Toy Fire Engine
date: label: Date made
content: ca 1900
notes: label: Description
content: Cast-iron toys, such as this fire engine from about 1900, reflect many commonplace but often forgotten aspects of everyday life. The strength of the Museum's toy collection is an outstanding grouping of cast-iron and tinplate toys, 1870s to the 1950s, donated by Sears, Roebuck and Co. The collection was acquired by Sears, Roebuck and Co. from Kenneth Idle, a private collector. Gathered between 1915 and 1960, the collection numbers more than 1,400 cast-iron and tinplate examples of both American and European origins. Cast-iron toy manufacturers represented in this collection are Hubley, Kentontoys, and Kingsbury Toys. Subjects include the circus, horse-drawn vehicles, public transportation, mail delivery, home equipment, recreation, construction equipment, the farm, fire fighting, and police vehicles.
label: Description
content: Cast-iron toys are essentially American. Small foundries and factories were mass-producing them towards the close of the 19th century. These toys were sold in novelty stores, department stores, or mail order catalogs. One can follow along with shifts in technology by recognizing the changes in the different models of Sears toys. During the first half of the 20th century, tractors almost completely displaced the horse on American farms&#8212;and on the toy counter. Toy motor trucks replaced horse-drawn vehicles. The toy manufacturers were alert to new models and designs of vehicle and appliance manufacturers.
topic: label: Subject
content: Toys
label: Subject
content: Fire Fighting
label: Subject
content: Horses
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
label: See more items in
content: Family & Social Life
label: See more items in
content: Cultures & Communities
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content: Sports & Leisure
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Sears, Roebuck and Co., Collection of American Toys
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.295669.0749
label: catalog number
content: 295669.0749
label: accession number
content: 295669
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Toy, Fire Engine, Steam, with Horses
label: Object Name
content: Toy, Fire Engine, Steam, with Horses
label: Object Type
content: toys
label: Other Terms
content: Toy, Fire Engine, Steam, with Horses; Toys
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: black (horses in harness color)
label: Physical Description
content: black (pumper color)
label: Physical Description
content: white (pumper color)
label: Physical Description
content: yellow (horses in harness color)
label: Physical Description
content: yellow (pumper color)
label: Physical Description
content: iron, cast (horses in harness material)