Original box for toy
The A. Schoenhut Company
Category
Toys
Date
29 Jan 1907
Materials
Cardboard, paper, celluloid, metal and cotton
Measurements
Box - 440 mm (length); 310 mm (width); 65 mm (height), Booklet - 190 mm (width); 253 mm (height), Clown - 90 mm (height)
Place of origin
Philadelphia
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 666300
Summary
The original box which held the Schoenhut Circus set. It is in two parts with a colour-printed label on the lid, which has an image of a circus ring inside a big top. Also printed are 'Humpty Dumpty Circus' and 'Schoenhut's Humpty Dumpty Circus Toys Manf. only by The A. Schoenhut Company Philadelphia'. It is made C.1902 by the A. Schoenhut Company, Philadelphia, USA. (the date of patent on the instruction booklet is 29.1.1907). Inside the box is the instruction booklet which has line drawings and colour-printed images of the circus toys being used in many ways! It also contains information about other items available. Also with this box is a clown. The clown has a moulded celluloid head and hands, with wire arms (raised above his head) and legs. He has a metal body which has a piece projecting from the left side, possibly for a key for a clockwork mechanism. His features and hat are painted on to a white background and he is wearing an outfit which is half red and half blue, made of cotton with white spots. Attached to each 'knee' is a small, gold-coloured, spherical metal bell. Total number of items is 4.
Makers and roles
The A. Schoenhut Company, maker