Coupling
Category
Toys
Date
Unknown
Materials
Stained wood
Measurements
10 mm (Height) x 28 mm (Width) x 89 mm (Length)
Collection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 672241.5
Summary
A set of four connecting 'rods'/couplings, which are associated with a group of four wagons made from wood and bobbins and catalogued as 672241.1 to 672241.4. One is stained red, one yellow, one green and one blue. Each is made from a shallow rectangle of wood with the corners 'rounded' off and a small hole drilled near to each end. This hole fits over the small piece of dowel at the end of each wagon to couple the wagons together.
Provenance
Part of a large collection of handmade toys and puzzles donated to the Museum of Childhood in 2019 by Nigel Briggs. They were made by John Doble, father of the donor's wife Hanne. He had worked with Nancy Catford (of the Nursery Schools Association), the designer of the toys, during the Second World War. Together they produced paper patterns that people could use at home as templates for thin ply patterns which could in turn be used to make their own wooden toys. Other toys were made from dowels and empty cotton reels.