Toy Books

The harlequinades are generally regarded as the first movable books for children. Soon they were followed by other movable items aimed to attrack young readers. Examples of these "toy books" are Paper Doll Books and Slot Books.

The Paper Doll Books were published from about 1810 onwards by S. and J. Fuller, London. In these books, a paper head with a long tag for the neck could be inserted into a paper pocket at the back of cut-out figures in different costumes. More recently, these books consist of cut-out costumes that can be attached to a paper doll. In the 1830's, F.C. Westley took up the idea of Fullers' Paper Doll Books and devised a Slot Book called The Paignion, which consisted of twelve scenes with slots and 65 figures that could be placd in these slots. A more recent example of these Slot Books is Days in Catland (1900s) by Raphael Tuck.