Moving Toy - barber and customer
This tin model of a barber and his customer operates by a clockwork mechanism. When the key is wound, the barber appears to be cutting his customer's hair (although the customer is bald!)
Moving Toy - tea-pouring figure
This oriental figure has a bisque head and hands, with a composition body. It holds a teapot and cup and saucer. A clockwork mechanism is hidden in the base. When the key is wound, the figure moves its ...
Overall
White knee length overall. The overall fastens at the front and has four press stud fastenings. There are two pockets at hip level, one on either side, and a breast pocket on the left hand side.
The ...
Overcoat Chain
Decorative chain for an overcoat. This was donated as part of a larger collection of items from Hall & Son tailors, Leamington Spa.
Panel
A black lace and beaded panel from the Edwardian period. The panel is triangular in shape with flowers and leaves formed by a beaded pattern.
Plastic Doll
New plastics, developed during World War II (1939 - 1945), were used for doll and toy making from 1945. They largely replaced more traditional materials like porcelain and composition.
This 'black' ...
Plastic Doll
In the 1950's, new plastics (polyethylene, or 'vinyl') gave manufacturers a soft and flexible material for producing dolls.
This doll has a hard plastic body and legs, with soft plastic head and arms.
The ...
Plastic Doll
This plastic fashion doll, called 'Little Miss Vogue', comes with the original box and several fashionable outfits from the early 1960's.
The head is made from soft plastic, with the hair inserted ...
Pony and trap whirligig
This whirligig is in the form of a man and woman sitting in a horse-drawn trap. It is made of polychrome wood and metal, and is mounted with a propeller. As the propeller turns, the horse's legs move ...
Pony and trap whirligig
This whirligig is in the form of a man and woman sitting in a horse-drawn trap. It is made of polychrome wood and metal, and is mounted with a propeller. As the propeller turns, the horse's legs move ...
Pony and trap whirligig - 3/4 view
This whirligig is in the form of a man and woman sitting in a horse-drawn trap. It is made of polychrome wood and metal, and is mounted with a propeller. As the propeller turns, the horse's legs move ...
Population explosion
This is a patchwork on canvas showing a woman in bed, with seven young babies wrapped beside her. It is made from scraps of cloth by Elizabeth Allen, who made a series of collages that with a serious ...
Population Explosion - detail
This is a patchwork on canvas showing a woman in bed, with seven young babies wrapped beside her. It is made from scraps of cloth by Elizabeth Allen, who made a series of collages that with a serious ...
Porcelain Head Doll
Toys become even more interesting when we know something about their history. This doll belonged to Winifred Woodcock, who was born in 1934. It was a Christmas present in 1938, when she was 4 years old. ...
Porcelain Head Doll
This bisque head doll, with her trunk of clothes, was given to Irene Hey for Christmas 1922. It was one of the best presents she ever had:
"This precious doll came to me on Christmas Day in 1922. I ...
Porcelain Head Doll
This doll, sold under the trade name 'Revalo', was made by the German maker Gebruder Ohlhaver.
It has a bisque head - a matt (unshiny) porcelain, with blue closing eyes and a real hair wig.
The ...
Porcelain Head Doll
This doll has a bisque head - a matt (unshiny) porcelain, with closing blue glass eyes and a mohair wig. Its body is made from leather, with bisque arms and composition legs.
Porcelain Head Doll
This doll's head was made in Germany by the maker Armand Marseille. His porcelain factory began making bisque doll's heads from c.1890, and became one of Europe's biggest producers.
Bisque is a matt ...