Windup Sulkey, Horse and Rider

PeriodCirca 1900

(not assigned)Possibly Germany

MediumTin, zinc, steel, cotton

Dimensions8 × 4.5 × 12 in. (20.3 × 11.4 × 30.5 cm)

ClassificationsToys & Games

Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1941

Object number1563

DescriptionA toy horse, sulkey and driver of molded tin, consisting of a white painted trotting horse, with two legs attached to a small single-wheel platform. The horse's harness fastens to a green-painted two-wheeled sulkey, with a key-wound springwork mechanism within the carriage body. Atop the sulkey perches the driver, wearing a blue coat and cap and white trousers, holding a pair of cotton string reins. When wound, the steel spring mechanism causes a gear assembly to rotate, turning the axle of the sulkey.
Curatorial RemarksAlthough clockwork mechanism-driven toys were popular beginning in the Renaissance, these objects were more of a public spectacle, often advertised by traveling entertainers. By the mid 19th century, however, springwork-driven mechanized toys became popular with the general public. As the gears naturally lent themselves to vehicles, these toys included carriages, wagons, sulkeys, trains, and locomotives of various types. The spring-wound horse, driver, and sulkey combination was offered in several varieties. This particular one is relatively early, and dates to about the turn of the ninteenth century.NotesAlthough Margaret Riker Haskell (Mrs. J. Amory Haskell) is best known as a recognized collector of early American furniture and fine art, she also had a deep love of artifacts related to childhood life. Many of the Historical Association's toys were donated by Mrs. Haskell in the 1930s and 1940s.

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