Summary
Alternative Name(s): Pantin Pull Toy
Made: Mertens Kunst, circa 1979 - 1993
Donated by Pat Gardner and Jenny Jones from the Greenwich Toy Library who brought it to Melbourne for the World Play Summit, 1993. Delegates were asked to bring a traditional toy from their own country.
The Australian Children's Folklore Collection is unique in Australia, documenting contemporary children's folklore across Australia and in other countries reaching back to the 1870s. The Collection has a strong component of research material relating to Victoria.
The tying of cords to parts of the body is one of the oldest mehods of animating toys. The animation of wooden figures through string-pulling has its origins in Asia. This toy has been designed for manipulative use. Pantins are easy toys for very young children to use - they simply pull the string to make the doll dance.
Physical Description
Facsimile of a traditional hand-made pull-toy. Plywood cut-out figure with jointed arms and legs, painted to look like a child clown. The head and body are one piece, the arms and hands are in one piece, the legs are in two pieces, jointed at the knees. Clown costume is painted red and blue, with purple neck ruff and yellow pom-poms on hat and shoes. The back of the figure is natural wood, with a string connecting arms and legs. The string has a red bead on the end. When string is pulled, legs & arms move. The manufacturer's name and model number of the toy is on the back of the figure. There is a white Greenwich Toy Library card attached to the hat string. Acknowledgement: Australian Children's Folklore Collection, Museum Victoria.
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Cultural Gifts Donation from Dr June Factor, 18 May 1999
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Acknowledgement
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
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Manufacturer
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Inscriptions
On back of figure: F242/mertens kunst/ Hampelmann/Jumping jack/Pantin/No. 2258/Kasper/copyright 1979 by Alfred Mertens/Pfullingen/Made in West Germany. On foot: Entwurf/Ute Mertens On gold sticker: GREENWICH TOY LIBRARY/ST. MARKS CHURCH/22 GREENWICH SOUTH ST/ LONDON SE10 8TY
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Brand Names
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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overall dimensions
23 cm (Length), 2 cm (Width), 43 cm (Height)
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References
Daiken, L., Children's Toys throughout the Ages, Spring Books, London, 1963
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Keywords
Carpentry, Children's Play, Early Childhood Development, Puppetry, Toys, World Play Summit, 1993, Making History - Australian Childrens Folklore