Four Twinkling Eye Books with Original Box (Movable Eye‑cover Toy Books, ca. 1920s)
Publisher: Samˈl Gabriel & Sons (printed in Germany, U.S. distribution)
Format: Four softcover oblong books in original red box (approx. 5 × 12 in each)
Contents: Titles #590 Little White Paws, #591 Really Plain Jane, #592 Billy Brown’s School Days, #593 Little Brown Babies — 12 unnumbered pages each, chromolithographed illustrations in black and red, covers with working movable eye mechanics.
Box: Original red board box titled Four Twinkling Eye Books, with peep-through holes for two covers; top and bottom flaps present, sidewalls torn.
A rare surviving set of Samˈl Gabriel & Sons’ Twinkling Eye series—novel movable‑eyed picture booklets printed in Germany for U.S. distribution in the early 20th century. Only Billy Brown’s School Days appears in rare microfilm catalogs (Opie). The complete boxed set with all four intact and functioning covers is exceptionally scarce.
Condition:
Books are in good condition with secure bindings and vibrant illustrations. All eye mechanisms still work. Minor edge wear. Box shows sidewall tears but both lids present.
Collector’s Corner:
Samˈl Gabriel & Sons of New York (active early 1900s–mid century) specialized in novelty children’s books, including mechanical paper toy books and holiday gift sets. The Twinkling Eye series is a lesser-known but inventive subset featuring moving eyes activated by sliding mechanisms. A complete boxed presentation of the series—especially with intact mechanics—is extraordinarily rare.
The Twinkling Eye series represents one of the most imaginative novelty picture-book formats of the 1920s, distinguished by die-cut covers with movable or reflective eye elements designed to “wink” or shift when the book is tilted. These titles were manufactured in Germany to achieve the fine chromolithographic finish and mechanical precision associated with European toy-book production of the period, then distributed in the United States as premium children's gift items. Contemporary U.S. government tariff rulings confirm their commercial description and novelty status: in Treasury Decisions Under the Customs, Internal Revenue, and Miscellaneous Laws (Documented in U.S. Treasury Decisions (Vol 59, 1931, p.1212) ), “Twinkling Eye” books were specifically identified as imported toy-books with movable eyes, initially classified at the higher toy duty rate before being recognized as books under paragraph 1310. This documentation not only secures their dating and nomenclature but also illustrates their hybrid status at the time—straddling the line between book and plaything.
About the Publisher:
Sam’l Gabriel Sons & Co. was established in New York in 1892 when Samuel Gabriel began selling children’s books, entering a growing field of American juvenile publishing in the late nineteenth century. In 1910 he formally incorporated the business under the name Sam’l Gabriel Sons & Co., at which time he brought his sons, Bertram and Arthur, into partnership. From its earliest years the company specialized in children’s books, pre-school learning aids, picture books, toy books, and paper novelties, contributing to the expanding market for educational and entertainment materials for young readers in the first decades of the twentieth century.
Samuel's son, Arthur R. Gabriel joined the firm in 1910 after beginning his career with Raphael Tuck & Sons of London, a prominent publisher known for illustrated children’s works and toy formats. He later noted that his father’s firm quickly became a leading American house in similar fields. Arthur assumed the presidency of Sam’l Gabriel Sons & Co. in 1920, succeeding his father, and remained at the head of the company during a period of stability and expansion in the juvenile book and toy trade.
By the 1920s the company was widely recognized as one of the largest American producers of pre-school games, picture books, puzzles, and children’s novelties. In 1931 the firm was acquired by the American Colortype Company through a stock exchange, but the Gabriel family continued to administer the imprint and direct operations. At the time of the acquisition the New York Times noted that Sam’l Gabriel Sons & Co. would continue to operate under the direction of Arthur R. and Bertram A. Gabriel, and would remain headquartered in New York while further integrating with Colortype’s national printing interests. The company subsequently became a division of American Colortype, and later members of the Gabriel family held leadership roles both in the Gabriel imprint and in Colortype’s corporate structure.
Leadership transitioned to the next generation as Arthur R. Gabriel became chairman of the board in 1952, after serving more than three decades as president. Bertram A. Gabriel Jr., representing the third generation of the family, was appointed vice president in charge of operations that year, having previously joined the Colortype division in 1939 and worked in all departments of the firm. In the same period, Robert Laughton was named sales manager; he had formerly served with McLoughlin Brothers and Cuneo Press. These appointments reflect continuity of the firm as a family-guided publisher even under corporate ownership.
Arthur R. Gabriel died in New York in 1953 at the age of 69. His obituary described him as chairman of the board of Sam’l Gabriel Sons & Co., publishers of children’s books and manufacturers of toys, and noted his prior roles as president of the company and director of the American Colortype Company. The obituary also records that he remained active in publishing circles and maintained homes in both New York and Sarasota, Florida.
From their publishing brochure "Books : Toys: Dolls : Games/Sam'l Gabriel/ca. 1910":
Note: “Panoramic Pictures at the Zoo” is documented as an early panoramic unfolding scene book originally issued by Raphael Tuck & Sons in London. A verified American-market edition bearing the imprint of Sam’l Gabriel Sons & Co. confirms that the Gabriel firm served not only as a publisher of original novelty titles but also as a United States distributor and reissuer of select Tuck movable works. This cross-imprint example materially links the two firms and substantiates Arthur R. Gabriel’s early professional association with Tuck, as noted in contemporary sources. The Gabriel edition demonstrates that European movable book formats and visual programs were adapted and marketed for American readers under the Gabriel imprint, a distribution relationship not widely documented in existing movable-book scholarship.
(Tuck edition available here at Panoramic Pictures at the Zoo )
The American Gabriel edition is available at David Brass Rare Books: American Gabriel edition
References:
New York Times, “Grandson Is Promoted in Gabriel Sons Changes,” July 12, 1952, page 21.
New York Times, “Named Sales Manager Of Samuel Gabriel Sons,” September 13, 1952, page 25.
New York Times, “Toy Book Concern Acquired,” February 4, 1931.
New York Times, “Arthur R. Gabriel,” July 7, 1953, page 27.