Lecture 12: Flaps
February 6th, 2023
Flaps Between Concealment and Revelation
“Although their specific design varies from book to book, flaps are typically defined as the parts
of a page used to conceal text, illustration, or a combination of both.”
● “While the exact construction of each flap may differ from one text to another, their
function remains basically the same: flaps are designed to reveal things that are not
immediately apparent on the page itself.”
● While some flaps are designed to conceal information, and thus compel the reader to
reveal the text or illustrations beneath, other flaps organize information into logical
layers (anatomical view)
○ Anatomy had to be taught in this 3D manner.
Early Anatomy Texts
Including the famous examples by Vesalius, Descartes, and Remmelin, depict body parts,
bones, muscles, nerves, and internal organs using superimposed flaps that are drawn and shaped
to represent specific elements of human anatomy.
● Some of these flaps (particularly Descartes’ image of a human heart and Remmelin’s
rendition of a pregnant womb) are meticulously rendered.
● Roman Catholic Church did not like anatomy.
○ Reader is given the tactile experience of grasping the organ itself.
Descartes, De Homine Figuris
Praised for its figures and other physical features, including its flaps. Most striking is the book’s
full-page illustration of a heart, with flaps representing the outer layers that can be folded
back to reveal the inner chamber.
Flaps and the Third Dimension
Flaps are often discussed in connection with other movable parts found in books, due partly to
the fact that they emerged roughly in the same period as volvelles and pop-ups.
● In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, books with moveable parts were primarily
academic in nature.
● By the eighteenth century, publishers expanded their reach to the burgeoning children’s
entertainment market.
Flaps are ideal for explaining subjects that require three-dimensional imagery. Abstract
concepts, such as geometrical shapes, can therefore be better experienced through use of flaps.
Vesalius and the Teaching of Anatomy
February 6th, 2023
Flaps Between Concealment and Revelation
“Although their specific design varies from book to book, flaps are typically defined as the parts
of a page used to conceal text, illustration, or a combination of both.”
● “While the exact construction of each flap may differ from one text to another, their
function remains basically the same: flaps are designed to reveal things that are not
immediately apparent on the page itself.”
● While some flaps are designed to conceal information, and thus compel the reader to
reveal the text or illustrations beneath, other flaps organize information into logical
layers (anatomical view)
○ Anatomy had to be taught in this 3D manner.
Early Anatomy Texts
Including the famous examples by Vesalius, Descartes, and Remmelin, depict body parts,
bones, muscles, nerves, and internal organs using superimposed flaps that are drawn and shaped
to represent specific elements of human anatomy.
● Some of these flaps (particularly Descartes’ image of a human heart and Remmelin’s
rendition of a pregnant womb) are meticulously rendered.
● Roman Catholic Church did not like anatomy.
○ Reader is given the tactile experience of grasping the organ itself.
Descartes, De Homine Figuris
Praised for its figures and other physical features, including its flaps. Most striking is the book’s
full-page illustration of a heart, with flaps representing the outer layers that can be folded
back to reveal the inner chamber.
Flaps and the Third Dimension
Flaps are often discussed in connection with other movable parts found in books, due partly to
the fact that they emerged roughly in the same period as volvelles and pop-ups.
● In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, books with moveable parts were primarily
academic in nature.
● By the eighteenth century, publishers expanded their reach to the burgeoning children’s
entertainment market.
Flaps are ideal for explaining subjects that require three-dimensional imagery. Abstract
concepts, such as geometrical shapes, can therefore be better experienced through use of flaps.
Vesalius and the Teaching of Anatomy
