Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd.
Father Tuck’s Meadowsweet Panorama with Movable Pictures (Panorama Slot Book)
London, Paris & New York: Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., Publishers to Their Majesties the King & Queen, [n.d., ca. 1908].
Large quarto (30 × 27 cm; 11.75 × 10.75 inches). Color pictorial chromolithographed boards, linen-backed spine. Six double-page color-printed farm scenes with die-cut numbered slots for figures. Complete with all 15 original chromolithographed slotted figures, each printed on die-cut card with numbers on verso, housed in the original rear pocket.
Condition: Excellent. A bright, clean, and complete example with all movable figures present and in fine original condition. Conservator’s treatment includes archival Japanese tissue repair to the back of the envelope-style figure pocket and invisible reinforcement at inner folds using archival Filmoplast. All elements remain original and undisturbed.
An engaging early 20th-century slot panorama from the celebrated “Father Tuck’s” series, notable for its educational trilingual captions in English, French, and Spanish. As the instructions on the rear panel explain:
"Now stand up the Panorama and insert these animals and birds into the slots which are marked with numbers corresponding to those on the figures... A great many different scenes can be formed by making them change places with one another... while you are having a game you can be learning."
Other Notes:
Dated circa 1908 based on publisher’s imprint and contemporary trade references. The imprint "Publishers to Their Majesties the King and Queen" was used by Raphael Tuck & Sons between 1900 and 1910; see Blair and Margaret Whitton, Collector’s Guide to Raphael Tuck & Sons, p. [6].
Further support for the 1908 date is found in an "Introductory Editorial" announcing Tuck’s new panorama series in The American Stationer, Vol. 64 (Howard Lockwood, 1908), p. 26:
“The picture panorama is the latest novelty for children put on the market by Raphael Tuck & Sons. These panoramas come in colored booklets, each one containing a number of figures arranged for cutting out and standing up apart, like the old-fashioned paper soldiers. But the figures are more attractive than those playthings of the last generation... Many of the booklets contain birds and wild and exotic animals. They are well drawn and colored perfectly, showing a regard for accuracy that ought to make some of the ‘nature fakirs’ feel envious.”
This trade notice not only dates the format’s debut to 1908, but also highlights the innovative educational and artistic aims of the series.
Collectors Corner:
Collect then all!
Following the image below is a list of other Tuck panoramas with separate figures to insert into slots.
Dating each edition depends on publishers info on back. Some of the early ones were reprinted in the 1920's and or 90's.
Acknowledgment:
We gratefully acknowledge the invaluable resource TuckDB Ephemera in our research on Raphael Tuck publications. The image below is reproduced from their website and originates from Tuck’s 1928 World’s Art Service catalog. We encourage collectors and researchers to explore https://tuckdbephemera.org for extensive documentation and imagery related to Raphael Tuck’s vast output, including many of the panorama books in this series.
Additional Titles in the Tuck Panorama Series:
The following is a list of other known Raphael Tuck panoramas featuring separate slotted figures. Dating each edition depends on the specific publisher’s imprint or back panel information, as some early titles were reprinted in the 1920s—and again in the 1990s.
