Toy fort
Timpo Toys
Category
Toys
Date
Unknown
Materials
Wood, plastic and metal.
Measurements
Wall - 485 mm (length); 485 mm (width); 134 mm (height), Accommodation block - 380 mm (length); 105 mm (height); 108 mm (depth), Ladder - 157 mm (length); 33 mm (width), Base of flagpole - 110 mm (height); 61 mm (diameter), Canoe - 150 mm (length), Wagon - 140 mm (length); 70 mm (width); 45 mm (height), Cover - 80 mm (length); 60 mm (width); 60 mm (height), Stagecoach - 210 mm (length); 45 mm (width); 95 mm (height), Team of horse - 110 mm (length); 80 mm (width); 60 mm (height), Smaller watchtower - 94 mm (width); 104 mm (height); 64 mm (depth), Taller watchtower - 108 mm (width); 212 mm (height); 84 mm (depth), Log cabin - 225 mm (width); 108 mm (height); 161 mm (depth), Jailhouse - 163 mm (width); 84 mm (height); 87 mm (depth), Stable - 128 mm (width); 90 mm (height); 122 mm (depth), Figures (min) - 40 mm (height), Figures (max) - 100 mm (height), Totem poles - 105 mm (height)
Place of origin
Great Britain
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 662371
Summary
A wooden cowboy fort, possibly homemade, along with several plastic buildings, figures and accessories. These include figures depicting cowboys, soldiers, stereotypical representations of Native American and Mexican people,. The four pieces of the fort slot together at the corners, where one piece (next to the slot) is missing. Running along the inside, near the top of the walls, is a 'shelf' for the soldiers to stand on when firing at the enemy. In the front piece is a doorway or gate which has two doors (one detached), fastened on the inside by a piece of wood which drops down into a metal support. Over the doorway is a large white wooden sign, painted in red on a white background, which reads 'Fort Cherokee'. Other wooden pieces include two watch towers, a ladder, a flag pole and an accommodation block. This consists of a single storey building with a sloping roof, open at the back, with a covered walkway at the front with a hitching rail to each side of a central opening. There are paper signs glued on above the hitching rail reading 'Troopers' on the left and 'Adjutant' on the right. There are two cut-out pieces as doorways and paper cut-out windows, with shutters, glued on. Both watch towers have sloping roofs and are more or less identical in design, although one is freestanding and the other is possibly intended to slot on to the top of one of the walls. The flagpole consists of a piece of dowelling pushed into a square of wood and glued. The ladder has ten small lengths of dowelling pushed into each of the uprights and glued (this bows slightly in the middle). There are three plastic buildings: a log cabin, light brown, with textured 'logs' forming the walls and roof, a jailhouse, which has grey textured 'stone' walls and light brown textured 'wood' base, roof and door, and a stable, which has textured 'wood' - grey for the walls and black for the base and roof. The stable has yellow-framed windows and a yellow textured 'wood' mounting block. The log cabin and the stable have no doors, and the one for the jail is detached. The plastic figures are mainly on green or brown bases and reflect stereotypical characters from Western films, as follows: three foot soldiers; five mounted soldiers; nineteen cowboys on foot; two crouching cowboys; two mounted cowboys; six Native Americans on foot; one kneeling Native American firing his bow; two Native Americans seated cross-legged; one Native American kneeling, paddling a canoe; two mounted Native Americans; and a figure dressed in stereotypical Mexican clothing. There is another 'Mexican', made from metal and painted.The Native American accessories are made of plastic, as follows: three tipis, a cactus, two totem poles and a canoe. There is a covered wagon (although the cover does not appear to fit on to the wagon), a stagecoach, and two teams of horses to pull them. The horses (one team white with black and silver-coloured harness, the other black with red harness, both on light brown bases) do not appear to fit on to either vehicle, although both teams are made by Timpo, as is the stagecoach. The wagon is yellow, with light brown wheels, seat and backboard. The cover is very light brown. The stagecoach is yellow with a red roof and black wheels, chassis and roof rails. Moulded on the side of the driver's seat is 'U.S. Mail' and on the top edge of the side of the stagecoach is 'Wells Fargo Stage Line’. It is missing a door and a rail on one side of the roof. There is a yellow, detachable trunk on the roof. There may have been more pieces originally. Total number of items is 70. The representation of Native Americans in this toy is of a generic ‘Indian’ stereotype that does not reflect the diversity of Indigenous nations. This stereotype was perpetuated by Wild West stage shows and later Western films. Caricatures in these entertainments informed the game of 'Cowboys and Indians' which became popular in the United States and in Europe.
Marks and inscriptions
On the base of the metal Mexican: 'cBRITAINS LTD 1971/ detail/ MADE IN ENGLAND'
Makers and roles
Timpo Toys , maker