McLOUGHLIN BROS.
Little Pets ABC Panorama (Movable Panorama Book)
New York: McLoughlin Bros., ca. 1875.
Panorama stage format with original wooden rollers housed in a pasteboard enclosure, measuring 1 5/8 x 7 3/4 x 7 in. (4.1 x 19.7 x 17.8 cm). The movable panorama strip measures approximately 4 1/2 inches wide and scrolls smoothly across twenty-eight alphabet-themed scenes, one for each letter. Each scene features a child whose name begins with that letter engaging in a corresponding activity—for example, “W is Walter Flying a kite.” This is a movable variant of the McLoughlin Bros. children’s book Major’s Alphabet (1870), using identical illustrations.
Condition:
Good. Stage is complete and intact with original wooden handles. Moderate soiling and foxing to the front pastedown panel, with a few small tears. The panorama strip is clean and bright overall. One vertical tear in the latter half of the strip was repaired with a backing that shows minor tape staining. Several other tears exhibit hand-sewn thread repairs, a period-typical conservation method. The strip is complete and still advances smoothly when cranked with the wooden rollers.
Collector’s Corner:
This book likely did not originally come with an enclosed case. The Publishers' Trade List Annual (1876), p. 41, clarifies that only the larger panoramas were housed in pasteboard cases: “Each style of panorama has a proscenium, and the larger ones are enclosed in pasteboard cases.” This ABC edition, being of the smaller variety, would have been issued without one.
The illustrations are attributed to William Momberger (1829–1895), a German-born artist who immigrated to the United States in 1848 following his involvement in that year's revolution. In 1852, he co-founded the lithography firm Coughey and Momberger in New York. He became a prolific illustrator of American children's books, contributing numerous works to the McLoughlin Bros. catalog into the late 1880s. Momberger's fine-lined style helped shape the visual identity of American juvenile literature in the mid-19th century, alongside contemporaries like Thomas Nast and Palmer Cox.
Momberger’s obituary in The Record: A Current Record of Art, Bibliography, and Antiquarianism (vol. 6, no. 12, April 15, 1895, p. 4) refers to him as one of the last “Old American Illustrators.” He died peacefully in his garden in the Bronx, and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, New York.
References:
The Publishers' Trade List Annual, 1876, p. 41.
“The Record: A Current Record of Art, Bibliography, and Antiquarianism,” vol. 6, no. 12 (April 15, 1895), p. 4.
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library.
American Antiquarian Society.
Wikipedia contributors, “William Momberger.”
Collect them all !
McLoughlin's scrolling panoramas include:
Menagerie of Wild Animals Panorama: featuring lithographed images of wild animals in their natural habitats.
Minstrels Panorama: featuring lithographed images of minstrels and musicians.
Zoological Panorama: featuring lithographed images of various animals, including elephants, lions, and monkeys.
Panorama of the Greatest Show on Earth (circus): featuring lithographed images of circus performers, animals, and scenes.
Cinderella Grand Panorama: featuring lithographed images of scenes from the fairy tale of Cinderella.
Uncle Sam's panorama of Rip van Winkle and Yankee Doodle: featuring lithographed images of scenes from the stories of Rip van Winkle and Yankee Doodle.
Humpty Dumpty Panorama: featuring lithographed images of scenes from the nursery rhyme of Humpty Dumpty.
Uncle Sam Panorama: featuring lithographed images of Uncle Sam and patriotic scenes.
Major's Panorama Alphabet: featuring lithographed images of the letters of the alphabet, each with an accompanying image.
Panorama Nursery Alphabet: featuring lithographed images of the letters of the alphabet, each with an accompanying nursery rhyme.
About McLoughlin Brothers:
McLoughlin Brothers, founded by John McLoughlin Jr. and his brother Edmund, specialized in children's literature and educational materials, including toy books, comic almanacs, and valentines. The firm was notable for its innovative use of color in illustrations, progressing from hand-stenciling to more advanced techniques like chromolithography.
McLoughlin Bros was a New York publisher of books, puzzles, games and paper dolls. Savvy about modern marketing and production, McLoughlin was able to pirate and copyright titles by greats such as JF Schreiber and Dean & Son for the American market as well as produce their own originals. They were in business from 1828 until 1920 when they were bought out by Milton Bradley, Inc. Milton Bradley continued to use the brand “Mcloughlin brothers”, including the 1930’s 40’s series of pop-up books - "Jolly Jump-Ups" but the McLoughlin division of Milton Bradley shut down during World War II . In 1951, the McLoughlin Bros. brand was bought by New York toy manufacturer Julius Kushner. Some of the the Jolly Jump-Ups were reissued at that time. Finally sold to Grosset & Dunlap in 1954. Several more Mcloughlin books were issued, but we ceased seeing the imprint by the 1970s.
We will soon publish a more detailed bio under our Movable Book History section