Raphael Tuck & Sons (Publisher). Father Tuck Panorama Slot Picture Books (Movable Toy Book). Salesman Sample Volume Containing Four Panorama Scenes from the Father Tuck Series. Circa 1900–1918.
Rare and likely unrecorded advertising or salesman sample volume demonstrating the popular Father Tuck panorama slot picture toy books issued by Raphael Tuck & Sons. The volume contains four large panorama boards, each derived from a different title in the Father Tuck panorama series. Each scene is designed with die cut slots intended to hold removable standing figures, creating a theatrical three dimensional display when assembled.
The four boards correspond to the following Raphael Tuck panorama titles:
Scene 4 corresponds to the circus setting from With Father Tuck at the Circus: Panorama.
Scene 3 corresponds to the seaside scene from With Father Tuck at the Seaside: Panorama.
Scene 2 corresponds to the opening scene from Father Tuck’s Panorama Fairy Stories, featuring characters from Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and Rose Red.
Scene 1 corresponds to the opening farmyard scene from Father Tuck’s Panorama Buttercup Farm.
Rather than presenting a complete book, the volume combines representative scenes from several titles in the series. The boards are bound together in a plain publisher style board binding which appears contemporary with the printing. At first glance the volume might be mistaken for a later collector’s compilation of panels removed from separate books; however the binding construction and presentation strongly suggest that the volume was intentionally assembled as a demonstration copy.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries publishers commonly produced salesman sample books, also known as specimen or canvassing books, which were used by traveling sales agents to promote new titles to booksellers and distributors. These sample volumes typically contained selected illustrations, partial text, or representative pages that demonstrated the appearance and mechanical features of a book without requiring the salesman to carry numerous complete copies. By combining scenes from several panorama titles into a single demonstration volume, Raphael Tuck & Sons would have enabled sales agents to display the distinctive slot figure panorama format while simultaneously promoting multiple books in the popular Father Tuck series.
The volume bears a stamp from J. J. Rehbach, Regensburg.
Condition
Excellent. Scenes bright and clean. All original slot figures present with none missing. Figures in fine original condition. Binding sound and secure.
Dimensions
30 cm x 27 cm (approximately 11 x 12.5 inches).
Dating
The J. J. Rehbach stamp present in the volume corresponds to a mark used between approximately 1900 and 1918, providing a likely date range for the piece.
Collector’s Corner
It remains uncertain why this volume bears a Rehbach stamp. The Rehbach enterprise of Regensburg was a well known German manufacturing firm, best known for its production of pencils. The company traces its origins to 1834 when Johann Jakob Rehbach established the business on Marschallstrasse near Ägidienplatz in Regensburg within the premises known as the “New German House.” The firm was later operated by members of the Rehbach family including Johann Michael Rehbach (1809–1859) and Johann Christoph Rehbach (1805–1884) and continued as a family enterprise until 1934.
By 1869 the factory employed approximately 300 workers and produced an annual output of roughly 21 million pencils, making it the second largest pencil manufacturer in Germany. The factory achieved considerable renown and was reportedly visited by King Maximilian II.
The presence of the Rehbach stamp may indicate ownership by a distributor, retailer, or intermediary involved in the trade of novelty books and paper goods during the early twentieth century. The stamp also reinforces that the volume passed through commercial channels and was not a later handmade compilation.
References:
Veikkos-Archiv. (n.d.). Rehbach-Wappen W0298769. Retrieved December 31, 2023, from https://www.veikkos-archiv.com/index.php?title=Rehbach-Wappen_W0298769
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Rehbach (Bleistiftfabrik). In Wikipedia. Retrieved December 31, 2023, from https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rehbach_(Bleistiftfabrik)
Stadt Regensburg. (n.d.). Johann Jakob Rehbach. Retrieved December 31, 2023, from https://www.regensburg.de/kultur/kulturdatenbank/eintrag/119132