Twirler
Rowntrees
Category
Toys
Date
circa 1920 - circa 1929
Materials
Card
Measurements
Each card - 105 mm (width); 85 mm (height)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 669625
Summary
Sixteen early 20th century Rowntree's Thaumatropes discs. There are only 2 on display. Joseph developed Rowntree’s Elect Cocoa in 1887. Marketed as ‘more than a drink, a food’, it too proved popular. The firm hit trouble in the years leading up to the Great War, as the popularity of Elect Cocoa declined, and during the depression of the 1920s. The Thaumatrope whose name means 'turning marvel' or 'wonder turner', is a Victorian toy constructed from a simple disc or card featuring a different picture on each side and attached to two pieces of string. It was a well-known London physicist, Dr. John A. Paris, who made this toy popular. When the strings are twirled rapidly the card rotates on its axis and the two images appear to combine. They are rectangular black cards edged with red. Each one has a picture of a boy's face with a long green scarf and his upraised right-hand is holding a white cup with a blue band and brown top from which steam is rising. Across him is printed 'Rowntree, The Cocoa'. On the reverse is a girl's head with a green ribbon and a long red scarf. She is also holding a steaming cup of cocoa. 'Cocoa' is printed in yellow on the left-hand side. Beneath her scarf is 'Nibs' in white. In the bottom right-hand side, in red, is printed 'Hold the cards between the thumb and forefinger, Twirl card quickly and a reproduction of Rowntree's Popular Poster will appear'. At either side of the card is a punched hole with a small piece of white cord threaded through and tied. Two cards have only one cord. Total number of items is 16.
Provenance
Donated to the Museum of Childhood by Mr and Mrs P. Andrews in January 1988.
Makers and roles
Rowntrees , maker