This paper peepshow is one of the many sold as souvenirs in the Thames Tunnel. With only a small circular print of the Rotherhithe entrance to the Tunnel, the front-face is relatively bare. Through the two peep-holes, we can see pedestrians walking in the archways. The expanded bellows effectively echoes the Tunnel structure and contribute to creating the illusion of being in an underground passage.

The Thames Tunnel was one of the most popular subjects for British paper peepshows, which were produced throughout the period of its construction and beyond. The Tunnel’s construction started in 1825, and after various flood accidents and a long period of suspension of work between 1828 and 1835, the Tunnel finally opened to the public on 25 March 1843. It was received with great excitement both during and immediately after its construction, which explains why it remained a popular topic for the paper peepshow for so long. Yet the glory of the Tunnel did not last for very long and, in 1865 it was sold to the East London Railway Company and converted into a railway tunnel in 1869. Today the Tunnel forms part of the London Overground network.

Bondy Azulay and T. C. Brandon were the two main makers and sellers of Thames Tunnel paper peepshow after the opening of the Tunnel in 1843. Judging from the surviving copies, one can tell that both had been prolific during the 1840s, it seems that Brandon was much less active in the 1850s and 1860s. All signed works in the Gestetner collection, in fact, come from Bondy Azulay.

Similar to Azulay’s earlier works, this example is cheaply produced with repetitive figures, rough colouring and crude cutting. On the other hand, the circular print on the front-face is a common feature of Azulay’s later works: this format allowed it to also be used in peep-eggs, another popular optical toy in the form of an alabaster egg. Through the hole at the top of the egg, the viewer saw the miniature prints inside, which could be changed with the turn of a handle.

The paper peepshow is enclosed in the book cover for one of the numerous editions of Richard Baxter’s The Saints’ Everlasting Rest. One would think at first sight that this was done by an owner to protect his peepshow. Yet this would appear to have been common practice for Azulay, as many other examples of his production survive similarly ‘packaged’.