THE HISTORY AND ADVENTURES OF LITTLE HENRY 1810 2cond edition - complete!

Issued in a 5" X 4" cardboard slipcase with the same printed text as on the soft card printed wrappers.

Includes all 7 hand-colored copper engraved die-cut doll figures, the 1 interchangeable head, and all 4 hats
Note: we believe that Little Henry originally came with 6 hats, meaning that 2 are missing.

Collector's Corner:

S. & J. Fuller, established in 1809 by Samuel Williams Fuller and Joseph Carr Fuller, operated as publishers, printsellers, stationers, and artists' colourmen at the "Temple of Fancy," located at 34 Rathbone Place, London. They operated until 1854, when its name was changed to Fuller & Co (1855-1862). Another name change occurred in 1856 to 1862 to Joseph & Samuel B. Fuller. The publishing company was located at the Temple of Fancy, 34 Rathbone Place, London 1809-1862 and also at 35 Rathbone Place 1848-1859. The company dealt in publishing, bookbinding, print selling, engraving, and card making, including playing cards
Partners of the firm were Samuel Williams Fuller (c.1777-1857) and his brother Joseph Carr Fuller (c.1783-1863). They opened their shop in Rathbone Place in 1809, saying that they had been ‘many years with Mr. Edward Orme, New Bond-street’, a print dealer and publisher. The partnership was dissolved in 1854 (London Gazette 3 March 1854)

Heal,89.63 advertises "S & J Fuller, Preparers of Permanent Superfine Water Colours...Merchants, Captains, and Traders supplied Wholesale and for Exportation. Wholesale Manufacturers of Bristol Boards, Ivory Paper, & Cards. Albums and Scrapbooks in handsome Bindings and Drawings of every kind for Embellishment and Illustration. Engravers, Publishers, Printsellers, & Fancy Stationers. Face Screens, Pole Screens, and elegant Poles for mounting ditto. Varnishing done in a superior manner. Publishers of the Greatest Variety of Sporting Prints, and Rudimental Works on the Art of Drawing, by the First Artists."

Partners of the firm were Samuel Williams Fuller (c.1777-1857) and his brother Joseph Carr Fuller (c.1783-1863). They opened their shop in Rathbone Place in 1809, saying that they had been ‘many years with Mr. Edward Orme, New Bond-street’, a print dealer and publisher. The partnership was dissolved in 1854 (London Gazette 3 March 1854)

The Paper Doll books:

It seems Fuller's production was short-lived. short-lived. D. N. Shury of Berwick Street, Soho, printed the paper doll books for the Fullers, and they were released largely between 1805 and 1815 (Darton, 1999). Examples held in the Opie Collection of Children’s Literature at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, show a spike in production in 1811 and 1812, though the Fullers published at least one title in the years 1810 to 1814.
Peter Haining (1979) argues that by 1817, the paper doll book format had “fallen out of favor in Britain” . Percy Muir (1954) notes that the Fullers prioritized “elegance of presentation over cost” in their production of paper doll books, resulting in high prices for the works and, consequently, a swift decline in their popularity. Muir describes the entire endeavor as “a comparative failure.”

Later editions were created by Belcher of Boston in 1812; many reference sites incorrectly credit Belcher with introducing Little Henry. Henry was actually first introduced by Fuller in 1810 as a companion to "Little Fanny". Joshua Belcher may have pirated the book, but he made it the first commercially successful paper doll book in America.

Note however that editions of Fuller paper doll books continued to appear until at least 1830 is supported by historical records. Specifically, an eleventh edition of Dr. Walcot’s The History and Adventures of Little Henry, originally published in 1810, is held in the Opie Collection of Children’s Literature at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, with a date of 1830.

Other Paper Doll titles (that we know of) by Fuller:

The History of Little Fanny

1811 - More of a paper doll book for adults was published: The Protean Figure and Metamorphic Costumes is a paper toy book that features a dressing doll with various costumes. Unlike the Fuller paper doll books, this work was not specifically designed for children. It is a tall, slim 8vo volume that includes a paper toy with costumes and an instruction sheet pasted to the inside front board, accompanied by the original slipcase. The book showcases the fashion and costume designs of the early 19th century.

S. & J. Fuller also produced "toilet books," a unique type of lift-the-flap book developed in the 1820s. These books featured illustrations of items from a dressing table, each representing a specific virtue. Lifting the flap would reveal a scene illustrating that virtue, combining moral lessons with interactive play.

We also know of 3 paper peepshows by Fuller :

The Areaorama, a View in the Regent’s Park, S. & J. Fuller, 1825.
( It depicts Regent’s Park, a landmark that embodied the concept of the urban picturesque, an aesthetic focused on the harmonious integration of natural beauty and urban planning)

[Masquerade], lithographed by T. M. Baynes, published by S. & J. Fuller, hand-colored lithograph, 1826, Gestetner 207, the V&A.
( lavish and whimsical world of masquerade balls)

A View on the Thames, published by S. & J. Fuller around 1825–1826
(featuring a detailed hand-colored depiction of the Thames and its surrounding urban landscape)

Their paper peepshows are now preserved in significant collections, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum's Gestetner Collection

References:

Peepshows - Yu, Shijia (2020) Amusing, interesting, and curious: the paper peepshow in England, 1825-1851. [Thesis] (Unpublished)

Field, Hannah. “‘A Story, Exemplified in a Series of Figures’: Paper Doll versus Moral Tale in the Nineteenth Century.” Girlhood Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, 2012, pp. 37-56.