Toy figure
W. Britain
Category
Toys
Date
circa 1905
Materials
Metal, cardboard and paper
Measurements
72 mm (height)
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 664202
Summary
Four toy figures depicting stereotypical representations of ‘Bedouin Arabs’, as described on the original box. The box is long and rectangular, made of cardboard covered in dark red paper with a label on the lid with a border inside and a picture of horse riders in a desert landscape. The figures are all the same basic construction - on horseback, wearing cream-coloured tunics with coloured belts (two yellow and two red) and cloaks (two red, one blue and one green), all have brown shoes. Each has its right arm pivoted at the shoulder, holding a weapon - three have rifles (painted in gold-coloured paint), the other has a sabre (left as bare metal). Three of the horses are brown (two appear to have small gold-coloured spots), the other black - all have black manes and tails but one tail is missing. The paint on all the models is chipped and worn away, One figure has a hole in its left knee, and another has its right foot missing. Toy soldiers have been popular since at least the 18th century. In 1893 William Britain, a British toy manufacturer, invented a method of hollow casting that made the brand a market leader. Britain produced toys which replicated famous conflicts, with the British soldiers cast against different combatants, which were often stereotypical representations of nationalities or cultural groups.
Marks and inscriptions
Box: 'BEDOUIN ARABS', 'MANUFACTURED BY W Britain IN LONDON ENGLAND', 'COPYRIGHT MODELS'.
Makers and roles
W. Britain, maker