McLoughlin Bros.
Menagerie of Wild Animals Panorama. New York: McLoughlin Bros., [late 19th century]. Illustrated by William Momberger.
Mechanical panorama housed in its original wood-framed box with viewing window and turning crank handle. Contains a continuous pictorial scroll (likely paper-backed cloth) depicting wild animals such as lions, tigers, elephants, bears, and monkeys in vibrant chromolithographed natural scenes. Scroll is advanced manually using the original crank mechanism, allowing images to pass behind the front proscenium window like a miniature theater display.
Scroll illustrations attributed to William Momberger, a prolific 19th-century illustrator known for his work with McLoughlin Bros. during their golden age of color printing. Issued as part of McLoughlin’s educational and theatrical toy novelties.
Dimensions:
12 x 12 in. viewing box (approx.). Scroll length unspecified; complete.
Condition:
Panorama mechanism complete and fully functional. Scroll is in fine condition, with bright color and no notable wear. Proscenium panel remains undamaged but may benefit from light archival reinforcement to the front edge (not yet applied). Original publisher’s slipcase present and complete, showing expected wear: minor tearing at seams, rubbing, and general edge wear. Scarce in this complete state with slipcase intact.
A rare surviving example of a McLoughlin Bros. moving panorama — most were heavily used and are now found incomplete or without case. Especially desirable with both the wooden scrolling apparatus and original printed slipcase present.
An 1876 listing in The Publishers’ Trade List Annual (p. 41) notes: “Each style of panorama has a proscenium, and the larger ones are enclosed in pasteboard cases.” Based on this contemporary reference, we infer that only the larger-format McLoughlin panoramas, such as Menagerie of Wild Animals, were originally issued with slipcases—while smaller examples (such as The A.B.C. Panorama) were not. The presence of the original case with this copy thus confirms it as one of the firm’s premium offerings, and its survival is particularly rare.
The illustrator, William Momberger (1829–1895), was born in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, and trained in art and lithography before immigrating to the United States in 1848 after participating in the failed German revolution. In 1852, he co-founded the lithography firm Coughey & Momberger in New York City. Over the next several decades, Momberger became a prolific illustrator for American publishers, particularly McLoughlin Bros., for whom he illustrated numerous titles in the 1850s through 1880s. His name appears on many McLoughlin visual works from this era, and his style is especially recognizable in animal-themed and landscape illustrations.
Momberger was described in his 1895 obituary in The Record: A Current Record of Art, Bibliography, and Antiquarianism (Vol. 6, No. 12, April 15, 1895, p. 4) as “one of the last of the Old American Illustrators.” He died peacefully, sitting in the grape arbor of his garden.
A closely related publication, Wild Animals for Children (McLoughlin, 1881), contains similar animal illustrations attributed to Momberger, further confirming his authorship of this panorama's visual content.
This is an exceptional survival from the golden age of American chromolithographed toy publishing—particularly scarce with original scroll, wooden frame, functioning crank, and publisher's slipcase intact.
Collect Them All!
McLoughlin Bros. produced a remarkable range of mechanical scrolling panoramas in the late 19th century, combining chromolithographed artistry with theatrical storytelling. Each was issued in a wood-framed box with a crank-operated scroll and viewing window. Today, complete examples are rare — and collecting the full set is a challenge many serious collectors aspire to.
Confirmed titles in the scrolling panorama series include:
Menagerie of Wild Animals Panorama
Depicts wild animals in vivid natural habitats — lions, tigers, elephants, monkeys, and more. Often attributed to illustrator William Momberger.
Minstrels Panorama
Features a lively parade of musicians and performers in minstrel dress. A visual snapshot of 19th-century entertainment (now historically sensitive in theme).
Zoological Panorama
Showcases an array of zoo animals, including elephants, lions, monkeys, and camels — similar in theme to Menagerie but with a distinct scroll and scenes.
Panorama of the Greatest Show on Earth (Circus)
Presents colorful circus performers, animals, wagons, and big top scenes, echoing the height of the Barnum era.
Cinderella Grand Panorama
Tells the classic fairy tale in scrolling format, with richly illustrated scenes of Cinderella, her fairy godmother, the ball, and the prince.
Uncle Sam’s Panorama of Rip Van Winkle and Yankee Doodle
Combines patriotic and literary storytelling — a dual narrative of American folklore.
Humpty Dumpty Panorama
Depicts scenes from the well-known nursery rhyme, illustrated with theatrical charm and whimsy.
Uncle Sam Panorama
Celebrates American identity and national symbols with allegorical imagery and historic references.
Major’s Panorama Alphabet
A scrolling alphabet book with each letter accompanied by a vibrant lithographed illustration.
Panorama Nursery Alphabet
A variant alphabet panorama featuring nursery rhymes and child-friendly scenes for each letter.
About McLoughlin Bros.
McLoughlin Bros. was a New York–based publisher of children’s books, puzzles, games, and paper toys. Known for their vibrant chromolithography and modern marketing savvy, the company not only produced original works but also pirated and adapted popular titles from European publishers such as J.F. Schreiber and Dean & Son for the American market. Founded in 1828, McLoughlin remained a dominant force in children’s publishing until its acquisition by Milton Bradley Company in 1920.
Milton Bradley continued to use the McLoughlin Bros. imprint for select titles, including the well-known Jolly Jump-Ups pop-up book series of the 1930s and 1940s. The McLoughlin division was discontinued during World War II, but the brand was revived in 1951 when it was sold to New York toy manufacturer Julius Kushner, who reissued some Jolly Jump-Ups. In 1954, the brand was sold again to Grosset & Dunlap, which issued a few final titles before the McLoughlin Bros. name faded from print by the 1970s.
Additional Notes:
Milton Bradley & the Scroll Toy FormatMilton Bradley’s Historiscope, patented in 1866, is widely considered one of the earliest known American scrolling panorama toys. It featured a long illustrated scroll (usually paper on rollers) with a central viewing window and a crank handle—an early form of mechanical storytelling designed to teach history to children in an engaging way. It was both educational and theatrical.
This innovation in scroll-based presentation likely influenced or paralleled this simialar toy from McLoughlin Bros., who began using the same scrolling box-and-crank format in the 1870s for a series of illustrated entertainment panoramas (e.g., Menagerie of Wild Animals, Cinderella Grand Panorama, etc.). These were more visually focused and less overtly educational than the Historiscope, but used the same mechanical concept: turning a crank to animate a continuous visual story behind a proscenium window.