Untitled
Louis Marx and Co. Ltd.
Category
Toys
Date
1960 - 1969
Materials
Plastic, cardboard and paper
Measurements
Gramophone - 220 mm (length), Each record (min) - 153 mm (diameter), Each record (max) - 175 mm (diameter), Box - 232 mm (length); 202 mm (width); 75 mm (height), Other contents (min) - 11 mm (length), Other contents (max) - 213 mm (length)
Place of origin
Swansea
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 664315
Summary
A 1960s toy gramophone in its original box along with three records of nursery rhymes and party tunes. It is a mechanical gramophone, operated by winding a key through a hole in the turntable before putting the record on. As it rests in, the box the pick-up arm (white plastic, curved and with musical symbols moulded along one side) is separate from the turntable, which consists of a blue plastic pear-shaped base (with moulded musical symbols) containing the mechanism with a blue-purple painted metal turntable on top. Two of the records are made by the same company as the gramophone, and are black with yellow labels inside red sleeves bearing the word 'Kidditunes'. The other record (made by Dandy Records) is randomly coloured black, red, green and yellow, with a yellow label and a red and yellow sleeve bearing the words 'Children’s Party'. Also in the box are: the key, which consists of a piece of flat-edged metal bent into a T shape, the top being a flattened loop (like an extended Allen key); a spare needle in a small waxed paper bag; and a sheet of paper listing the Kidditune records available. The box is made of cardboard (printed on the outside in grey with a wood-grain design) and consists of a separate top and bottom, each held in shape at the corners with staples. On the lid, below the words 'Lumar Mechanical Toy Gramophone', is a drawing of the gramophone in use(coloured in red, black and orange), inside a border resembling a picture frame. Around and on top of the box lid are orange-coloured musical notes. Total number of items is 14.
Marks and inscriptions
At the arm end of the gramaphone: 'WIND COUNTER-CLOCKWISE/ THROUGH HOLE IN TURNTABLE' Top of the box: 'Lumar/ MECHANICAL/ TOY GRAMAPHONE/ MADE BY LOUIS MARX & CO.,LTD. SWANSEA'
Makers and roles
Louis Marx and Co. Ltd., maker