Learning through objects from the Islington Education Library Service’s handling collection
String Mill Toys, Tudor, Replica
Tudor children did not go to toyshops with their parents to buy toys, nor did they choose them from catalogues. They were likely to have toys made for them by a wood turner who used the nearest wood to hand, or to have their toys bought for them from the tray of a travelling peddler who walked from village to village selling a variety of wares.
These String Mill Toys are replicas, but the originals would have been made out of fruitwood. The toy on the right has a rounded block of wood through which the stick to drive the blades runs. The rounded block fits comfortably into the hand, the wound-up string is pulled and the blades rush round. The toy on the left works on the same principle. The string is wound round the axle running at right angles to the handle and is tugged to make the sails turn.
The String Mill Toy can be seen in the painting 'Children's Games' by Pieter Brueghel the Elder in 1560, now hanging in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
These String Mill Toys are replicas, but the originals would have been made out of fruitwood. The toy on the right has a rounded block of wood through which the stick to drive the blades runs. The rounded block fits comfortably into the hand, the wound-up string is pulled and the blades rush round. The toy on the left works on the same principle. The string is wound round the axle running at right angles to the handle and is tugged to make the sails turn.
The String Mill Toy can be seen in the painting 'Children's Games' by Pieter Brueghel the Elder in 1560, now hanging in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
Large toy Height:22cm Small toy Height:13cm
Large toy Height:22cm Small toy Height:13cm
Tudor children did not go to toyshops with their parents to buy toys, nor did they choose them from catalogues. They were likely to have toys made for them by a wood turner who used the nearest wood to hand, or to have their toys bought for them from the tray of a travelling peddler who walked from village to village selling a variety of wares.
These String Mill Toys are replicas, but the originals would have been made out of fruitwood. The toy on the right has a rounded block of wood through which the stick to drive the blades runs. The rounded block fits comfortably into the hand, the wound-up string is pulled and the blades rush round. The toy on the left works on the same principle. The string is wound round the axle running at right angles to the handle and is tugged to make the sails turn.
The String Mill Toy can be seen in the painting 'Children's Games' by Pieter Brueghel the Elder in 1560, now hanging in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
These String Mill Toys are replicas, but the originals would have been made out of fruitwood. The toy on the right has a rounded block of wood through which the stick to drive the blades runs. The rounded block fits comfortably into the hand, the wound-up string is pulled and the blades rush round. The toy on the left works on the same principle. The string is wound round the axle running at right angles to the handle and is tugged to make the sails turn.
The String Mill Toy can be seen in the painting 'Children's Games' by Pieter Brueghel the Elder in 1560, now hanging in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
