Wind-up Motor Space Dog
Mechanical Toy
1950s (manufactured)
1950s (manufactured)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A boxed clockwork tinplate dog. The dog is coloured silver all over, with patterns resembling metal rivets. It has a rectangular body and boxy head, the muzzle is semi-circular. Its lower jaw is movable and is held at the sides by a rivet. It has a red button nose and blue plastic acrylic domes for eyes with small black 'googly' beads inside. It has a hoop antenna and red rectangular flaps for ears. On is back is a rectangle of red plastic and a spring for a tail with a red ball at the end. A key is inserted into front right leg.
The box lid is printed in colours, showing an image the dog on a giant scale in a lunar landscape, with two much smaller humanoid astronauts. On the side is a picture of the dog with arrows showing how to lift and push its antenna.
The box lid is printed in colours, showing an image the dog on a giant scale in a lunar landscape, with two much smaller humanoid astronauts. On the side is a picture of the dog with arrows showing how to lift and push its antenna.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts. (Some alternative part names are also shown below)
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| Title | Wind-up Motor Space Dog (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Pressed and printed tinplate, plastic, printed card |
| Brief description | Boxed clockwork Space Dog made by Yoshiya in Japan in the 1950s |
| Physical description | A boxed clockwork tinplate dog. The dog is coloured silver all over, with patterns resembling metal rivets. It has a rectangular body and boxy head, the muzzle is semi-circular. Its lower jaw is movable and is held at the sides by a rivet. It has a red button nose and blue plastic acrylic domes for eyes with small black 'googly' beads inside. It has a hoop antenna and red rectangular flaps for ears. On is back is a rectangle of red plastic and a spring for a tail with a red ball at the end. A key is inserted into front right leg. The box lid is printed in colours, showing an image the dog on a giant scale in a lunar landscape, with two much smaller humanoid astronauts. On the side is a picture of the dog with arrows showing how to lift and push its antenna. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label |
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| 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. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Bibliographic reference | https://www.portraitofaplaything.com/work/14-space-dog |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | B.42:1 to 3-2005 |
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| Record created | December 2, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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