by Maria Popova
A pull-tab time machine of risqué rites.
Being a lover of unusual pop-up books andnaughty Victoriana, imagine my delight at the discovery of The Naughty Nineties: A Saucy Pop-Up Book for Adults Only (public library) — a marvelous 1982 gem that transports you a century back, to the friskiest frontiers of Victorian society in the 1890s, illustrated in a black-and-white ink style reminiscent of Edward Gorey’s and outfitted with various pull-tabs and paper mechanics for your playful pleasure.
And, hey, look — I made some animated GIFs of it. (Though they are no substitute for the analog-interactive real deal.)
For a different treat in the same vein of Victorian raunchiness, see Edward Gorey’s The Curious Sofa and Scrap Irony.