Rocker, wood, 'Punkinhead', Merrythought Limited, ca. 1950.

A wooden rocker with a curved bottom to allow it to rock back and forth. It depicts the character Punkinhead, who is orange and yellow and has a happy face with an open mouth. The background is green and the inside is orange. Both sides of the rocker are the same and are held together by a wooden pole, as well as a seat, back rest and rest for the child sitting in its feet. These are all unpainted and are held in by metal screws. The name 'Punkinhead' is written on either side in yellow. The overall condition is good apart from some marks of white paint as well as some of the paint work cracking and falling off.

This wooden rocker is from Daniel Agnew's collection. He is best known for running Christie's famous Teddy Bear auctions from 2000 to 2007, but his passion for Teddy Bears and all toys goes back much further than that. His mother is a well-respected antique dealer known throughout Britain. As a child he was fascinated with the bits and pieces that she bought home from her various buying trips. Daniel started to attend auctions and shows with her at the weekends and as a child of 9 or 10, what caught his eye most were the toys.

This wooden rocker shows the character Punkinhead, who was designed as the mascot for Eaton's department store in Canada. Originating in 1948, Punkinhead was a teddy bear who wanted to be in the Santa Claus Parade. He was made as a teddy bear by Merrythought from 1948 to 1954 in three different sizes for Eatons.

B.131-2010