Fisher Price Humpty Dumpty

One of the oddest toys ever made by Fisher Price, its 1957 Humpty Dumpty was advertised as a crib and pull toy. The strange, double-sided item is made of lithographed paper over wood and measures 10 inches long when fully extended. One side features Humpty pre-fall, sitting on his brick wall and smiling merrily (albeit with creepy, huge, wobbling eyes). The other side shows Humpty post-fall, splayed upon the grass and sobbing. In the center of the toy, a small yellow ball meant to represent Humpty's "yolk" spins freely, and jingle bells attached to each of his arms ring as the toy is pulled along. A crib toy? Not unless your intention was to give your infant nightmares, I'd say...just look how he stares at you...

It's Easter: eat an egg today!

Fisher Price Bunny Bell Cart

One of the cutest of the Fisher Price Easter Carts is the Bunny Bell Cart, first made in 1941. It was so popular it was made for several years and went through some slight design variations. Measuring 9 1/2 inches tall, it features an adorable bunny drummer with separate arms holding wooden capped metal drumsticks. As the cart is pulled, the bunny beats the heck out of a tin bell, creating what was surely a horrendous racket to the ears of tired parents on an Easter morning 69 years ago. The open cart area in the front could be loaded up with Easter treats and the whole thing presented as an alternative to the traditional Easter basket.

Fisher Price Rock A Bye Bunny Cart

Dating from 1940, the Rock a Bye Bunny Cart is one of the earliest of the Fisher Price Easter carts, items that were cleverly designed for use as Easter baskets as well as pull toys. The 12 1/2 inch tall wooden toy features great lithography of a grandpa bunny, with separately attached arms that actually rock the cradle as the toy is pulled. The cradle could be filled with Easter grass, candy, and small toys and gifted on Easter morning to a lucky child. The Rock a Bye Bunny Cart is hard to find, as its production run was brief, and the moving mechanism was susceptible to breakage. It's one of the most charming antique toys I've ever seen, and I really treasure mine.

Fisher Price Donald Duck Drum Major

In 1939, Fisher Price released the Donald Duck Drum Major as part of its new Easter line. The 10 inch tall wooden lithoed pull toy sported a separate arm with an attached baton. When pulled, the arm moved jauntily up and down, and the baton swung around and around. Just a fantastic early Disney toy with lots of color and movement!

Fisher Price Dapper Donald Duck

Dapper Donald Duck was the star of the first Easter season toy line from Fisher Price, back in 1936. Measuring just under 8 inches tall, the little wooden toy featured colorful paper lithography with separate wings attached by a piece of rubber. When pulled, the wings flapped wildly. Dapper Donald was phenomenally popular, with thousands sold over its run. For all its popularity, however, it's hard to find today, precisely because of those wings. The rubber disintegrated over the years, and once wingless, the toy was typically discarded. My example happily escaped the rubbish bin, and has lovingly made replacement wings.