We thought we’d share two recently arrived additions to the Arcade. A beautiful example of a childs rocking horse and a childs horse tricycle!. The stunning rocking horse is available at The Blue Rooms (Unit 4) and is a fine example of the toy and must be seen.
As for the fabulous, old and rare French Childs Tricycle, this can be viewed in unit 42P at the Arcade.
Baby rocking horses and rocking horses for toddlers are one of the must-have gifts and decors in our modern-day nurseries. They have been adopted by our western families for centuries.
There have been many royal links in the history with rocking horses in the past, as well as the present. A wooden rocking horse for babies is usually a centerpiece of any nurseries.
It was believed one of the earliest forms of a ‘riding horse’ is simply a hobby horse type toy with a carved horse head attached on a stick, some may also have had a wheel at the end of the stick.
Other ancestors of the rocking horses may also be found in the form of a rocking cradle and seat used during the Middle Ages apparently for jousting practice.
Rocking horses had become more and more popular and by the 1800s rocking horses were considered as a common children’s toy.
In 1880, an alternative rocking horse mechanism was designed by an American inventor. This new glider-type base was safer than the classic bow rockers and required less space for the toy’s movement. Classic rocking chairs moved forward when used, while the new horse stayed in one place.
The folk art child’s carved fruitwood and cast iron horse child’s tricycle, having three spoked wheels, wooden handles and a black iron frame with pierced patterned supports, provincially made and surviving in charming condition from 1870s France.
A favorite toy of children who could already walk was a pull-along horse on wheels and by pulling it with a string, the horse would tamely follow the child. It did not take very long before these pull-along horses on wheels became large enough to bear the weight of a child and in a short time these toys started to be made for riding which is when this piece would have been made.
Jean Louis Goirdoux for Jugnet was the best maker of these pieces in this period and this example is very much in keeping with his work.
It was probably made by a doting father for his child and inspired by Goirdoux’s design.
A charming piece that would look splendid on a sideboard or in a bay window.
