Toy figure
W. Britain
Category
Toys
Date
Unknown
Materials
Metal, cardboard and paper
Measurements
72 mm (height)
Place of origin
London
Collection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 664493
Summary
Five 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 pale blue 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 three red) and cloaks (two red, one blue, one grey and one green), all have brown shoes. Each has its right arm pivoted at the shoulder (although one has become detached), holding a weapon - three have rifles (painted in gold-coloured paint), two have sabres (left as bare metal). Four of the horses are brown, 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. 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 label: BEDOUIN ARABS No.164
Makers and roles
W. Britain, maker