The Historiscope by Milton Bradley & Co. GAMES. The Historiscope; A Panorama & HIstory of America. Massachusetts: Milton Bradley & Co., 1868. Full Description:
Historiscope; A Panorama & HIstory of America.
Massachusetts: Milton Bradley & Co., 1868.
Massachusetts: Milton Bradley & Co., [n.d.c.a. 1868].
A scrolling panoramic history of America, seems complete with 24 hand-colored lithographed scenes on a continuous panoramic strip. Length of scroll is approximately 140 inches. Scroll is mounted on two wooden dowels, contained within a paper viewing box. A metal key at the top of the box enables a user to scroll forward and backwards. Box is themed with a theater scene. Housed within an outer paper box with printed paper label (8 x 5 inches; 205 x 130 mm). Some tape repairs along about 8-inches of the back of the scroll along with some creasing, hardly noticeably from the front. Back of the scroll with some foxing. Presumably lacking one of the two winding keys, but the present key works for both directions. Outer box is split and rubbed with left side flap of lid missing as usual. Without the accompanying script that originally came with the toy. Still a very good copy of this children's toy.
"In the nineteenth century, children often learned about the American Revolution through play. An early educational toy in the Institute’s collections, the Historiscope, demonstrates how children learned about American history at home. The scrolling set of lithographs set into a theatrical background allowed a child to present one image after the other to a gathering of family or friends... Beginning in 1868, Milton Bradley & Company began mass-producing a colorful, boxed toy titled 'The Historiscope: A Panorama & History of America.' The Historiscope consists of twenty-four hand-colored lithographs printed on a long strip of paper wound on rollers with simple metal handles, all set in a small cardboard box with an opening through which to view the images. Turning the handles moves the paper to bring the next image into view. To create a theatrical effect, the box around the opening was printed with a depiction of a stage and audience members... The scenes in the Historiscope begin with Christopher Columbus landing in the New World in 1492 and proceed mostly chronologically through colonial and Revolutionary America, ending with Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown in 1781. The images would have been familiar to viewers, as they were based on popular contemporary prints or paintings. The first twelve images depict scenes of the exploration and colonization of America, including the discovery of the Mississippi and the Hudson rivers (the former based on William Powell’s 1855 painting for the U.S. Capitol), Pocahontas saving John Smith, the landing of the Pilgrims, William Penn’s treaty with the Indians (based on Benjamin West’s 1771 painting or subsequent engravings) and the Charter Oak in Connecticut... The other twelve images depict scenes related to the American Revolution that were most remembered in the nineteenth century. Some of these subjects remain iconic events of the Revolution today. The images of the Revolution in the Historiscope begin with ones of the Boston Tea Party, the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill (based on John Trumbull’s 1786 painting or subsequent engravings). Later scenes depict the army at Valley Forge, the arrest of Major John André (based on Asher B. Durand’s 1845 painting) and Cornwallis surrendering at Yorktown." (The American Revolution Institute).
HBS 69593.
$2,500.
Price: $2,500.00
Item #69593