Werner Laurie Showbooks

The books! Over seven hundred of them and still counting...
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Rob Houghton
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Werner Laurie Showbooks

Post by Rob Houghton »

Split from another topic.

I've just bought a Werner Laurie 'Show Book' - Mary Mouse. I've always wanted one, just so I had an example of one in my EB collection, and one came up for £15 on eBay, which I didn't think was too bad a price for an article like this. They were so clever and I know as a child I would have loved to assemble one! 8)
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Tony Summerfield
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Tony Summerfield »

Five on a Treasure Island was going to be one of the next two Werner Laurie Show Books, but sadly the first two didn't sell very well so they never released the next two. :cry:
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Courtenay
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Courtenay »

Out of interest, what's in a Werner Laurie Show Book? I just looked them up in the Cave, but the pictures of the covers didn't make me any the wiser.
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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Rob Houghton
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Rob Houghton »

Tony Summerfield wrote:Five on a Treasure Island was going to be one of the next two Werner Laurie Show Books, but sadly the first two didn't sell very well so they never released the next two. :cry:
That would have been amazing! Especially presuming it was to be illustrated by Eileen Soper. :-)

I'm not surprised the first two weren't very good sellers though - the first thing I thought when I saw mine is what a lot of quite intricate cutting out was needed - considering Mary Mouse is aimed at 4 - 6 year olds. I'm sure Five on a Treasure Island would have been much more popular, as it was aimed at slightly older children who would have been better at cutting out and gluing!
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Rob Houghton
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Rob Houghton »

Courtenay wrote:Out of interest, what's in a Werner Laurie Show Book? I just looked them up in the Cave, but the pictures of the covers didn't make me any the wiser.

They are really difficult to photograph! It came as a flat book I presume (never seen an unassembled one, though the one in the cave looks like it might be unassembled!). You had to cut out each 'layer' and glue it into a concertina shape. It ended up like a Victorian 'peep show' - making a 3D scene.

I've attempted to photograph mine - unfortunately the camera doesn't do the 3D effect justice. It opens out to be around 33 inches long.


Image

Image

Image
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Tony Summerfield
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Tony Summerfield »

I have just put your bottom photo into the Cave, Rob!

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... book+A2%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Courtenay
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Courtenay »

That is really cool, Rob! Interesting that it came as a cut-out-and-assemble kit — as you say, younger children wouldn't have been able to do it on their own. And yet I would think they would be the ones it would appeal to most, whereas I'd guess readers who were old enough for the Famous Five would find the idea a bit babyish. I'm sure Five on a Treasure Island would have made a lovely "show book", though, if only it had come about!
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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Rob Houghton
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Rob Houghton »

I'm not sure. I think I would have enjoyed making a Famous Five one, aged about 9 or 10 - I was really into making models and paper folding etc. I'm surprised they did two EB show books based on characters for younger children - Mary Mouse and Rubbalong Tales. No wonder they didn't catch on! Things could have been a lot different if they'd done a Famous Five one first!

Thanks for adding my photo, Tony. Gosh! Part of my kitchen is now in The Cave! ;-) :lol:
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Tony Summerfield
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Re: What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Tony Summerfield »

I must admit that unlike you, Rob, I have only seen these Showbooks in collections and archives and not once they have been made into concertinas. I am therefore not sure whether you are still able to see the inside front cover or indeed the four page story inside, which is the main reason that collectors like to keep the books intact.
Image
As you can see this is where I got my information on Five on a Treasure Island and three other books that I mention in my Illustrated Bibliography. What I did not know was whether these books actually existed, so I went to the 'horse's mouth' to find out! George Greenfield, who was Enid Blyton's literary agent, was the MD of Werner Laurie before joining EB, so I asked him. He told me that the first two books did not do very well, as they were found to have too much intricate cutting with sharp scissors to be suitable for young hands, and for that reason they abandoned all the other titles.
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Rob Houghton
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What Enid Blyton book have you recently bought?

Post by Rob Houghton »

Thanks for the extra information. That part is missing from my book, as the square has been cut from the front, of course. I can see the attraction of having one that isn't made up...but its also great to have one that someone went to the trouble of cutting and pasting together - it was used as intended, while presumably many of the in assembled ones weren't even sold! ;-)

I do think the famous five and faraway tree ones would have been great! :-)

Unfortunately I don't have the four page story either...not sure where this would have been...can't see any evidence of it.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Werner Laurie Showbooks

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I've given this topic its own thread as there has been quite a lot of interesting discussion on the Werner Laurie Showbooks. What novel items - it's great to see the Mary Mouse one assembled. It is a pity that the Five on a Treasure Island and Faraway Tree ones never materialised.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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Rob Houghton
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Location: Kings Norton, Birmingham

Re: Werner Laurie Showbooks

Post by Rob Houghton »

I used to enjoy books with 'press outs' as a child, but never attempted anything quite this complicated with scissors and glue! All the press out model books I had were just assembled by pressing along the perforated outlines, folding, and slotting together. They were very popular in the 1970's. I remember one I had was a bird table with a dozen or so birds on it - also a farm yard and farm house with animals, and one was The Three Pigs with three little houses, pigs and wolf!

I would have been equally up to the challenge of creating one of these show books, as I was very good with scissors from quite an early age, having used them at home before I even went to school (unlike some children, who had never even used scissors before the age of 5!) so I think I'd have definitely gone for the Faraway Tree and Famous Five ones. :-)
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Katharine
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Re: Werner Laurie Showbooks

Post by Katharine »

What a great purchase, and thanks for sharing the photos with us.

I doubt I'd be able to assemble anything like that neatly even now, let alone at the age of 5. I've always found intricate work of any kind difficult, and even now have difficulty cutting with scissors. Whenever I try and cut a roll of wrapping paper the edge is always jagged.

Pity the other titles were never published. I'd have liked to have seen the ballets as well.

I hope you manage to find the booklet to go with it Robert.
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Tony Summerfield
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Re: Werner Laurie Showbooks

Post by Tony Summerfield »

It isn't a separate booklet, Katharine, it is all part of the same book and comes before and after the cut-out section. I don't have the Mary Mouse book myself, but I will try and put the Rubbalong story into the Cave as I have been adding quite a bit over the last two days.
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Re: Werner Laurie Showbooks

Post by Katharine »

Thanks Tony, I must have mis-read a previous post.

I look forward to seeing the Rubbalong story in the Cave soon.
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