Teetotum
Category
Toys
Date
Unknown
Materials
Wood, Hardboard and Woodstain
Measurements
Spindle - 70mm (Height) x 8mm (Diameter): Disc - 80mm (Width): Spigot - 25-55mm (Diameter) x 20mm (Depth)
Collection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 672245
Summary
A wooden teetotum comprising a central spindle, pointed to provide a spinning axis, with a hardboard hexagonal disc marked with the numbers 1 - 8 to act as a dice. The disc is held in place by a wooden spigot, which is stained green, to the spinning axis.
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.