for the Amusement or Instruction of Children.
Year: 1888

page_text: for the Amusement or Instruction of Children.
We JOHN WALKER, of the firm of John Walker and Company, of Farringdon
House, Warwick Lane, in the City of London, Wholesale Stationers, and ANNA HAYS,
of 60 Aliwal Road, Battersea Rise, in the County of Surrey, Spinster, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The invention consists of a novel manufacture of pictures intended for the amuse- .
ment or instruction of children. We produce pictures in any ordinary manner in or
upon cardboard or other suitable material such pictures representing any desired
subject such, for example, as a furnished bedroom or sitting room, and we provide in
connection therewith, in thin cardboard or other suitable material, loose or detached
figures or objects which constitute part of, or the complement of, or additions to the
main picture. In the cardboard or material which bears the main picture we make
cuts or slits to receive the loose or detached figures or objects these cuts or slits
being at such points that the loose or detached figures or objects when inserted
therein will complete the picture or modify the same in an appropriate manner.
When the width or form of these figures or objects is such that they would
pass entirely through the cuts or slits if provision were not made to prevent it we
form pockets by pasting or attaching pieces of cloth or other material to the back of
the main picture behind the cuts, these pockets being of such dimensions as to properly
limit the distance to which the figures or objects can be inserted.
As an example of the way in which the invention may be carried into effect we will
take a picture representing a children's night nursery containing a bed, dressing
table, wardrobe and other usual furniture. In connection with this picture we would
provide loose or detached figures representing, say, a nurse and two children all in
ordinary day dress and also figures of the same two children in their night-dresses.
We would make on that part of the picture which represents the floor of the room
three cuts or slits to receive respectively the figures of the nurse and the two children
in their day dress; and on that part of the picture representing the bed we would
make a cut or slit extending across it just below the pillow. The three figures when

page_text: inserted into the floor slits would represent that the children were about to prepare
for bed; then the two children would be removed from these slits and the figures
representing the children in night dresses would be slipped into the bed slit so that
only their heads would appear; the children being thus in bed the nurse would next
be removed and also, if so pre-arranged, the figure of a lamp which might be held in
a slit in, say, the top of the dressing table.
In like manner to that above described pictures with loose or detached figures or
objects may be made to represent other subjects indoor or outdoor, the figures or
objects being those of human beings, animals or inanimate objects according to the
subject. And it is obvious that the subjects may be such as will serve to instruct
children instead of or in addition to amusing them.
Each picture may have one or more pockets, preferably at the back to contain the
loose figures or objects when not in use and the pictures may be bound up in books or
placed in any desired numbers in boxes, or be otherwise arranged or combined in a
form suitable for sale.
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.

page_text: A Novel Manufacture of Pictures with Movable Figures or Objects
for the Amusement or Instruction of Children.
We JOHN WALKER of the firm of John Walker & Co. of Farringdon House,
Warwick Lane in the City of London, Wholesale Stationers, and ANNA HAYS of
60 Aliwal Road Battersea Rise in the County of Surrey, Spinster do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The invention consists of a novel manufacture of pictures intended for the amuse-
ment or instruction of children. We produce pictures in any ordinary manner in or
upon cardboard or other suitable material, as for example paper mounted on cloth,
such pictures representing any desired subject, such for example as a furnished
bedroom or sitting room and we provide in connection therewith, in thin cardboard
or other suitable material, loose or detached figures or objects which constitute part
of or the complement of or additions to the main picture. In the cardboard or
material which bears the main picture we make cuts or slits to receive the loose or
detached figures or objects, these cuts or slits being at such points, that the loose or
detached figures or objects when inserted therein will complete the picture or modify the
same in an appropriate manner. When the width or form of these figures or objects is
such that they would pass entirely through the cuts or slits if provision were not made to
prevent it, pockets can, if thought desirable, be formed by pasting or attaching pieces
of cloth or other material to the back of the main picture behind the cuts, these
pockets being of such dimensions as to properly limit the distance to which the
figures or objects can be inserted.
As an example of the way in which the invention may be carried into effect we
will take a picture representing a drawing room such such as is represented on Sheet 1
of the annexed drawings, containing say couches, settee, chairs, piano, table, fender-
stool and other usual furniture. In connection with this picture we would provide loose
or detached figures such as those represented on Sheet 2, namely :-father, mother, girl,
boy, baby, nurse, dog, cat, and music book. In the picture, Sheet 1, we make cuts or
slits at such positions and of such forms as will receive and hold a portion of some or
all of the figures shown on Sheet 2 or other figures, the figures when inserted
completing the picture or modifying it in an appropriate manner. The thick lines in
the picture Sheet 1 indicate cuts or slits made for this purpose. For example there
are a cut a a around the right arm of the couch at the front of the picture, a cut b b
around the left arm of the same couch, this cut extending partly up the side of the
window as seen at c; a cut d partly around the table standing near the window; a
cute under the finger board of the piano; a cut along the back of the settee;
a cut g along the arm of the chair at the right hand of the picture; and a cuth running
along part of the fender-stool.
Sheet 3 shows the same picture as Sheet 1, but with the figures represented on
Sheet 2 added to it. The figure of the father is partly inserted into the cut a and the
figure of the mother.is partly slipped behind the legs of the father so that they both
appear to be sitting on the couch, the figure of the boy is partly slipped behind
the dress of the mother; the knee part of the figure of the girl is slipped into the
cute under the finger-board so that she appears as seated on the music stool; the
figure of the music book is placed against the piano, where a cut may be provided if
necessary; the lower part of the skirt of the nurse's figure is slipped into the cut h;