Days in Catland with Louis Wain. Father Tuck’s Panorama. [1895]
Father Tuck’s Express Train Panorama With Movable Pictures. [1895]
Father Tuck's Railway Express ["Flying Scotsman"] Panorama with Movable Pictures. [c. 1895]
Alice in Wonderland Panorama with Movable Pictures. [ca. 1912] (German-printed with easel and palette trademark)
Father Tuck’s Noah's Ark Panorama With Movable Pictures. [ca. 1900]
Father Tuck's Panorama Fairy Tales. The Sleeping Beauty and Little Snowdrop. [ca. 1900]
Father Tuck's Fairy Stories Panorama. Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and Rose Bud. [ca. 1900]
Father Tuck’s Meadowsweet Farm. [ca. 1908]
Father Tuck's Zoo Panorama with Movable Pictures. [ca. 1908]
With Father Tuck in Fairyland Panorama. [ca. 1910]
With Father Tuck at the Circus Panorama. [ca. 1910]
Father Tuck‘s Nursery Rhyme Panorama with Movable Pictures. [ca. 1910]
Father Tuck's Toy Town Panorama with Movable Pictures. [ca. 1910]
Father Tuck's Panorama, Buttercup Farm. [ca. 1910]
With Father Tuck at the Seaside. [ca. 1920] (German-printed, earlier “King & Queen” imprint)
Crossing the Channel Panorama with Movable Pictures. [ca. 1920]
Father Tuck's World's Circus: Panorama with Movable Pictures. [ca. 1920]
Father Tuck’s Alice in Wonderland Panorama. [ca. 1926] (red boards; folding panorama, not slot-style)
RAF Fighter Station Scenic Panorama. [1950]
Coronation Procession Panorama with Movable Pictures. [1952]
Cinderella Scenic Panorama Book. [1952]
The Busy Seaport Scenic Panorama Book. [ca. 1952]
Royal Naval Review Scenic Panorama. [1952]
Road Travel Scenic Panorama Book. [1952/1953]
Our Trains Scenic Panorama Book. [1952]
Airport Scenic Panorama Book. [1953]
Robin Hood Scenic Panorama Book. [1954]
With Father Tuck at the Seaside. [1954 version] (printed in England under King George VI, Queen Mother, and Queen Mary imprint)
Trooping the Colour Scenic Panorama Book. [1955]
Fun at the Seaside Scenic Panorama Book. [ca. 1955]
Reprints:
Days in Catland with Louis Wain. New York, Shackman & Co., 1991
Father Tuck’s Express Train Panorama with Movable Pictures. New York, Shackman & Co., 1995
Father Tuck’s Noah's Ark Panorama. New York, Shackman & Co., 1997
Father Tuck’s World’s Circus Panorama with Movable Pictures. Shackman, 1998
Father Tuck’s Alice in Wonderland. New York, Shackman & Co., 2000
With Father Tuck in Fairyland Panorama. New York, Shackman & Co., early 2000s
International Editions of Raphael Tuck Slot-In Panorama Books
Raphael Tuck & Sons’ iconic large-format panorama books—featuring folding rear envelopes and numbered slot-in figures—were issued not only in English but also in multiple international editions. These were often direct translations or adaptations with identical construction and artwork. Below is a summary of confirmed examples:
German Editions
No publisher stated; marked only with the trademark “gesetzl. gesch.” (gesetzlich geschützt / legally protected)
These anonymous editions were published in Germany, likely under license or as direct reprints. They share the identical die-cut figures and panorama format used in Tuck’s English originals.
Dornröschen Sneewittchen Panorama-Buch
German equivalent of Father Tuck’s Fairy Tales Panorama (The Sleeping Beauty and Little Snow Drop)
Auf dem Lande Panorama-Buch
German equivalent of Father Tuck’s Buttercup Farm Panorama
Rotkäppchen, Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot Panorama-Buch
A unique German adaptation not known to exist in English, though it aligns with Tuck's fairy-tale panorama format.
Dutch Editions
Zomervacantie aan zee (ca. 1912)
Dutch edition of With Father Tuck at the Seaside
Editor: M. Hildebrandt
Publisher: Scheltens & Giltay, Amsterdam
Listed in the Library of the Netherlands under: Panorama Serie II
Noted as Hildebrandt’s only known movable book. Identical structure and figures to the English edition.
Oom Bob’s Panorama Series (ca. 1920)
Dutch-language slot-in books matching English Tuck titles, credited to “Uncle Bob”:
Kijkjes in Poesenland (Days in Catland)
Spoortreinboek (Express Train)
Speelgoed-stad (Toy Town)
Het circus (World's Circus)
Het kanaal over (Crossing the Channel)
In de dierentuin (Zoo)
Each shares the panorama construction with folding panels, envelope, and slot-in figures.
French Editions
Collection de l’Oncle Tuck au Pays des Jouets (Panorama No. 8589)
A rare French-language panorama in the standard Tuck format.
Features four fold-out panels with numbered slots and loose figures
published by Raphael Tuck & Sons, under their French branding: "Raphael Tuck & Fils" (Fils = Sons in French).
Other notes and references:
From: The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), Saturday 16 December 1911, page 6:
Questions? Email us at [email protected]