Raphael Tuck - Life In The Woods - movable panorama lift up cover and pull up die cut figures - very scarce title

Raphael Tuck – Life In The Woods

Panorama with a liftable flap on cover and lift up die-cut figures inside – Quite Scarce

London -Paris - New York ; Raphael Tuck & Sons, Ltd., Publishers to the Queen, Designed at the studios in England and printed at the Fine Arts Works in Saxony. # 1507

No date: Circa 1890

This panorama book, crafted by Raphael Tuck & Sons in the 1890s, features movable front cover with a liftable panel that reveals a charming illustration of a squirrel couple. Constructed from thick cardboard, the book includes eight panels that extend.

The panorama employs separate die-cut figures to create a unique "pop-out" mechanism. Embossed die-cut images are mounted to the pages, where they lift up to give the appearance of three-dimensionality ( they are not placed in slits) , See below for why we rate this book as “Quite Scarce”

8.5 x 23.5 cm [7.25x 9inches) Fold out size 18.5 x 142cm [7.25 x 157 inches]

The book is designed to be educational, with information about different wild animals provided on the verso of the illustrations.

There are four single-page "pop-out" pages and 1 center-spread pop-out

Stories about each of the illustrated pop-out pages given on five verso pages include:

The Kingfisher

The Peasant

Feathers & Fur

Mr. Squirrel and the Thrush Family

Goldfinch, Magpie, Turtle Dove, and Wren

Condition: All pop-out features are intact and undamaged, and the original movable cover functions well without the need for any repairs. Notably, two pages, including the cover and rear board, have become unbound, and there is a noticeable crack/tear at the top of the back cover. Minor edge wear and slight fading of the text pages are observed, consistent with the book’s age.

Scarcity: Despite an extensive search across multiple platforms, including libraries, booksellers, online collections, and Google book references, we found no current listings or catalog entries for "Life in the Woods" by Raphael Tuck & Sons – with the exception of the extensive Tuck collection by TuckDB Ephemera. This absence across common sources like the British Museum's collection, various specialized booksellers, and historical archives of Raphael Tuck & Sons indicates that this book is quite rare. Given Raphael Tuck & Sons' history of producing limited editions and unique movable books, particularly during the late 19th century, it's not surprising that this particular book appears scarce. The company's practice of issuing limited runs, often as novelties or for special occasions, would contribute to the rarity of this and several of our Tuck movables found here – and nowhere else currently. Found more often are similar Tuck panoramas - See Collector's Corner below: