Robinson Crusoe - Agatha's Pantomime Prentenboeken no. 2 - Dutch movable book edition of Dean's Pantomime Series

Robinson Crusoe – Agatha’s Pantomime Prentenboeken No. 2 (Dutch edition of Dean & Son’s Pantomime Series )
Agatha (Reinoudina de Goeje)
Amsterdam: Jacs. G. Robbers, 1893
Size: 12 x 9 inches (31 x 24 cm) | 2 x [7] pages | Mounted on linen | Chromolithographed covers by L. van Leer & Co., Haarlem

This highly inventive Dutch edition of Dean & Son’s Pantomime Series was adapted by Reinoudina de Goeje (1833–1893), writing under her well-known pseudonym "Agatha." The book is die-cut and shaped like a toy theatre, with dual spines connected at the rear board to allow the volume to stand upright like a stage set. Side panels fold outward to form a full triptych-style theatre, with orchestra pit below and wing flaps at the sides. The text consists of brief prose captions by Agatha, describing the scenes enacted across seven vividly colored chromolithograph plates.

Condition: Excellent. All components are present and complete, with no damage to the stage or interior plates. Slight tear to rear cover, unobtrusive. See photos for details. A remarkably well-preserved example of a fragile and visually striking theatrical-format book.

This is the Dutch-language adaptation of Dean & Son’s Pantomime Series, issued by Jacs. G. Robbers in Amsterdam and published in 1893. The illustrations were lithographed by the firm of L. van Leer & Co. in Haarlem, known for their high-quality chromolithographic printing. The format precisely mirrors Dean's original design, suggesting close collaboration or licensed reprint rather than imitation.

This book forms part of a remarkable international series of late Victorian movable toy books designed by Dean & Son. Their celebrated Pantomime Series consisted of four shaped, theatrical picture books issued in English, each constructed to stand upright like a miniature stage:

1. Cinderella

2. Robinson Crusoe

3. Little Red Riding Hood

4. Beauty and the Beast

These elaborately die-cut books employ a theatrical format with dual spines at the rear board and fold-out side panels forming stage wings. Inside, a sequence of chromolithographed scenes—mounted on linen—creates a dramatic, freestanding display that exemplifies the peak of nineteenth-century paper engineering in children’s books.

The Dutch versions of this series were published in Amsterdam in 1893 by Jacs. G. Robbers under the collective title Agatha’s Pantomime Prentenboeken. The texts were translated and adapted for a Dutch-speaking audience by Reinoudina de Goeje (1833–1893), a pioneering female translator of children’s literature who wrote under the pseudonym “Agatha” and introduced French, German, and English classics to Dutch readers. Her name appears prominently on the Dutch editions, indicating authorized translation rather than piracy.

The known Dutch titles are:

1. Asschepoetster (Cinderella)

2. Robinson Crusoë

3. Roodkapje (Little Red Riding Hood)

4. Bella en de Beer (Beauty and the Beast)

The Dutch books closely follow Dean & Son’s original structure and format. Lithographic printing was carried out by L. van Leer & Co. of Haarlem, a firm noted for its expertise in high-quality color printing and mechanically complex illustrated books.

According to Theo Gielen, the Dean Pantomime series was also translated into Swedish in 1891, where the same four stories appeared as:

1. Askungen (Cinderella)

2. Robinson Crusoe

3. Lilla Rödluvan (Little Red Riding Hood)

4. Skönheten och odjuret (Beauty and the Beast)

Parallel editions were likewise issued in French. In addition, theatrical picture books based on the same designs were produced for the American market by McLoughlin Bros., New York, who pirated the series in the 1890s. These American issues reflect the widespread international appeal of Dean & Son’s Pantomime designs but represent separate commercial adaptations rather than original English or Dutch editions.

Theo Gielen discusses the Dutch and international variants of the Pantomime series in Movable Stationery, Vol. 7 (1999), p. 12. Bibliographic dating for the Dutch Robbers editions is further confirmed by Brinkman’s Catalogus van Boeken en Tijdschriften, Vol. 1 (1891), p. 11. Wim Bunster additionally records the later international circulation and trade distribution of these Pantomime books, including their acquisition en bloc by the Dutch distributor Vlieger and the appearance of related American co-productions in 1894.

Kinder-courant; met platen en vignetten, 1892–1893, no 15 (1 January 1892) contains obituary information about Agatha It states (translated from Dutch):

"The Kinder-Courant has lost, through death, a highly esteemed and faithful collaborator. For many years Agatha wrote for our weekly paper charming, engaging stories that boys and girls so gladly read, because they recognized themselves in them. Agatha held up to them a mirror in which they recognized their own likeness...Agatha, who was born on 11 April 1833 in Rotterdam, died on 8 February of this year. She will not only continue to live in the memory of all the children who were so captivated by her lovely stories, but the good work she accomplished will cause the name of AGATHA, as a gifted writer, to live on in our country." The Editors

About the publisher:

Jacs. G. Robbers was a Dutch bookseller and publisher, later developing into an international publishing house active from the mid nineteenth century into the twentieth century, playing a significant role in the dissemination of illustrated literature, educational works, translations, and general reading material in the Netherlands.

The firm originated with Jacobus George Robbers (1838–1925), who established a bookshop and publishing business under his own name during the expansion of the Dutch print market in the later nineteenth century. The company initially operated as both a bookselling and publishing concern, issuing literary works, travel writing, historical studies, and popular illustrated books intended for a broad middle class readership. Publications bearing the imprint appear in both Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

During the late nineteenth century the publisher issued numerous illustrated volumes and translated works, including this one, demonstrating participation in the international circulation of children’s and popular literature that characterized European publishing at the time

By the early twentieth century the business expanded through partnerships and reorganizations. A notarial restructuring in 1904 created the firm Jacs. G. Robbers and Feikema Caarelsen & Co., continuing operations in Amsterdam for an indefinite term beginning in 1905. The company later became connected with larger Dutch publishing networks and was eventually associated with firms within the Elsevier publishing sphere, illustrating the consolidation of Dutch publishing houses during the modern industrial period. The Robbers firm remained active well into the twentieth century, evolving from an independent nineteenth-century bookseller-publisher into part of the broader professional and academic publishing infrastructure of the Netherlands. Leadership passed within the Robbers family across generations, including later management by descendants such as John Robbers in the twentieth century. Today, the imprint Jacs. G. Robbers is encountered primarily on nineteenth-century Dutch illustrated books, translations, and educational publications.

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References:
Klingberg, G. Children’s Fiction in Sweden, p. 21
Theo Gielen, Movable Stationery, Vol. 7 (1999), p. 12
Brinkman’s Catalogus van Boeken en Tijdschriften, Vol. 1 (1891), p. 11
Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Dutch edition records: https://www.kb.nl
Bunster, Wim. Papieren Speelgoed: Pop-up Prentenboeken en Bewegende Prenten. Amsterdam: Ludion, 2004.