Benjamin Blue

Benjamin Blue is a wee little 4 inch ted made by one of my favorite artists, Peng Peng. She even made his teeny tiny outfit and dashing red scarf!

BB is so small, he can fit in the palm of your hand or slip easily into a pocket. I frequently sneak him with me into meetings that way, as it's just comforting having him along.

The Marvelous Mobo Horse

One of the most wonderful horse ride-on toys of all time came out of a factory in Kent, England, from the 1940s through the '60s. The Mobo Bronco was made by D. Sebel & Co., which began as a metalworking firm in the 1920s, making wheels, carts, architectural elements, tank parts, steel furniture, and assorted other things.

The Mobo logo.

In the 1940s they turned their talent to toys and created the pressed metal Mobo Bronco, a new sort of rocking horse that could actually move along. As the child astride the horse pushed down and then released the flat metal "stirrup" pedals, the horse bounced up and down, and wheels hidden under the hooves propelled it forward. In the 1950s, a steering mechanism was added, and by pushing down on just one pedal, the horse could be turned in that direction. This Mobo is the steerable version, and measures 30 inches tall.

Mobo in the foreground, and an Allan Herschell coin-op horse ride in the back.

Mobo's cheery red and yellow color scheme was reportedly decided upon by children at a school near the factory. He is a very friendly looking horse!

Hoppy Easter!

Just in time for Easter, I found this antique mohair rabbit doll. The 10 inch tall rabbit wears his original blue cotton overalls and shirt, along with an old Heinz Pickles advertising pin. He has a gentle smile on his face, and dates circa the 1920s.

Little Dolls

Just a random snap today from my antique doll and

teddy bear cabinet...

Lots of little dollies.

Playtown

I've posted about the line of Playtown toys before, but I recently found some more items. This line of miniature shops and accessories was made by the Playtown Products Co. of New York from the late 1940s-1950s. Sets in the range included a bakery, general store, grocery, supermarket, luncheonette, and meat market. Each little shop averaged about 7 inches tall, just the right size for dollhouse dolls of the time. Besides the shops themselves, Playtown also sold accessory packs of goodies to stock the shelves. Here are three: one for the bakery, one for the butcher shop, and one for a dollhouse. Each little card is about 4 5/8 inches long, and the tiny items are made of painted plaster.

A braided bread loaf, cake, and donuts in the bakery package.

Hot dogs, a roast chicken, and a steak in the butcher shop.

Jello, cabbage, and eggs in the dollhouse kitchen set.

Here's the complete Playtown Meat Market, with a couple of Flagg dollhouse dolls doing their shopping: