L’ours blanc (the polar bear)

A special and quite rare Martin.
Depicting a white bear climbing up a tree
Martin number 216 from 1909 with the name L’ours blanc (the polar bear)

The bear is about 18 cm (7 inch) long
The “tree” consists of two parts that must be pushed into each other in the middle, the total height is about 50 cm (19,7 inch)

Picture from the magazine La Nature 1910 pag. 51, Source: (Cnum – Digital Conservatory of Arts and Crafts – http://cnum.cnam.fr)

The text by this drawing is: The polar bear that our figure represents owes, to the interior device which animates it, of a remarkable quality of climber, it hoists itself very elegantly at the top of the ladder which completes the toy.

In the instructions for use state:
After having wound up the spring, place the bear in position at the bottom of the tree, in introducing its front metal guide into the vertical groove.
The front legs having been hooked on the cross bars, the bear will then climb up. So the bear only moves its front legs, one by one, the back legs have no climbing function.

You can see the metal guide pin in the middle of the belly

This toy is very rare but the original box is much rarer, this is the first one I saw.

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