William A. Gosling Pop-up and Movable Book Collection

This non-circulating collection contains approximately 3,000 volumes with strengths including 19th and early 20th century pop-up books, Blue Ribbon pop-up books from the 1930s, fairy tales, and Disney materials. It also contains materials from notable creators such as Robert Sabuda, David A. Carter, Matthew Reinhart, Vojtěch Kubašta, and Kelli Anderson.  

Our current collecting is focused on commercially produced pop-up and movable books published in North America and to some extent, Europe, primarily in English. Pop-up books are also acquired when their subject matter or format ties into other special collections strengths. 

Though the majority of the collection consists of books intended for children, the collection is not limited to materials only appropriate for juvenile audiences. Our collecting practice focuses mainly on the physical form of the item and the relationship between the form and the content. Handmade and one-of-a-kind pop-up books are a better fit for the artists’ books collection.  

Important related collections

Related collections include the non-circulating Children’s Literature Special Collection, the circulating Children’s Literature Collection, and the artists’ book collection.

History of the collection

William A. Gosling (1943-2019) began donating his extensive personal collection of pop-up and movable books to the library in the early 2000s. His initial gift consisted mostly of children’s literature, and included a small number of books intended for adult audiences. Additional growth occurred primarily through further donations by Bill Gosling, supplemented by occasional purchases with Special Collection Research Center funds. The latter have been focused on purchases of 19th and early 20th century movable books to deepen the collection’s historical scope.