POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Toy car by Carette & Co

Object No. 85/2560-12

This large toy limousine is made by the famous toy manufacturer, George Carette & Co, in Nuremberg, Germany, and dates from about 1911. It is a very well proportioned and carefully represented version of the type of expensive, luxurious full-size automobiles made during the first decade of the twentieth century. At this time the motorist had a choice of the finest handmade cars ever built with bodywork produced to the customer's individual requirements. This type of vehicle was used for both town visits and touring as it has the addition of a roof rack for luggage. It is thought that the toy car represented is a Mercedes. By 1908 the German automobile firm Mercedes was well-established as the leading maker of European cars, with models owned by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and King Leopold of Belgium. It was also the favoured automobile of celebrated American millionaires including the Astors and Vanderbilts. It is significant that the Carette firm chose choose Mercedes, who made the top of the range vehicles, from which to model their expensive toys cars. The chauffeur-driven toy car's coachwork and detailing provides a fascinating insight into the social and technological history of motoring in the early twentieth century and the toys provided for privileged children at the time. Georgano, Nick, "The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile" Vol.2, The Stationery Office, Norwich, England, 2001. Margaret Simpson Curator, Toys in the Attic exhibition September 2007

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Summary

Object Statement

Toy car, part of collection (1 of 36), limousine, Mercedes, metal, made by Carette & Co, Nuremberg, Germany, 1911

Physical Description

Toy car, semi-enclosed limousine, [Mercedes], metal, made by George Carette & Co, Nuremberg, Germany, 1911 This toy car is a chauffeur-driven vehicle with a semi-enclosed limousine body style typical of the Edwardian period. The driver is in a separate open compartment and has no door. He wears a uniform with a cap and has a moustache. The car is made of pressed-mild steel, and is finished in green with black and white fine lining, with red-edged windows. The car has glass in the windscreen but not in the passenger compartment area. It also features a cast metal luggage rack on the roof, opening doors into the passenger compartment and artillery-style wheels. One of the nickel-plated side lamps by the front windscreen is missing together with the pair of acetylene-style headlamps and the outside handbrake next to the driver. It is thought that the car represented is a Mercedes.

DIMENSIONS

Height

220 mm

Width

180 mm

PRODUCTION

Notes

The toy car was made by Carette & Co (Carette & cie) established in 1886 by a Frenchman, George Carette (1861-1954) and based in Nuremberg, Germany. It was set up with the backing of a Bavarian hop merchant and the Hopf brewery and initially supplied toys to another toy manufacturer, the Bing brothers, who were also helpful in establishing the Carette firm. Carette made toy soldiers, weapons, gunboats and military vehicles, for an international market changing the flag from the Union Jack to the German flag when necessary. At the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, the company introduced one of the earliest toy electric trams. The firm went on to excel at tin toy production with both live-steam and spring-driven locomotives as well as very large and expensive toy stationary steam engines. Carette worked on developing the process of lithography on metal which was introduced in 1895 and expanded production to include boats, cars, and magic lanterns. Carette's business partner, Paul Josephtal, encouraged contracts with the English firm Bassett-Lowke for toy railway rolling stock produced in British railway liveries. Carette's toy locomotives were also made for the American market. Early Carette toy cars from about 1905 were made of brightly-lithographed lightweight tinplate sometimes with distinctive gold line work. Other features include concave brackets connecting the running board to the sub frame, simply pressed one-piece wheels, a painted chauffeur and a coal-scuttle shaped bonnet. These came in three sizes 7½ inches (19cm), 10½ inches (26.5 cm) and 13 inches (33 cm). They were painted and varnished or 'highly japanned' as the catalogues of the day described the finish. The most famous of Carette's toy vehicles is the four-window limousine of 1911 with bevelled glass windscreen. It came in three sizes, 8½ inches (22 cm), 12½ inches (32 cm) and 16 inches (40 cm). These were very expensive, large floor toys and came in about four versions within each size with the most expensive being about four times the cost of the cheapest. These were either lithographed or for the most expensive, hand-enamelled, to a high standard of finish, together with an optional footman. Other features in the middle and upper range included glass windows, a chauffeur, opening doors and a roof rack made of cast brackets. White rubber tyres and artillery wheels featured on the most expensive model while others were of a one-piece metal pressing. The colours included maroon, red, green and cream. At the beginning of the First World War Carette was still a French citizen. Despite having a German wife he had to flee Germany in 1914. They lived just outside Paris and Carette died in 1954 at the age of 93. Meanwhile, the firm continued in Germany under Josephtal but closed in 1917 after he was summonsed to enlist as a captain. The toy making pressings were taken over by another toy manufacturer, Karl Bub. Bub had been making toys for many years but only began making toy cars from about 1912. The factory buildings were said to have been taken over by a subsidiary of the Bing company. Carette's original trademark was a winged figure, accompanied by the words 'Jouets fins' - Fine toys - Feine Spielwaren', but this was changed in 1895 to the company's initials 'GCCoN' (Georges Carette Company Nuremberg) applied onto the tin plate. From 1910 until the cessation of production in 1917 the trademark was a cog wheel with a steam engine governor and the initials 'GCCo N'. This is indicative of the firm's toy stationary steam engines. Miller, Judith and Martin (eds), "Miller's Toys & Games Antiques Checklist", Reed International Books Limited, London, 1995. Richardson, Mike and Sue, "wheels:Christie's Presents the Magical World of Automotive Toys", Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1999.

HISTORY

Notes

This toy car is part of a large collection of toys purchased in 1985 from the remarkable tin toy collector Ken Finlayson. As a boy Finlayson admired steam trains but never owned a model train. As an adult he began collecting Hornby model trains, and his interest spread to other model trains and tin toys. He developed his collection at auctions, swap meets and market stalls, and through his connections with toy dealers and other serious collectors. Some toys were simply found sitting on the neglected shelves of remote country newsagencies, brand new and never opened. Finlayson's knowledge and love of toys brought him a collection of nearly 2000 items, including highly collectable tinplate toys manufactured by respected names such as Carette, Bing, Marklin and Lehmann, as well as a variety of other German, English and Japanese makers. The Finlayson collection contains every type of transport toy - cars, trucks, tractors, fire engines, buses, motorcycles, aeroplanes, ships and trains,- as well as novelty toys, robots, kitchen toys and Meccano sets. It represents the type of toys that were available in Australia in the twentieth century, including ones made in this country by Boomaroo, Wyn-toy, Cyclops, Ferris and Robilt. These Australian toys were usually built from heavy gauge pressed steel rather than thin tinplate, making them sturdy enough for rough treatment in Australian backyards and sandpits.

SOURCE

Acquisition Date

23 December 1985

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