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John Joseph Strejan, 1933-2003
by Waldo Hunt
John Strejan, master paper engineer,
died last year at the age of 70.
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John, know world-wide by his "Silverblade" moniker, passes his Xacto-knife silles to the young paper engineers of the dimensional
book trade. He was considered by many as one of the world's best paper engineers, as well as being a first
class designer and illustrator.
John was born in Detroit, on March 17, 1933. He attended Portland State University in Oregon. John started his creative career in preparing ads for Viewmaster
and White Stag in Oregon and at Carnation, Convair, and Max Factor when he came to Los Angeles in 1958.
At the Elgin Davis Art Studio in Los Angeles, John worded on his first dimensional projects. Elgin Davis was a founder
of Grphics International; a packaging company that created a new line of pop-up books in the late '60s which required hand assembly.
John worked freelance for Graphics International in New York and Kansas City from 1965 - 1973. The company returned to Los Angeles in 1974 and became Intervisual Books.
John's outstanding paper-engineering talent was demonstrated on the famous National Geogrphic classic series of
pop-up animal books that were published from 1987 - 1989. The National Geographic dinosaur book alone had 200 glue points.
The book series was purchased by 13 quality interactive line ever published.
A few other 3-dimensional books to which John Strejan contributed his talents are Charles M. Schultz's Snoopy and the Twelve Days of Christmas published by Determined
Publications in 1984, The Pop-up Book of Gnomes by Harry N. Abrams, which published over 600,000 copies worldwide in 1982, and the Choo-Choo Charlie Playset by Piggy
Toes Press, which has published over 500,000 copies since 1998.
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Books by John Strejan:
(Designer, Illustrator, Paper Engineer)
Aladdin And The Magic Lamp
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland
All Kinds Of Dogs
Alphabet Book, The
Amazing Monkeys
Animal Homes
Animals In Disguise
Animals Showing Off
Bad Child's Pop-Up Book Of Beasts, The
Cinderella
Creatures Of The Desert World
Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs
Discovering Our Past
Early Humans
Emperor's New Clothes, The
Explore A Tropical Forest
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Exploring The Solar System
Facts Of Life, The
Faeries Pop-up Book, The
Fun On The Farm
Goodnight Moon Room, The
Great Adventure, The
Hide And Seek
Honeybee And The Robber, The
How The Weather Works
I Love To Eat Bugs!
I Love To Eat Bugs!
Insects: A Close-Up Look
Jesus Feeds The 5000/
Paul Sees The Great Light
Joseph's Dream Comes True/
Daniel And The Lions Den
Life Of Moses, The
Little Lamb
Little Lost Duckling
Maxfield Parrish Pop-Up Book, The
Monster Island
Naughty Nineties, The
Night Before Christmas, The
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Leonardo Da Vinci
Peter And The Wolf
Peter Pan
Pop-Up Animal Fair, The
Pop-Up Book Of Gnomes, The
Pop-Up Book Of M.C. Escher, The
Pop-Up Games Book, The
Sailing Ships
Shepherds' Surprise, The
Skyscraper Going Up!
Space Mission
Spider-Man
Stan Lee Presents The Incredible Hulk
Story of Jonah, The
Story of Moses, The
Strange Animals Of The Sea
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Underwater Mission
What Happens Next?
What Lives In The Sea
Wizard Of Oz, The
Wizard Of Oz, The
World of Unicorns
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