19th C. Althoph Bergmann Camel and Rider Tin Toy

Regular price $40.00

I am pretty certain this camel once stood on a base with wheels so that it could roll along, but it appears to have lost its ride a long time ago! I am 99% sure if was made by Althoph, Bergmann & Co, an early American tin toy maker based in NYC, and believe it dates to the 1880s or so.  A string knotted around one leg of the camel helps to holds the two halves of it together (the seam is still joined along the top of the head and hump, but not the lower body, and the body of the rider on one side is no longer attached (one could glue it in place if desired.) I just love the look of it with its great silhouette and old yellow paint and the rider who looks just like a sulky driver on weathervanes from the same period.

8" l measured on the square x 6" t.  Presumed loss of wheeled base as noted, plenty of paint loss and separation of halves. Perfect though for just standing or hanging somewhere.