Mechanical tinplate horse and rider made in Japan in the 1950s or 1960s

The horse and rider are cast in two halves along the length and held with tongue and slot joints. The whole is lithographed to represent a white horse with brown; black; green; red; yellow and blue trim. The ears are black cloth attached to the head. The horse is in a galloping stance and under its legs are pictured scenes of skies, cacti and hills. The whole is a bridge shape containing the mechanism and mounted on four small black wheels, one by each leg. The top half of the rider and the horse's head and neck are separate from the main body and linked by a beige braid rein. As the horse moves along the rider and the head go back and forth in unison.
*It is marked T.T in a diamond on the lower right side behind the rear leg.
*This is the same model as B.146-1994 except that a native North American is shown rather than a cowboy. The figure has long black hair and a feathered head dress incorporated into the casting.

This toy is part of the Barry Joseph collection of mechanical horses purchased by the museum in 1994. The horse and rider are cast in two halves lengthwise and held with tongue and slot joints. The horse is in a galloping stance and under its legs are pictured scenes of skies, cacti and hills. The figure riding the horse is a Native American rather than the more commonly seen cowboy. The toy was made in Japan in the 1950s or 1960s when Hollywood was releasing films about cowboys and Indians, a favourite subject at the time with filmgoers.

B.147-1994