THE ALPHABETICAL TOY PANORAMA. Chicago: Foley & Williams Manufacturing Co., patented 1886.
Rare labeled first issue retaining original endcap label and metal pull-tab.
An exceptionally scarce surviving example of Foley & Williams' Alphabetical Toy Panorama, one of the earliest American educational scroll toys.
The toy consists of a wooden barrel measuring approximately 3 inches in height, fitted with its original iron wire winding crank and retaining the original metal pull-tab. Housed within is a continuous linen panorama strip measuring approximately 58 inches in length, pictorially illustrating the alphabet through twenty-six object lessons and accompanying illustrations.
Of particular importance is the survival of the original printed circular endcap label. Examination of published and trade examples suggests that the vast majority of surviving Alphabetical Toy Panorama toys have lost this fragile exterior paper label entirely, leaving only plain wooden ends. The present example may represent one of very few documented survivors retaining its original exterior publisher's identification label and patent date. The label retains substantial portions of the original title "ALPHABETICAL TOY PANORAMA", together with an elaborate starburst or compass-rose device surrounding the crank aperture and the patent date "1886" at the lower margin.
The panorama remains in excellent working condition, pulling smoothly from the barrel and rewinding cleanly. The original metal pull-tab, another component commonly lost in surviving examples, remains intact. Because of the rarity of the surviving pull-tab, we recommend pulling the panorama by the linen strip itself rather than the metal tab.
Collector's Corner:
Foley & Williams was not principally a toy manufacturer in the European sense. They were a Chicago novelty, educational, and publishing concern operating during the explosive expansion of American educational toys in the late nineteenth century.
The toy was still being advertised in 1888, indicating that it enjoyed at least a modest commercial run:
This panorama was featured in The American Stationer,
Volume 23 1888
“NEW EDUCATIONAL TOY. Every Boy and Girl Wants It at Sight I
ALPHABETICAL TOY PANORAMA TWENTY-SIX OBJECT LESSONS. Will entertain when
other Toys are forgotten. Price, 25 Cents. Barrel 3 inches ; linen strip 58 inches
long”
