Scott & Sleeman, London, 1917.
Dolly’s Peep-show Picture Book (Movable Book).
Oblong quarto (8 7/8 x 7 inches). [12] pp. Includes four double-page chromolithographed pop-up scenes: Dolls in their house, Dolls at school, Dolls in a toy shop, and Dolls getting ready for bed. Title-page illustration signed “Nister.” Designed in England, printed in Bavaria.
Very Good. All four pop-up scenes are original, undamaged, and fully functional. Each opens cleanly and stands as intended. Pages are clean and complete. Binding slightly loose but still attached. No repairs or replacements. An unusually well-preserved, complete example of Nister’s final movable book.
Collector’s Corner:
This title holds special significance as the final movable book produced under the Ernest Nister name. Although Nister himself died in 1906, his publishing firm continued to operate under his imprint for more than a decade. Dolly’s Peep-show Picture Book is believed to be the last original movable book developed by the Nister firm before its operations were shuttered during the upheaval of World War I.
Issued in 1917, this volume showcases Nister’s signature design elements—charming domestic scenes, tiered chromolithographed layers, and inventive paper engineering—but it also reflects the transitional state of the publishing house at the time. With international tensions high and trade with German firms restricted, the Nister business was ultimately liquidated by the British Board of Trade. As a result, the book was published under the name Scott & Sleeman, who assumed control of Nister’s London operations and remaining publishing assets. This edition thus represents both the end of an era and a rare final expression of Nister’s influential legacy in movable book production.
Notes on this book: Quite rare with no library holdings found.
Robert Scott and his partner Sleeman owned a publishing house at Roxburghe House on 7 Paternoster Row in 1907. They published children's books as well as calendars.
What is the connection between Englishmen Scott & Sleeman and their predecessors, the company once run by German Ernest Nister (1841–1906), especially during the World War I time-frame?
According to Hunt (pages 13 and 14), Nister’s English exports were forced to terminate due to World War I and their London office closed in 1917. He also mentions that this and Change About Pictures were the last two movable books printed by the Nister Company. So why is Dolly’s Peep-show Picture Book considered the final Nister?
While both titles appeared in 1917, Dolly’s Peep-show was the only one published under the Scott & Sleeman imprint following their formal acquisition of Nister’s British business. Change About Pictures still bore only the Nister name, suggesting it was issued earlier or prior to the official transfer. Dolly’s Peep-show reflects the full transition of assets, imprint, and publishing control, making it symbolically and bibliographically the final movable title in the Nister legacy.
Below is some interesting information on Nister and Scott:
According to The Publishers Weekly, Vol. 91, 1917, p. 1460:
“ROBERT Scott, the London publisher, has purchased thru J. D. Pattullo, acting under instruction of the Board of Trade, the London publishing business formerly carried on by Ernest Nister, a German, at 26 and 28 St. Bride Street, E. C.”
According to The Publisher: The Journal of the Publishing Industry, 1917, p. 9:
“Robert Scott has pleasure in announcing that, in connection with the business of Ernest Nister, which he recently acquired ... will in future be conducted from Roxburghe House, Paternoster Row, E.C., under the style of Scott & Sleeman.”
According to British Market, Vol. 52, 1917, p. 54:
“Scott & Sleeman have transferred the business of Ernest Nister to Roxburghe House, Paternoster Row, London, E.C., and there a spacious showroom is being fitted up for displaying what may be described as the Nister lines.” That page goes on to say: “It is no secret, of course, that the business of Ernest Nister was an enemy concern, and was compulsorily closed by order of the ... The acquiring of the Nister interests in this country by Mr. Robert Scott is a very welcome sign of the times.”
According to The Publisher: The Journal of the Publishing Industry, 1917, p. 333:
“The business will be continued for the present at the old address, 26 and 28, St. Bride Street, E.C., as a distinctly British concern, all new publications in course of production being entirely of British manufacture.”
This volume represents an important posthumous continuation of Ernest Nister’s movable book legacy and captures a unique episode in the transition of a beloved German publishing line into British hands during the upheaval of World War I.