RAY MARSHALL

The David Rumsey Map Center (DRMC) at Stanford University has a unique four flight staircase that goes from the lobby up to the Center (there is also an elevator!) and the staircase is adorned with image details from some of the maps. ​

RJ Andrews, a data graphics specialist with a long association with the DRMC suggested a three-dimensional paper representation of the staircase as a 10th Anniversary keepsake for the DRMC and reached out to me. ​ RJ and I had produced an earlier pop-up for the Center during Covid. ​ My job was to figure out whether we could make a pop-up of the staircase. ​ The fact that the staircase wrapped around on itself made this particularly challenging! ​ How could this lay flat but then become somewhat realistically three-dimensional?! ​ Adding to the complexity was that we wanted to show ALL FOUR WALLS at the same time as the staircase!

Our goals were that we wanted a standalone piece that could be displayed on a desk or a table open or closed! ​ Not much to ask! ​

A regular pop-up wouldn’t open the stairs and all four walls without awkward folds in either, so I opted for audience participation where the recipient folded the stair flaps down and hooked them in place. This made for a much neater piece that felt like a free standing staircase from a dolls house either open or closed. ​ We decided to add a Velcro dot to keep the piece closed when displaying it like the complete stairwell.

So that this wouldn’t become another piece of ephemera RJ suggested that if the pop-up were published with an ISBN it would cataloged forever. So in keeping with classic book publishing we produced a traditional foil stamped hard case to ​ contain the keepsake and then held it in place with Velcro dots for easy removal.

For the endpapers inside the case we printed a map of Stanford University showing the location of the DRMC and added some shapes for suggested display positioning, open or closed.

The keepsakes were given out at the 10th Anniversary evening and were a big hit with everyone that attended!

Produced in California by JP Graphics​ and
On LIne Bindery.