The opening leaf of the 1816 edition of _Metamorphosis: or, a Transformation of Pictures with Poetical Explanations for the Amusement of Young Persons_ provides a reassuring disclaimer: > That we may not mislead our little readers, it is desired they would understand the _Mermaid_and _Griffin_to be only creatures of fable, that never did exist. And although _Death_is represented in the form of a human skeleton, yet this is only an emblem; for Death is not a _being_but a _state_. Such a warning was perhaps necessary because of the startling technology on display in the next pages.
By manipulating paper flaps, the child could turn Adam into Eve into a mermaid, a lion into a griffin into an eagle — all while learning about the inevitability of death. _Metamorphosis, or, A Transformation of Pictures, with Poetical Explanations_ (Philadelphia: Printed by J. As Jacqueline Reid-Walsh points out, the figures in these early editions bear a remarkable resemblance to Charles I — but whether that was a reflection of contemporary fashions or an indication that the pamphlet had political import is hard to tell. Nevertheless, dozens of versions, with varying illustrations and texts, were reprinted on both sides of the Atlantic over the next two centuries.
Benjamin Sands, the writer credited on the American editions — the earliest was printed in 1789 — seems to have been responsible primarily for the continuation of the text (numbers 13–21), which gives the story of Adam and Eve in verse form. He may also have been responsible for aiming these editions at young readers, transforming an older text into a general literacy aid; some editions included a primer of the alphabet and basic numerals. Several editions move across four panels: in the first, we see how Adam begets Eve, who begets a mermaid, another woman whose speech lures one to ruin.
The second shows a lion become a griffin become an eagle, who steals a baby. (Eagles seem to have been a common bogeyman: one of the remarkable eighteenth-century DIY learning aids, made by the Englishwoman Jane Johnson, also warns against the dangers eagles posed to unattended and perhaps unwary infants.) _Metamorphosis_ (Cadiz, Ohio (?): Printed by H. We then home in on man’s lifecycle: the baby, saved from the eagle, sets out to become rich; by panel four he is a prosperous gentleman — but, of course, death comes for us all. The skeleton (the mere _emblem_ of the _state_ of death) looms over the dying man in his bed, an arrow poised to pierce him through.
A cheery lesson, to be sure, but pessimism did not seem to diminish the book’s popularity in the slightest. In fact, the physical engagement one had with it inspired many readers to create their own editions: there are a remarkable number of extant amateur manuscripts of _Metamorphosis_. Yale’s Beinecke Library holds several, ranging from pen-and-ink looseleaf sketches by one young woman to a young man’s bound watercolor volume.
The _Metamorphosis_ was so popular among American children (or their parents) that it was published in translation, within the United States itself. In 1833, a German edition was published in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with new illustrations — including one of a Christian knight tangling with the devil — and an additional poem “In Praise of the Farmer”. German speakers got into the DIY game, too.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
