Welcome to the wonderfully strange and endlessly charming world of crankies — handmade scrolling storytelling boxes that have been captivating audiences for over two centuries. This page isn’t the definitive authority, but it’s a solid doorway into the rabbit hole: a place to learn where crankies came from, how they evolved, who’s making them now, and how you can dive in yourself. Whether you’re here out of curiosity, creativity, nostalgia, or a love of tactile, analog storytelling, you’re in exactly the right place to begin.
How to build your Crankie
Your Matchbox Crankie Kit came with a little zine that had the steps, but here is a more detailed breakdown with photos.
Put the square face piece, face down. Line up the edges. You will see two long sides, one with holes and the other with notches. The open sides of the notches face away from the square face piece.
Step 2
Glue
You can use any glue, but wood glue is the best.
Run a thin line where the pieces overlap. You can use toothpicks to keep everything tidy
Flip each side up, one at a time. Make sure the interlocking tabs and flush.
You can use the rubber band to hold everything together while the glue dries.
FUN FACT! Technically, you don't even need glue! you can just hold everything together with 2 or 3 small rubber bands! Glue lasts longer and is stronger. But if you want to be able to take everything apart again, the rubber bands will work just fine!
Step 4
Load the Scroll
You have your Matchbox Crankie assembled! The kit comes with two scroll sticks and the ready cut scroll, waiting for you to draw and stick!
After you are done drawing/writing, use the double stick tape on the ends of the scroll and attach it to the sticks. You will want to keep the scroll as straight on the sticks as possible. When you roll up the scroll on the sticks, you want it lined up neatly!
This is what the scroll looks like loaded in the matchbox crankie.
More info and resources for crankie fans!
Crankies — A Brief History
Crankies, also known as “moving panoramas,” originated in the late 1700s and early 1800s, when artists painted long scrolling scenes on canvas and displayed them by hand-cranking the artwork past a viewing window. These panoramas toured Europe and the United States as a form of theatrical entertainment, often paired with live narration and music. As film and modern theatre took over, the form faded — but in recent decades, crankies have been revived by folk musicians, puppeteers, and visual storytellers who enjoy their intimate, handmade charm. A crankie today is typically a long illustrated scroll on paper or fabric wound onto two spools inside a box; as you crank the handles, your story unfolds scene by scene, just like the traveling storytellers of old.
Crankies offer a powerful way to revive and preserve a nearly forgotten form of visual storytelling — one rooted in community, handmade craft, and the shared human impulse to tell stories. For artists, makers, or anyone drawn to tactile, analog artistry, crankies provide a flexible medium: you can go simple (paper scroll + box + voice), or complex (shadow puppets, music, multi-layered sets). Because the art form is modular, community-based, and open to interpretation, it's ideal for experimentation, collaboration, and personal expression.
If you’re using “matchbox crankie kits” or making your own, you become part of that lineage: translating a centuries-old tradition into something pared-down, accessible, and deeply personal.
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