Including automata, wind-ups, pull along, and battery-powered toys
Movement in toys can take many forms, whether it’s a simple spring-loaded jumping popper toy, the plastic ramp walkers, powered by gravity, and popular in the 1950s, or just something that simply rolls down a hill by means of a ball bearing. The world of dolls gave us sleep eyes, and the saucier flirty eyes. We can even pretend that dolls can walk – with a little human assistance!
Who, hasn’t dreamed of bringing their toys to life, and giving them the gift of movement. From an early age, while playing with toys, our imaginations create ways in which toys can really move on their own. These vivid thoughts are something common to children and adult collectors alike.
But for the purposes of this video, we are going to mainly concentrate on toys that move unassisted, with the odd pull-along exception to the rule. These toys feature a mechanism of some sort.
In the following video, we will look at mechanical dolls and toys in approximate order of complexity, not in order of the date made. Which means that some of the more highly engineered, and astonishing, automata from the 19th and early 20th centuries will be the final ones you see here. So, stick around, it will be worth the wait!
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