Giraud, S. Louis, ed. Bookano Stories, No. 1. London: Strand, [1930s].

The Bookano Series: Moving Into the Twentieth Century II

In the poem "The Red Admiral and the Orchid," we read about the butterfly and the flower:

The handsome creature comes to rest,

Accepts the Orchid's proffered best.

He sips the nectar rare. Now gently turn the page between,

The striking couple will be seen, Then close the book with care.

Giraud, S. Louis, ed. Bookano Stories, No. 2. London: Strand, [1930s].

S. Louis Giraud's repertoire included the pattern of a building. This book unfolds to "a not-too-small house with cheery red tiles on the roof and big sunny windows--a friendly house, set in a rather old-fashioned but colourful garden." Here Giraud uses clear cellophane to support the interior structure.

Giraud, S. Louis, ed. Bookano Stories, No. 3. London: Strand, [1930s].

This book's pop-up of a dancing couple illustrates Giraud's version of a tableau. Its awkward sense of scale can be forgiven in a world where lovers with eyes for no one else take center stage.

Giraud, S. Louis, ed. Bookano Stories, No. 4. London: Strand, [1937].

Later Bookano annuals contain more and more repetition, sometimes borrowing entire printed sections from earlier works. The figures in No. 4 and No. 5, "The Hound of Hidie-oh" and "The Conductor's Masterpiece," illustrate the way in which Giraud redesigned a basic template to fit a number of themes. Here both dog and conductor share a similar layout and construction.