Paper Zoo by Ernst Roch … 1974 Origami Paper-Folding Kit, Near-Mint Condition

PAPER ZOO.
Roch, Ernst
Montreal, Canada: Signum Press Limited, 1974. First Edition. Paperback.
ISBN: 091968601X

Carton Slipcase + Softcover Booklet + Colored/Printed Pre-Scored Paper
Commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art
Held in the collection of the Musee National des Beaux-Arts de Quebec

Entertaining paper folding kit that is based on a 19th century paper folding system that was created by a man for his son in Europe. The kit includes a 12- page instruction booklet and 32 pre-scored sheets of colorful paper.

The slipcase is made of thick paper. The contents are protected by a white sleeve which slides into the slipcase; the instruction manual explains how to fold the paper into a horse, cow/bull, leopard/tiger/panther, lion, giraffe or camel. There are 32 pre-scored sheets of colored construction paper, except for 4 sheets which are white.

Very good+ condition. Slipcase is dinged at the extremities. Interior seems to have never been used.

Measures 7.5″ square.

ABOUT ERNST ROCHE
Ernst Roch was a graphic designer born in Croatia in 1928. Before arriving in Canada in 1953, he spent time living and studying in Graz, Austria, where he was heavily influenced. From Visual Diplomacy USA, his training was based on: “functionalism, where a design challenge was first seen as a problem-solving process emphasizing rational thinking and formal clarity. It was this new and “International” graphic design, as it came to be known, which he pioneered in Canada.”

He produced the official poster for the Montreal 1976 Olympics. He lectured at the Art and Design School of the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, Concordia University, McGill and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Ernst Roch is one of the standout Canadian graphic designers, that perhaps created the Canadian modernist sensibility that became so prevalent after his arrival to the country.