{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1418260"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1418260/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2018KP6719/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2018KP6719/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2018KP6719","copyright":"©Victoria & Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2018KP6720","copyright":"©Victoria & Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2018KP6722","copyright":"©Victoria & Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2018KP6723","copyright":"©Victoria & Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1418260","accessionNumber":"Gestetner 3","objectType":"Paper peepshow","titles":[{"title":"Teleorama. Ein Geschenk für die Jungend","type":"published title"}],"summaryDescription":"This paper peepshow was published ca. 1825 by Heinrich Friedrich Müller, the first documented publisher of this kind of optical toy. Through the peep-hole, one looks at the Sanssouci palance in the distance, whereas another view of the Marmorpalais can be seen with the removable slide fitted in.  The densely foliated trees and the large, irregular-shaped peep-hole on the front-face are very typical of Müller’s design for his products.\n\r\nSanssouci was built in the 18th century as the summer palace of Frederick the Great, in Potsdam, near Berlin. The name adopts the French phrase, sans souci, meaning ‘without worries,’ emphasises the King’s wish to relax in this palace, away from the Berlin court. The Marmorpalais, or Marble Palace, was commissioned by Frederick William II in 1787, and designed in early Neoclassical style. After using it for a few years, the King soon considered it too small, works started to add extensions to the building. At the date of the paper peepshow, however, neither of the two palaces were favoured by the reigning monarch Frederick William III, who preferred other summer residences to Sanssouci, and was uninterested in the project of extending the Marmorpalais.\n\r\nMüller coined the name for his product by combining the Greek tele (at a distance) and orama (a view). The concept of the toy owes much to 18th–century optical curios, such as the cosmoramas which were built into gallery walls or the cumbersome boîtes d’optique, which were large, wooden boxes with multiple scenes. In contrast to their predecessors, Műller’s teleoramas were small and primarily constructed from paper and cloth.\n\r\nThis item was mentioned at Christmas 1825 in the account of an aristocratic shopper, Henriette von Hülsen, where she described the Teleorama as a ‘pretty toy’ that ‘even an adult enjoys looking at.’ It would appear to have remained in print for some time, and was still mentioned in an 1835 advertisement.\r\n\r\n","physicalDescription":"Accordion-style paper peepshow of Sanssouci and Marmorpalais, and their terraced garden.\n\r\n6 cut-out panels and a removable back-slide. 1 peep-hole. Hand-coloured etching. In a slipcase. Expands to approximately 74 cm.\n\r\nSlipcase: the title of the paper peepshow on a mantle between two pillars, with swags above. The wreath on the left pillar encloses the words ‘Ansicht von Marmor Palais bei Potsdam’, and the one on the right encloses the words ‘Ansicht von Sanssouci bei Potsdam’. A woman directs three children to the title.\n\r\nFront-face: a bridge over a stream linking what appears to be the garden entrance to a pavilion. The peep-hole consists of a large, irregular-shaped opening beneath a tree.\n\r\nPanel 1: a shepherd talking to a seated woman who holds a garland; a flock of sheep on the right.\n\r\nPanel 2: a boy driving a cow, accompanied by a dog.\n\r\nPanel 3: a soldier with a rifle on his shoulder.\n\r\nPanel 4: what appears to be a gardener surveying the scene from an ornam\nental bridge.\r\nPanel 5: people promenading in a formal garden between statues.\n\r\nPanel 6: more people promenading around a fountain.\n\r\nBack panel: a view of Sanssouci Palace with its terraces and Dutch windmill.\n\r\nRemovable slide: a view of the Marmorpalais.\r\n","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Müller, Heinrich Friedrich","id":"AUTH339351"},"association":{"text":"publisher","id":"x32600"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"paper","id":"x30308"}],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"","categories":[{"text":"National Art Library","id":"THES271541"},{"text":"Optical toys","id":"THES274374"},{"text":"Paper Peepshow","id":"THES275149"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"NAL","id":"THES48605"},"images":["2018KP6719","2018KP6720","2018KP6722","2018KP6723"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"NAL","id":"THES251738"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"peepshows","id":"AAT211180"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"No","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Austria","id":"x28728"},"association":{"text":"published","id":"x30682"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1825","earliest":"1825-01-01","latest":"1825-12-31"},"association":{"text":"published","id":"x30682"},"note":"probably"}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Accepted under the Cultural Gifts Scheme by HM Government from the collections of Jacqueline and Jonathan Gestetner and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2016.","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"15","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"12.2","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"74","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"fully extended","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Part of the Jacqueline and Jonathan Gestetner Collection, collected over 30 years and given to the V&A Museum through the government's Cultural Gift Scheme, 2016.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Teleorama. Ein Geschenk für die Jungend, Müller, Heinrich Friedrich, 1825","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"R. Hyde, Paper Peepshows. The Jacqueline and Jonathan Gestetner Collection (Woodbridge: The Antique Collectors' Club, 2015), cat. 3."}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["38041016058810"],"accessionNumberNum":"38041016058810","accessionNumberPrefix":"","accessionYear":null,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"NAL barcode","id":"THES50330"},"number":"38041016058810"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-09","recordCreationDate":"2017-10-18","availableToBook":false}}