Peep egg

A small souvenir object, it was usually built in alabaster and often decorated on the outside. Inside, one can see three views or small engravings, through a lens located at the top of the object. By rotating a shaft with two buttons, one could change the image of the interior. The translucent property of the alabaster allowed these engravings of the interior to be well lit. Peep eggs usually showed an image of the place where they were sold, such as a spa, a city, etc. Often, one of the three images is a rock garden with small multi-coloured pieces of glass. This peep egg is a souvenir of Clifton, a neighbourhood of the city of Bristol (England). Little is known of who made these objects. Research suggests they were British, of the Victorian period. Some were made in north-west Leicestershire, perhaps by domestic workers, as a cottage industry, or by quarry workers, in their spare time, to supplement their income.