I had an antique children’s book which had mechanical sound effects built into the back part of the book. It had strings coming out of the side which were attached to a variety of calls and whistles made of wood and paper. Maybe late 19th century?
Stump the Bookseller
New format, same book stumper solving.
The pull-string mechanism sounds like ‘The Speaking Picture Book’ from around the turn of the century (late 1800’s-early 1900’s).
There are several English-language editions, all manufactured in Nuremberg, Germany, each with a variant subtitle such as “The Speaking Picture Book, Reproducing the Voices of the Cock, the Donkey, the Lamb, the Birds, the Cow, the Cuckoo, the Goat, and the Baby” or “The Speaking Picture Book. A Special Book with Picture, Rhyme and Sound for Little People.”
I don’t know if YouTube links are allowed, but if so, here’s a link to a video that shows a number of pages from the book and also demonstrates some of the sounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq1SxCkR8bs