> as lemmas

1737 London Mag. June 324/2 I presume that he [sc. Punch] will not be tolerated, either upon the Stage, or even in a Raree-shew Box.

1765 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy VIII. xxiv. 111 Thou didst look into it with as much innocency of heart, as ever child look'd into a raree-shew-box.

1772 Theatr. Rev. I. 133 It has ever been the custom, during the shameful and unprecedented run of these Raree shew Performances, to obtrude the most insipid Plays and contemptible Actors on the Public.

1807 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life II. xx. 260 Two Men at two of the holes of a raree-show-box.

1812 S. Jones Baker's Biographia Dramatica (rev. ed.) III. 306 A frivolous raree-show performance.

1863 R. Fortune Visits Japan & China x. 153 Montebanks, jugglers..and all the raree-show people who have either some..monstrous animal to exhibit, or animals taught to play tricks.

1939 S. M. Rosenfeld Strolling Players vi. 128 The contrivance of shutting the obstructive guardian in a raree show box, and one passable song are about all the ‘opera’ has to offer.

1998 Manch. Guardian Weekly (Nexis) 20 Dec. 29 An endless troupe of fur salesmen and raree-show hustlers, hat-check girls and bored newspapermen made the long trek to the edge of the Western world.