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Squawk-A-Boo

Soft Toy
ca. 1914 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Miss Farnell founded Farnell Toys between 1867 and 1871, in Acton, London making plush and cloth animals. Farnell established itself as one of Brtain's leading manufacturers of teddy bears, and registered its Alpha trademark in 1925. The factory survived a fire in 1934 and being bombed in 1940, but the company stopped trading in the 1960s.

This soft toy is based on the character, 'Squawk-A-Boo,' designed by Chloe Preston. She was born in 1887 to a British family and had her first book, The Peek-a-Boos, published in 1910. Chloe Preston was an admired artist of books as well as postcards, showing children in a bright decorative style.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSquawk-A-Boo (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Mohair, metal and plastic
Brief description
Soft toy, bird, mohair, metal and plastic, 'Squawk-A-Boo', designed by Chloe Preston, made by J K Farnell & Co Ltd, England, ca. 1914.
Physical description
A soft toy bird. Its body is stuffed and hand stitched, with feet and beat applied separately. The bird is mainly cream-cloured with a burnt orange beak and feet, which also have black highlights. The eyes are pink plastic with black pupils and are attached to the sides of head by a metal wire.
Dimensions
  • Height: 160mm
  • Width: 80mm
  • Depth: 110mm
Subject depicted
Summary
Miss Farnell founded Farnell Toys between 1867 and 1871, in Acton, London making plush and cloth animals. Farnell established itself as one of Brtain's leading manufacturers of teddy bears, and registered its Alpha trademark in 1925. The factory survived a fire in 1934 and being bombed in 1940, but the company stopped trading in the 1960s.

This soft toy is based on the character, 'Squawk-A-Boo,' designed by Chloe Preston. She was born in 1887 to a British family and had her first book, The Peek-a-Boos, published in 1910. Chloe Preston was an admired artist of books as well as postcards, showing children in a bright decorative style.
Collection
Accession number
B.120-2010

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Record createdMay 11, 2010
Record URL
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