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Chambers, Jack S & [Blyton, Enid].
Show Book Series A Number 2: [Enid Blyton Presents Mary Mouse ”Mary Mouse and the Dolls House” peep-show].
Publisher: Werner Laurie, London;
Date of Publication: 1951
Stock Code: 9063
Concertina style square peep show, approximately 22 cm x 18 cm in stiff pictorial paper-covered thick card boards which pull apart to reveal paper curtains followed by six fold-out panoramas within (one to lower board and others to folded paper with bellows), viewable through a window in the upper board. Illustrations by Olive Openshaw, who was the artist for the Mary Mouse series of story books. Boards lightly soiled, rubbed to edge with wear to corners, and minor loss to paper at lower corner of upper board. With a 5 cm unobtrusive closed tear to paper curtain, and 2 of the 3 tabs to final paper bellows split (where it attaches to lower board) but scenes complete and in good order. A very good copy. The Showbook (direct descendant of the Victorian peep-show craze) was an entertainment by which children could construct a paper model “theatre” using only scissors and glue, and their care and concentration. This story depicts scenes from an incident in Enid Blyton’s “Mary Mouse and the Dolls House” and was one of a series which also included Noah’s Ark and a Christmas Crib Scene as well as another Blyton story, “Rubbalong Tales”. The fragile nature of the carefully constructed result ensures that few exist without substantial damage, so this is a rare survival. Jisc locates just 4 copies of books in the series at UK holdings, none of which are this particular title. £175.00