Practical joke toy
Category
Toys
Date
circa 1900 - circa 1952
Materials
Metal, foil and card.
Measurements
Cheese - 52 mm (length), Box - 54 mm (length); 45 mm (width)
Place of origin
Germany
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 660741
Summary
A clockwork piece of cheese, designed to be used for a practical joke and marked 'D.R.G.M' (early 20th century). The cheese is made from a wedge shaped metal box covered in silver-foil and containing some kind of clockworks. The top face has a green, black, red and white label which reads, 'Made from fresh milk. Best Swiss Cheese'. The underside has two holes: one round one for the key, and the second is an oval hole through which a piece of bent wire can be seen. The key has a square shaft and a flat section with two holes. The toys comes in a brown card, box with three flaps at each end (in storage). The acronym D.R.G.M. with or without punctuation stands for Deutsches Reichsgebrauchsmuster, meaning that the design or function of an item was officially registered inside all of the Germany states. The acronym was used between 1891 and 1952. Total number of items is 3.
Marks and inscriptions
One end of the box.: 'D.R.G.M.' On the other end of the box.: 'GERMANY'