Toy cow
Category
Toys
Date
circa 1916
Materials
Cowhide, wood, paper, leather, glass, metal and plastic
Measurements
Cow –550 mm (length); 140 mm (width); 350 mm (height), X-ray -353 mm (width); 429 mm (height)
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 662105
Summary
A large brown and white toy cow with wheels. The body is made of wood covered with real cowhide. The head has grey and black glass eyes, and can be moved from side to side, when a moo is heard. The horns have been cut off. This was done by the original purchaser, William Hill, for safety reasons. Round her neck is a brown leather collar with a metal bell fastened to it by a metal ring. She has a metal udder with four teats, originally also covered in pink leather. The leather is missing from two of these, leaving black metal tubes visible. The tail is hinged to move up and down. The hooves are painted black, and are mounted on metal castors with solid black plastic wheels. There is a small hole on the spine near the tail, where liquid may have been poured in so that the cow could give milk, possibly by pulling downward on the teats, which are connected to springs inside the body. A remnant of red fabric may have been part of a rosette to conceal this hole, and there is a similar remnant between the horns. There is a hole below the collar on the front of the cow, possibly connected to the sound mechanism. There is another hole on the collar under the neck. This may possibly have had a lead attached. X-rays were made to attempt to determine the 'workings' of the cow. These are in store. Total number of items is 7.
Provenance
Donated to the Museum of Childhood by Clifford Hill in 2002. The cow was purchased for the donor (b 1913) by his father, William Hill, in Sydenham, London, circa 1916.