After the Great Exhibition in 1851, there was much discussion about what to do with the Crystal Palace. An enlarged and modified version of the original was erected at Sydenham Hill in South London. The placing of the first pillar ceremony took place on 5 August 1852, and the building was opened on 10 June 1854. While the new Crystal Palace did not generate as much interest for British paper peepshow publishers as the Great Exhibition had, many German paper peepshows of the Sydenham Crystal Palace were produced.

This greeting card uses a simple mechanism to create three-dimensionality and movement. On opening the front panel, the cut-out panel inside, because it is glued to the front panel, springs forward and creates a three-dimensional space. The publisher was careful to align the central axis of the exterior of the Crystal Palace with that of the interior, so that the spaces on the inside and outside of the peepshow appear continuous. The use of linear perspective creates the illusion of a never-ending crystal nave.

While this card was intended as a birthday card, with the printed message ‘Many Happy Returns of the Day’, another copy of it in the Museum of Brands bears the caption ‘A Merry Christmas’. The appropriation of the paper peepshow and use of lace paper belong to the common techniques used by publishers during this time to make the cards look special and different from a normal two-dimensional card. The mechanism used in this card can also be seen in Gestetner 279 and Gestetner 280.