Palace, a structure more than 1,800 feet long and encompassed nearly 1 million square feet, to witness a reproduction of the opening ceremony.
The Great Exhibition housed nearly 14,000 exhibitors and featured inventions such as the telegraph and vulcanized rubber, which strengthened rubber tires and other rubber products.
“It’s amazing the amount of work that was done to recreate these scenes,” said Martha Lawler, director of the Noel Collection. “The purpose of these works of art is to provide a different perspective on things.
“These works enhance the experience one can have with printed books.”
The exhibit runs until Feb. 14. To arrange a tour, contact Lawler by email at Martha.Lawler@lsus.edu.
Other fanciful events include the coronation of Napoleon III at Notre Dame Cathedral, the Promenade de Longchamp in pre-revolutionary Paris, and a 19th-century circus.
While Napoleon III was playing a real-life game of thrones in the 1800s, viewers can look upon a pop-up version of the fictional Game of Thrones, from The Wall to King’s Landing. This pop-up book follows the mechanical styling of the show’s introductory theme song.
Other fictional places and stories are represented, such as “Alice in Wonderland,” “Pinocchio,” and “Snow White.”
Architecture is the other large category of pop-up books as famous structures such as St. Peter’s Basilica and Sydney Opera House are on display, with specific architectural features highlighted.
The exhibit contains items from The Noel Collection, which is the largest private collection of antiquarian books in the U.S., or were acquired for this exhibit through the Ruth Herring Noel Endowed Chair for the Curatorship of the collection.