page_text: .
the figure of the baby is placed in the nurse's arms, part of the frock being slipped
into a cut made for the purpose along the top of her forearm; the dog and cat are
simply placed in the positions shown without the use of cuts, but these can be provided
if desired. The cuts b, c, d, f and g are not utilized in making up Sheet 3 as shown;
a figure can, however, be slipped into g so as to appear to be seated on the chair; also
a standing figure can be slipped into b c and the skirt of a figure can be slipped into f
so that the person figured will appear to be seated at the piano (the figure of the girl
in Sheet 3 not being utilized in this case). The forms of the various figures used and
the form and position of the cuts must of course be arranged relatively to each other,
so that the figures, when inserted, blend with or adapt themselves to the picture.
The examples given are sufficient to explain the mode, the remainder being a matter
of design which can be varied to any extent.
As another example of the way in which the invention may be carried into effect
we will take a picture representing a children's night nursery containing a bed,
dressing table, wardrobe &c. In connection with this picture we would provide loose
or detached figures representing say a nurse and two children, all in ordinary day
dress, and also figures of the same two children in their night dresses. We would
make on that part of the picture which represents the floor of the room three cuts or
slits to receive respectively the figures of the nurse and the two children in their day
dress, and on that part of the picture representing the bed we would make a cut or slit
extending across it just below the pillow. The three figures when inserted into the
floor slits would represent that the children were about to prepare for bed; then the
two children would be removed from these slits and the figures representing the
children in night-dresses would be slipped into the bed slit so that only their heads
would appear; the children being thus in bed the nurse would next be removed, and
also if so pre-arranged the figure of a lamp held in a slit in say the top of the
dressing table.
In like manner to that above described pictures with loose or detached figures. or
objects may be made to represent other subjects, indoor or outdocr, the figures or
objects being those of human beings, animals or inanimate objects according to the
subject. And it is obvious that the subjects may be such as will serve either to
amuse or instruct or to both amuse and instruct children.
Each picture may have one or more pockets, preferably at the back, to contain the
loose figures or objects when not in use, but we prefer to provide detached pockets
for this purpose and the pictures may be bound up in books or placed in any desired
numbers in boxes, or be otherwise arranged or combined in a form suitable for sale.
A series of pictures which we have designed for sale in one box, and which we refer
to merely as an example of the style in which our pictures can be advantageously
offered-to-the-public, represents-a-six-roomed-house-of-three-stories:;-there-are-six
pictures showing respectively the dining room, drawing room, kitchen, nursery, and
two bedrooms, and we prefer to add smaller pictures showing the hall and landings
with stairs. Naturally some of the same loose or detached figures or objects can be
employed at different times in connection with more than one of the pictures.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
The novel manufacture of pictures with movable figures or objects substantially as
and for the purpose hereinbefore described.