POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

'Father Tucks Marionettes' collection by Raphael Tuck and Sons

Object No. 2000/84/1

The name of Raphael Tuck and Sons became synonymous with high quality postcards, scrapbooks, puzzles and paper dolls, novelties and toys in Great Britain from the late 1860s. The firm received a Royal Warrant of Appointment from Queen Victoria in 1893 and this continued under succeeding monarchs. These paper marionettes were made during the reign of Edward VII, between 1905 and 1910. By this time the firm had also set up branches in New York, Montreal, Paris and Berlin. They were sold as a set of ten figures entitled 'Father Tuck's Marionettes'. The set reflects dominant characters and themes from European, American and Australasian children's literature of the period. Santa Claus is present along with Puss in Boots, Red Riding Hood, Three Little Kittens, a sailor called Jolly Jack, a Scottish child called 'Bonnie Scotland' and ever-popular bears. A family of 'Golly' (or 'Golliwogs) derived from Florence Upton's contemporary books, an African American woman and her children called 'Dinah and her Darlings', and a Japanese character called the 'Happy Jappy' are typical of the now outdated and discriminatory ideas and attitudes that underpinned many children's characters at this time. Several of these characters appeared in other Raphael Tuck publications and products. The figures each had a humorous verse on the back and a simple mechanism draw string that activated the legs and arms. The person reading the verse could then perform a small puppet show. These marionettes show the wear and tear of two generations of family use and enjoyment. They were originally given to Dorothy Walker when she was a very young girl living in the North Shore Sydney suburb of Wahroonga. Dorothy was born in 1905. Her father William Walker was a senior public servant. She played with the marionettes with childhood friends including Jean Lindsay, the daughter of renowned Australian artist Lionel Lindsay. Dorothy passed the marionettes on to her daughter Janet Denne (nee Windeyer) who was born in 1933. Like her mother, Janet enjoyed the marionettes at least until leaving for the Sydney boarding school, Abbotsleigh, in 1946. When Janet was no longer interested in the figures, they were packed away.