23-05-2025
Little-known fact about iconic 1990s I Spy books stuns fans
In a world full of AI imagery, '90s I Spy books are a revelation for the eyes - and nostalgic fans are agog at the level of detail that went into creating the books.
Fans of the popular I Spy series have been left stunned to discover that each image in the classic books - written by Jean Marzollo and photographed by Walter Wick - were actually carefully styled scenes.
There are 52 books in the I Spy series in total, with the most recent published in 2012. Each book had a different theme and pictured a surreal image with objects for the reader to find - if they could.
Now, users have been left stunned to find that each one of the images was carefully arranged by Wick using real objects.
An astounded TikTok user, who shares videos under the username @dspacestv, uploaded some behind the scenes snaps from the popular books, amazed by the intricacies of the pictures.
'This page in the I Spy Fantasy book in 1994 is a miniature set,' the astonished user wrote.
'It was created by hand by Walter Wick who saw a window display that he was inspired by in SoHo in New York,' she explained. 'He took the photo using 8x10 film, this was pre-using photoshop.'
'He also created each I Spy scene by hand, then he takes a photo of the little scene and it goes in the book,' she surmised.
Followers were equally as enamored by the truth about the nostalgic books.
'BRING BACK I, SPY BOOKS!!!!! And absolutely NO computer generated imagery,' declared one.
'This is really why they were soooooo magical,' agreed another.
'The realism of the little town scenes is exactly why I loved these books so much as a kid. The detail was insane,' gushed another.
Before working on the I Spy books, Wick worked as a commercial photographer in New York City, working for a publication called Games magazine.
According to Insider Art, in 1980 Wick decided to snap a picture of some stray nuts and bolts that were lying around in his studio, using it to advertise his work.
I Spy author Marzollo sought him out after coming across the photo, asking him to take a snapshot for her kids' magazine, Let's Find Out.
An editor at Scholastic then saw the poster and asked the duo if they would want to collaborate on some search-and-find books, launching the successful I Spy books.
Followers were equally as enamored by nostalgic books
There are typically around 40 pages per book, with some of the images taking weeks to create, with Walt having to meretriciously hand-make each set before photographing it.
'I would hide the object as I would build the shot,' Wick explained in a 2019 interview.
'I would create the shot, make a list of the hidden objects, send it to Jean, and then she would write the rhyme,' he explained.
The photographer added that the 'every day themes' - like school or nature - were easier to construct, while the 'higher level' concepts were harder as he didn't want to repeat himself as the series went on.
