Tinplate clockwork rearing horse and cowboy made in Germany between 1946 and 1952

1. horse and rider are cast in two halves along the length and held with tongue and slot joints. The horse is white with blue; orange; and white trim and reins of thin rope. The rider; attached by the lasso rod; is red; yellow; blue; brown and white. The clockwork is in the body with the key protruding underneath. From the mechanism is a rod which passes through the bodies of horse and rider and at the top bends and extends about two inches. At the end of the rod is attached a loop of thin rope - the lasso. The whole stands on its rear legs and is attached to a rectangular green metal base.
2. box; card printed in colours to show an illustration of cowboys; indians
and a camp site.
*On the edge is printed MADE IN GERMANY US ZONE
*This model is almost the same as B158-1994 and is more likely to be the original but it is not possible to be definite about which was first.

The horse is simply marked MADE IN GERMANY which suggests that it is pre-1939 stock sold in a box stamped with the 1946-52 zoning. The ruling on the use of the zoning was dropped after 1952 (usually replaced with West Germany).

This toy is part of the Barry Joseph collection of mechanical horses which was purchased by the museum in 1994. Simply stamped 'Made in Germany', it was probably made before 1939. The box is stamped with the 1946-1952 zoning that was in place at the time (after 1952 it would have read 'Made in West Germany'). The influence of cinema and particularly the popularity of stories about America's wild west was very evident in many popular toys of this period.

B.159:1, 2-1994