Vic Duppa-Whyte (1934–1986) was a British paper engineer and author for pop-up books.[3]
Born in Southern Africa, Duppa-Whyte moved to the United Kingdom before attending college. After graduating from the Ealing Art College in London, he started designed promotional items and packaging for companies.[3]
In 1969, Duppa-Whyte started creating children's books with pop-up inserts to fulfill a contract. By 1983, he started concentrating on these books, producing them on the human body, the US Space Shuttle, Halley's Comet, and the British Royal family. Duppa-Whyte also taught three dimensional art at Kingston Polytechnic in London.[3]
Paper engineer David A. Carter recalled his friendship with Duppa-Whyte, “...while I was in London, I spent some time with him in his studio. He showed me all of his work and we talked a lot...He was another John Strejan-type paper engineer...Vic would show me things off the shelf and the paper engineering was just incredible – the things he would make happen. He was working on The War of the Worlds, which has never been published, but he actually had the spaceship floating in the air. It had a couple of little tiny pieces supporting it, but it was floating in the air. It was just incredible![4] "
Paper engineer Graham Brown once noted his favorite paper engineer was Duppa-Whyte, “...I worked with [him] on The Legend of King Arthur and the Round Table. I enjoyed the collaboration greatly because he was a brilliant paper engineer and a very laid-back guy. Unfortunately, he died before it was completed.... In my opinion he was probably the most original and creative paper engineer around."[5]
Selected biography
Ann Montanaro’s reference book, Pop-Up and Movable Books, lists more than a dozen pop-up books by Duppa-White.[6]
Duppa-Whyte, Victor (1970), The Frightful Toffee Apple, Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, OCLC498236402
Duppa-Whyte, Victor; Pelham, David; Miller, Jonathan; Willock, Harry; Rosendale, David (1983), The Human Body, Viking Press, OCLC9911207
Duppa-Whyte, Victor (1976), Incredible Paper Machines, Ward Lock, OCLC16365162
Duppa-Whyte, Victor; McCaughrean, Geraldine; Williams, Nick; Johnston, Damian (1986), The Legend of King Arthur and the Round Table, Starlight Editions, OCLC54668384
Duppa-Whyte, Victor (1969), The Magic Train – A Novelty Pop-up Book, B. P. C. Publishing, ISBN036101144X
Duppa-Whyte, Victor (1970), Odd-Goblin, Littlehampton Book Services Ltd, OCLC498236439
Duppa-Whyte, Victor; Stevenson, Robert Louis (1969), Pirate Treasure: A Novelty Pop-up Book, B.P.C. Pub., OCLC49612235
Duppa-Whyte, Victor; Montague-Smith, Patrick; Payne, Roger (1984), The Royal Family Pop-Up Book, Bounty Books, OCLC11566618
Duppa-Whyte, Victor; Moore, Patrick; Stimpson, Tom (1983), The Space Shuttle Action Book, Random House, OCLC11400050
Duppa-Whyte, Victor; Hawkins, Colin (1984), Take Away Monsters, Putnam, OCLC9197311
Duppa-Whyte, Victor; Johnston, Damian; Pastor, Terry (1986), The Transformers Pop-Up Book, OCLC59889544
Collection
The Vic Duppa-Whyte, paper engineer, papers, ca.1940 – 1986, are held at the Archive of Art and Design, Victoria & Albert Museum., ca. 500 files.
Exhibitions
Year
Title
Location
Notes
2001
Pop-Up, Peek, Push, Pull... : An Exhibition of Movable Books and Ephemera from the Collection of Geraldine Roberts Lebowitz of Boca Raton, Florida[7]
Broward County Library's Bienes Center for the Literary Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL
^Sterling, Kate (February 2001). "An Interview with David Carter". Movable Stationery: Newsletter of the Movable Book Society. v.9 (1): 18. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
^Pena, Adie (November 2001). "Graham Brown, The Man in Black". Movable Stationery: Newsletter of the Movable Book Society. v.9 (4): 10. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
Colombia, South America.