Edward H. Hutchins

Setting the Stage
As in any good discussion the terms used must be properly defined. But alas, when it comes to talking about books, and in particular, how a book is defined, we run into problems. Through the centuries books have proved to be remarkably adaptable, changing to meet the conditions and needs of many cultures. Therefore, a single definition may not prove satisfactory.

The first libraries, the first collections of recorded intellectual thought organized by categories, were clay tablets first put on shelvesaround 1300 B.C. The collection of books we call the Bible started out as scrolls, and the Torah, still is. In Mexico, long before the Spanish arrived, books were made out of long strips of bark paper and folded back and forth in an accordion fashion. They had no words, but volumes have been written about the rich and detailed information contained in their colorful glyphs. In 10th century China, the whirlwind or dragon-scale binding was a scroll with multiple pages attached.

Changes in book structure are not limited to ancient times. Today it is possible to download pages into an e-book. The Workman Publishing Company has released a new, "innovative" structure they call a tumbling book, though many artists have been employing a Jacob's ladder structure with text and illustrations for a long time.

Books have taken and continue to take many forms, and it is in this context of diversity that we turn our attention to one of the most fascinating, and to some, controversial, structures: tunnel books.

A Distinguished History
Tunnel books owe their heritage to the long line of optical experiments that eventually led to the motion picture. In 1437 Leone Battista produced a small box with a peep hole that revealed perspective scenes. The camera obscura described by Giovanni della Porta in his Magica Naturalis (1553) used a small peephole with a lens in the wall of a darkened room, and through this peephole an image of the view outside the room was reflected on the opposite wall.

By the 1600's the public's interest in perspective views had reached such an intensity that showmen where traveling throughout Europe to village fairs and other large gatherings with peep show boxes on their backs. Inside the box, cutout cardboard panels created a variety of religious, historical and mythical scenes. In time the peep shows became complex affairs with multiple peepholes (as many as 26), strings that, when pulled, could change the views, and pin-pricked backdrops that were backlit to create the effect of nighttime scenes. As one illustration of the time put it:

This box doth pleasant sight enclose,
and landscape and perspective shows
of every varied sort;
A penny is the price I ask
for execution of my task
and get a penny for't.
(Untitled print, 1785, anon.)

By the 1700's, with improvements in printing, smaller versions of the peep shows began to appear for use in the home. Wener Nekes said in his video, Film Before Film, the peep shows "explored the sense of depth within the spatial dimension of an image." Peter Haining includes these "toy books" in Movable Books, and quotes one British publisher who claimed their peep show displayed the "life-like effect of real distance and space." The main centers for producing these "theaters of perspective" were London, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Bassano (Italy) and Augsburg (Germany).

In Augsburg between about 1740 and 1770, the printer Martin Engelbrecht turned out an astonishing catalog of 6 to 8-panel peep shows. Available in three sizes, and for just one size, about 7"H x 9"W, he produced 67 different views (456 individual prints). Using etched copper plates, the views were printed on thin paper with watercolor added by hand. These sheets then had to be backed with heavier paper (often old sheets music or old manuscripts) and then cut out and assembled by the printer, seller, or customer. The subjects included Bible scenes, views of foreign lands, life at court, sporting events, battles, shipwrecks and earthquakes. The panels were not attached but designed to fit into optical boxes with slots to receive them.

By the 1850's the panels of the peep show were attached to concertina hinges along both sides of the panels. During this period peep shows were often created to celebrate major events like the Great Exhibition in London and the opening of the Thames Tunnel in 1851. This, according to Carol Barton, is where the expression "tunnel book" was first used to describe these particular books. Tunnel books of this period often had three peep-holes with three separate views. Two other innovations were a peep-hole cover that was attached to a side hinge so that it swung away from the cover when the book was opened, and a combination "book n' box" structure.

The trend to celebrate major events with a commemorative tunnel book continued with peepshows for the New York World'sFair in 1939 and another one in honor of Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee in 1977. In 1977 the New York Botanical Garden, looking back at the peep show celebrating the Crystal palace, produced a peep show to promote their glass conservatory. Using artwork by Roy Doty and an inventive design by Carlton B. Lees, the 5-panel peepshow was made from just one sheet of paper that folded and slotted together to create a light and airy miniature version of the Botanical Garden's landmark structure.

Then in 1984 the publication of the Magic Windows™ series of tunnel books enlisted the talents of prominent illustrators Edward Gorey, Tomie dePaola and Trina Schart Hyman to create 10-panel books that are notable for having a magnifying lens in the peep-hole. These books are significant because they used established artists, included text, were released by a leading publisher of books, G.P. Putnam's Sons, were recorded with the Library of Congress, were issued ISBN numbers, and were sold in bookstores. How more legitimate could they be?

More recently the series of Gaiaramas™appeared. In 1992 these tunnel books with their distinctive swing-down handles were produced by Cheri Hanson at White Eagle with the titles: The Rain Forest, The Coral Reef and Outer Space. As described by the publisher: "You've never seen a book like it. In fact, it's a concept so new and different, it's patented. Simply look through the viewfinder and the adventure begins. These unique picture books don't open UP, they open O-U-T." The amount of detail packed into each volume requires a separate study guide.
Even though peepshows started out as novelty entertainments, publishers eventually recognized their potential for storing and imparting information as effectively as traditional books. In spite of this recognition, some in the book arts have been slow to concur.

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