1 item : painted alabaster and glass ; 62 mm in diameter, 110 mm long
Holdings:
Rare Books and Manuscripts TS513 .P4 1855 Flat Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Classification:
Three-Dimensional Artifacts
Notes:
Peep egg viewers, also called alabaster eggs, were sold as souvenirs from the mid-nineteenth century onward.Restricted fragile material. Use requires permission of the Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts.Peep egg viewer with three different images that can be displayed by rotating a spindle passing through the device. There are two circular wood-engraved scenes of Weymouth, depicting the "Weymouth Royal Terrace" and "Weymouth" (beach and promenade). The third panel shows actual tiny rocks and minerals--probably intended to remind the tourist of a pleasant afternoon's collecting along the edge of the sea. The cylindrical body of the viewer is made of opaque alabaster, on a waisted stem, the outside painted with flowers and the inscription "From a Friend."
