Torsion toy
Category
Toys
Date
Unknown
Materials
Wood
Measurements
234 mm (height); 84 mm (width)
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 660285
Summary
A wooden 'jumping jack' toy which consists of a tall, H-shaped, varnished frame with the cross-piece very near the bottom and string threaded through at the top, and a wooden, jointed acrobat who is threaded on to the string. When the lower ends of the sides are squeezed together the top ends move apart, making the string go taut and flip the acrobat over the frame. The acrobat is cut in pieces from a sheet of plywood, and consists of a head and body piece (with painted facial features and hair), arms (jointed with metal wire at the shoulders) and legs (jointed at the top, and with painted shoes). The wood of the acrobat is quite dirty, and there is a small amount of pencil scribble near the top of one of the uprights.