About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Friday, October 13, 2017

G is for Golden-Gamete laying Goose Gone to Greedy Gormless Git

So - I said yesterday it would get more complicated and it's going to get more complicated; but first remind yourselves of Kent Spreacher's research into the subject at the Toy Soldier HQ; scroll-down to Emenee.

Mother Goose! Not listed as an Emenee or Transogram set? The box is otherwise (the Title label being the exception) the same as yesterday's Little Red Riding Hood set, graphics wise, the card insert is - of course - a different one and the under-try has a different story printed.

As yesterday, with the enhanced one on the left and the new shot on the right.

Again following yesterday's sop's, from the left we have a pig who is worth a goose! A figure we assume to be Idle Jack, his mother (is she 'mother goose' or 'mother' to the goose?), then the goose that lays the golden eggs and what appear to be Hansel & Gretel; from another set, presumably the owners of the Goose - who; not knowing it laid Golden Eggs swapped it for a pig, no questions asked?!

Another question mark comes from the graphics, where there are three references to Jack & Jill, two on the side panels and a third on the top panel round the window. So we have a 'new' set with odd figures and the hint of an eighth set.

While it would be nice to claim them as a larger range of - British - sets, using the bed as 'evidence', I suspect the truth will be that Kent or other American collectors will find the Mother Goose (and Jack & Jill?) sets in Emenee packaging at some point for an eight-set count and that Transogram picked the more-popular four for their colouring sets.

Although, at about the same time as Emenee were issuing them, a British firm obviously borrowed the moulds, and perchance a Mother Goose has turned-up here first. Supporting the theory that the other sets will turn-up in the US is the fact that Kent's already carried some of the Mother Goose figures as loose stock, as well as smaller characters who may be Jack & Jill?

So not that complicated after all! I am guilty of hyperbole to get you to return the next day!

The obverse of the inner-card - just for completeness.

The figures in situ; upper shot is colour-enhanced.

The data to date;

Emenee (info. via Kent Spreacher)
Vol. 1 - The Three Little Pigs
Vol. 2 - Little Red Riding Hood
Vol. 3 - Jack and the Beanstalk
Vol. 4 - Hansel and Gretel
Vol. 5 - [Goldilocks and] The Three Bears
Vol. 6 - Cinderella

Transogram (info. via Kent Spreacher (via - Rick Koch))
1430A - "Cinderella"
1430A - "Jack and the Beanstalk"
1430A - "Red Riding Hood"
1430A - [Goldilocks and the] "Three Bears"
1435A - Carton Assortment of 1436/1437 (1 dozen, probably 3x4)
1436 - "Cinderella" (and) "Jack and the Beanstalk"
1437 - "Red Riding Hood" (and) [Goldilocks and the] "Three Bears"

Early British
- Mother Goose

Evidence (in artwork and loose figures) for;
- Jack and Jill [Went up the Hill]

And thanks again to Adrian Little of Mercator Trading for letting me photograph them - twice!

2 comments:

WOODSY said...

Great research Hugh. I love stuff like this. Unusual and quaint. And I've learnt two new words/ phrases reading SMW today: obverse and kidney base! Small Scale World: small scale AND educational!

Hugh Walter said...

Thanks Woodsy - Obverse is a real word . . . Kidney-base is one of mine! But - with the Vichy French accusing me of being big-headed, all this praise will have me needing a bigger hat!

H