Ib Penick

Born| (1930-05-11)May 11, 1930[1]

Odense, Denmark

Died| April 21, 1998(1998-04-21) (aged 67)

Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.

Occupation(s)| Paper Engineer, Inventor
Children| 3

Ib Penick (1930–1998), a native of Denmark, was known as "the creative mind behind the resurgence of pop-up children's books in the 1960s and 1970s.[2] In his career, Penick designed more than 130 children's books, including Star Wars: a Pop-up Book, which sold more than a million copies.[3] Penick related to one reporter, "...there are only about 100 folds and tricks to [his paper engineering] trade. It's like playing a piano. You have only a certain number of keys, but it's the combinations that make the difference."[4]

## Biography

[edit]

In the 1960s Penick joined Waldo Hunt at Graphics International, a firm that created pop-up books, including a series of titles for Random House and other publishers.[5] Penick was the "premier paper engineer" for the Random House pop-up titles, with Tor Lokvig as his protege.[6] According to Gerald Harrison, a former president of the children's books division at Random House, Penick "was really responsible for creating the whole world we lived in. With the advent of the Random House line, a whole industry was created and the very first ones were created by Ib."[7]

Penick and Hunt later sold Graphics International to Hallmark Cards in 1966.[8]

## Selected bibliography

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The following is a sample of the pop-up books paper engineered by Ib Penick:[9]

* Penick, Ib; Barlowe, Wayne (1978), Star Wars: A Pop-up Book, Random House, OCLC 16436266
* Penick, Ib; Forte, Joseph (1986), The Story of the Statue of Liberty: with movable illustrations in three dimensions, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, OCLC 13663592
* Penick, Ib; Swan, Curt; Oksner, Bob; Serpe, Jerry (1979), Superman: a pop-up book, Random House, OCLC 6014334
* Penick, Ib; Sondern, Ferd (1974), Who are the people in your neighborhood?, Random House and Children's Television Workshop, OCLC 2294774

## Patents

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Penick held several patents in the area of paper engineering, camera design and packaging, including:

1. A U.S. patent 4784314 A– Decorative paperboard boxes
2. A U.S. patent 4313270 A– Item with pivoting pop-up
3. A U.S. patent 4337589 A– Method of making hinged pop-up items
4. A U.S. patent 4349973 A– Pop-ups and methods of making
5. A U.S. patent 4146983 A– Promotional pop-up and method of making
6. A U.S. patent 5022681 A– Paper pop-up devices and method of making the same
7. A U.S. patent 4192596 A– Camera with improved shutter arrangement
8. A U.S. patent 3650194 A– Disposable Camera
9. A U.S. patent 4057813 A– Pocket sized camera

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Penick, Ib. "U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
2. ^ Breslin, Meg (April 24, 1998). "Ib Penick, 67, Designer Of Modern Pop-up Books". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
3. ^ Kathy, Schaeffer (September 2, 1984). "Pop-up Paper Designs Keep Him Hoppin'". No. Daily Herald Suburban Chicago. p. 32.
4. ^ Schaeffer, Kathy (2 September 1984). "Daily Herald Suburban Chicago, September 2, 1984, Page 32". Retrieved 13 December 2016.
5. ^ Breslin, Meg (April 24, 1998). "Ib Penick, 67, Designer Of Modern Pop-up Books". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
6. ^ Sterling, Kate (1 January 1993). "An Interview with the Paterfamilias of Pop-up. Part 1 of 3. Waldo Hunt". Movable Stationery. 10 (1): 15. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
7. ^ Breslin, Meg. "Ib Penick, 67, Designer Of Modern Pop-up Books". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
8. ^ Sterling, Kate (1 January 1993). "An Interview with the Paterfamilias of Pop-up. Part 1 of 3". Movable Stationery. 10 (1): 15.
9. ^ Montanaro, Ann R. Pop-up and movable books: a bibliography. Scarecrow Press. pp. 647–948\. ISBN 0810837285. OCLC 62681468. Retrieved 13 December 2016.

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