$$ SOLD! $$ RARE! Antique Wind-up Typing Dog – Poodle the Doodle! Japan @ Time’s Tin Cup !
The earliest mechanical toys were typically made for affluent European aristocrats. They were widely popularized after Jacques de Vaucanson’s human automatons were publicly exhibited in Paris in 1738. By the 19th century, increasingly affordable versions of these wind-up toys were produced; but were, simpler wind-up models made from painted tin and often featured subjects taken from adult life. These toys ran for a few minutes at most.
Wind-up toys were powered by keys and cranks that activated small springs, which turned tinplate gears when released. But the simpler models that were mass produced from the rise of plastics and synthetic materials following #WW2 resulted in a major decline of the wind-up toy production.
This rare wind-up toy reminded of a fun skit performed by Jerry Lewis.