Panoramic Pictures at the Zoo

New York: Sam'l Gabriel Sons & Company, 1900. A Folding Panorama With Six 'Perspective' Plates

[POP-UP BOOK]. Panoramic Pictures at the Zoo. New York: Sam'l Gabriel Sons & Company, [ca. 1900].

First? American Edition. Oblong quarto (8 1/8 x 10 1/2 inches; 207 x 267 mm.). Four pages of text and six 'perspective' plates.

Panorama-style publishers glazed color pictorial boards, six panels all joined together with original red cloth hinges.
The front cover with children riding on an elephant being led by the zoo keeper and lettered "Panoramic Pictures at the Zoo". The rear cover with two American Bison and "No 918/Printed in Germany". All edges stained red.

These panorama books were not reading books in the strictest sense, but folding miniature models of a zoo complete with cages. By simply pulling on the tab with the name of the animal the picture transformed into a 3-D vision (with the animals all safely behind bars).

The four pages of text:
1. Lion - Tiger - Kangaroo
2. Camel - Zebra - Ostrich
3. Deer - Bear- Monkey
4. Elephant - Wolf - Bison

The six color plates:
1. Lions
2. Tigers
3. Camels
4. Zebras
5. Deer
6. Bears

According to OCLC there are just two copies of the English version by Raphael Tuck & Sons in libraries and institutions worldwide (both dated 1890) - University of California and University of Delaware. We were unable to locate any of the American (Sam'l Gabriel Sons & Company) edition.