Rod Bantjes, “Genus_Toy_Show-Box.html,” created 18 April, 2026; last modified, 18 April, 2026(https://people.stfx.ca/rbantjes/).
Toy Show-Box Genus (ca. 1820 - 1850)
These are toy versions of show-boxes, or, more accurately of Raree Shows since they have flytowers with images that can be lowered into the viewing area by means of strings. They are a genus of "optical machines" and are included in the Optical Machine Taxonomy.
For most children of this period it was a special treat to have the raree show come to their village or market square and to be allowed to see its wonders for a penny. That some parents bought miniature raree shows for their children tells us something about the enduring attraction of this form of entertainment but also about class privilege.
The privilege of the child owners of these boxes comes not only from the fact that they own what others must rent, but that they are both viewer of the illusions in the box, and also show-person who understands how the optical machine works to create its illusion. In this, they are like the children in John Paris's Philosophy in Sport Made Science in Earnest – members of the propertied bourgeoisie whose knowledge of how things work destine them to become "world-makers" as it were.
The 18th-century tradition of "rational recreation" to which Paris is heir (e.g. Hooper 1774) was one in which children would be encouraged to make their own optical and scientific devices. Here a commercial enterprise is making them for them.
| Boît à Tirettes: |  |
| FB-BO-30 |
This is a toy showbox with a flytower activated by a pull-string mechanism. It is from the Sang-de-Boeuf workshop.
It is in the François Binétruy Collection. Photo © François Binétruy.
| Petite Boît à Tirettes: |  |
| FB-BO-1842 |
This is a much smaller version of FB-BO-30 (above). It too is from the Sang-de-Boeuf workshop.
It is in the François Binétruy Collection. Photo © François Binétruy.