Man Made Satellite thumbnail 1

This object consists of 3 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Man Made Satellite

Mechanical Toy
1955-1957 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Boxed red-orange spherical tin satellite toy. Inside is a friction mechanism which drives the toy forward on its wheels which are set into its flat bottom. There are four silver springs that project out on either side, and two black knobs on the top. There are windows on the front and back, each showing an image of a waving astronaut. The box has a plain card bottom and a printed top. The top has an image of a child riding a satellite, on two sides are the identical image of a boy watching the satellite move across a table. On the opposite sides the words 'Man Made Satellite Friction' are printed in yellow and red.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.
(Some alternative part names are also shown below)
  • Mechanical Toy
  • Space Toy
  • Box Lid
  • Box Base
TitleMan Made Satellite (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Lithographed pressed tinplate, printed card
Brief description
Boxed friction powered toy tin Satellite, made by Yonezawa in Japan ca. 1955
Physical description
Boxed red-orange spherical tin satellite toy. Inside is a friction mechanism which drives the toy forward on its wheels which are set into its flat bottom. There are four silver springs that project out on either side, and two black knobs on the top. There are windows on the front and back, each showing an image of a waving astronaut. The box has a plain card bottom and a printed top. The top has an image of a child riding a satellite, on two sides are the identical image of a boy watching the satellite move across a table. On the opposite sides the words 'Man Made Satellite Friction' are printed in yellow and red.
Dimensions
  • Toy diameter: 110mm
  • Box height: 88mm
  • Box width: 115mm
  • Box depth: 115mm
Style
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'MAN MADE SATELLITE' (Printed on front of toy)
  • 'S-2' (Printed on the toy)
Object history
This object was acquired for the V&A Museum of Childhood's exhibition Space Age: Exploration, Design and Popular Culture, which opened on 22nd November 2007. It was bought at Christie's in November 2005 as part of a collection of robots and space toys. The collector, Paul Lips, ran an antique toy shop in Milan from the early 1990s, where he became particularly interested in space toys. The collection covered what he believed to be their golden age: 1955 to 1965.
Historical context
After the Second World War, Japan became the pre-eminent manufacturer of tin toys through direct financial support from the United States for its toy industry, and through preferential access to US toy markets. Importantly, Japanese manufacturers were able to perfect small battery-powered motors, which gave Japanese toys a superior range of movements. One of the most celebrated subjects expressed in tin toys is space and space travel. Many highly imaginative toys were produced in the era of the Space Age (1957-1972), inspired by the widespread optimism of the times, and by a fresh public appetite for all things space.
Subjects depicted
Collection
Accession number
B.55:1 to 3-2005

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdNovember 20, 2008
Record URL
Download as: JSON