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The Picture Show. A Novel Picture Book for Children London: Ernst Nister Movable

Nister - The Picture Show Movable Book
The Picture Show. A Novel Picture Book for Children London: Ernst Nister Movable
 
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The Picture Show. A Novel Picture Book for Children

London: Ernst Nister and New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., [n.d., ca. 1896]

[28] pp. With 4 chromolithographed pop-up illustrations; engravings in the text. original cloth-backed chromolithographed boards.

9 3/4 X 7 1/2" - ; 25 cm.8vo. Unpaginated. Quarter cloth.

Condition: Pop-ups are in fine condition. They are all original, complete and without damage or repairs. See photos - Both covers are worn at the right corners and the front shows slight indication of water stains which do not appear on back or any inside pages. The fly sheets show aging of the paper, reattached with repairs to protect the fragile edges as well as to preserve the nicely written gift inscription "To Louie E. Hay from Aunt Jennie Xmas 1898." The inside pages, neatly re-attached, are basically clean showing very little age yellowing with smooth edges. There are 28 pages including four double-page pop-ups.

Book Description:

Cover pictorial glazed boards with charming picture of a young girl dressed in a Period costume playing a mandolin with a small dog sitting nearby. In the background still clearly readable is a poster: "Notice This way to the Picture Show, Open the door and in you go, Entrance free to tinyand great. Be in time then you won't be late!"

The book is illustrated throughout with charming pictures many of which are signed or initialed. The brightly colored pop-ups are in original and in superior condition with few repairs. This is especially nice as some of the pop-ups have very intricate details and beautifully colored backgrounds.

(1) Skipping Time: There are three layers of pop-ups with the background a lovely flowering meadow of the English countryside with sheep. Three girls and a boy play a skipping game with a long jump rope. In the back pop-up a pretty young girl is poised ready to jump into the swinging rope. Her legs have been re-glued hardly noticeable. The thin rope has a small bend but is intact in excellent condition, with no repairs, and swings high. The middle pop-up shows a boy and girl swinging the rope while another child watches. The top pop-up is two dogs watching the activity. An especially charming pop-up!


(2) The Seaside: Here is a full array of Nister's charm in playful children. In the background seven children play in the sand. The first pop-up shows two children riding donkeys with a boy walking beside them, three looking out toward the beach and two digging in grassy sand. The top pop-up includes a woman sitting in a sling chair watching as young teases a small girl with a crab he has caught. This pop-up deserves a long look at the details including facial expressions and the detailed depicting of clothing of the time.

(3) Kiss in the Ring: In the background children feed the ponies and peep over the gate to watch a circle of children playing. The first pop-up depicts a prancing circle of seven children playing Ring Around the Rosey. In the top pop-up a dog watches the circle game as a mother holds a small child while another gives it a kiss. While this is the usual Nister ideal world with neat and tidy children at play, this particular pop-up is especially interesting for collectors. The Hunts (Peeps Into Nisterland, p. 294) describe unique research details. You can clearly see three separate pictures have been used. The background is from a picture called "The Disputed Way" Ada Dennis (1862-1900). The first die-cut pop-up showing the children playing if also by Ada Dennis from a picture called "Ring-a-ring-o' Roses." She was a well-known English artist who did many works of children for Nister. This group appears in other Nister books such as the cover of a later book, Round and Round Pictures (c.1914). The top pop-up, "A Kiss for Baby,'" was illustrated by H.M. Bennett (1877-1892). Her beautiful pictures of children can be seen in many Nister early works. While it was not unusual to use many images in a single work this is a unique, successful mixture.

(4) Orchard background with group of sheep and blossoming trees with two young girls holding a lamb. The first pop-up depicts two girls holding a wagon feeding three lambs. The colorful top pop-up shows a dog with sheep and geese, often repeated Nister stand-bys in many books, in an ideal world.

This well preserved book is not only delightful to see and read but certainly it should not only be in the collection of any Nister fan but also for anyone sincerely interested in the development and complex compilation of such books.

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$780.00


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Product Code: N-16

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