A very special toy with an ingenious mechanism
L’homme toupie made by Victor Bonnet from Paris, the last owner of the Fernand Martin toy factory in Paris.
This clown has the product number 252
It has been produced from around 1921/1922
This toy can be winded by means of a separate key.
The height is 19 cm = 7,5 inch.

After winding, place him on top of his head / hat on a flat table and let go. (in his hat is a clearly visible screw on which the whole turns)
He then starts to turn around his axis and at some point his hands slowly move towards the table, then stops turning and then pushes his head / hat away from the table.
His legs then separate and back together.
Then his head / hat returns to the table and everything starts all over again.
The manufacturer calls it a spinning top but therefore a very special ingenious spinning top.
He is now collected by collectors of tin toys and then mainly collectors of Fernand Martin toys.
He is therefore also collected by spinning tops collectors and collectors of circus acts.
It has a tin body, head, feet and hands.
The arms and legs are made of metal wire.
The feet, hands and the head with the hat are hand painted.
Furthermore, the whole is provided with colorful fabric clothing.

To wind it up, there is a keyhole on the back
What is important at purchase this toy, look at this keyhole, there is normally a Brass ring with disc attached in the fabric clothing, the disc is clothed with fabric, but very often this ring with disc is torn out and disappeared due to frequent use.
The clown is marked on top of the hat with the text: Article Francais V.B & Cie Paris.

All photos are from my own collection

This article is published in the ATW Antique Toy World magazine of March 2020-Volume 50- No3.
Read that article here but now with a very recently found additional supplement.
This additional supplement was unfortunately too late for publication in the ATW.

The Martin period is brought together from the beginning of the first Fernand Martin toy the POISSON NAGEUR in 1878 during the move of Victor Bonnet from the original old Fernand Martin factory on the 88 Boulevard de Menilmontant Paris to another location in 1934
The last toy we now, till now, was the VOITURE NOUNOU POUPON with number 265

Until now we thought that this VOITURE NOUNOU POUPON with number 265 was the very last “Martin” produced in the factory on the 88 Boulevard de Menilmontant Paris, but that is now changing.
We can now add this extra number 266 to it.
And maybe there are more extra numbers to discover.

I have now found a new piece with number 266 on the box.
It is a pistol with the name LE COSTAUD
And luckily with the original box in a fairly good condition so we now for sure that it has number 266.

Dimensions box approximately 2,5 x 10,5 x 16,5 cm (1 x 4,5 x 6,5 inch) Dimensions pistol approximately 11,5 x15 cm (4,5 x 6 inch)
I can say that we have found another piece of the big “Martin” puzzle.

And I have an original bill from Victor Bonnet in my collection that includes this pistol.
The bill dates from June 16, 1933 and this bill also shows the old trusted location of the original old Fernand Martin factory on 88 Boulevard de Menilmontant Paris.

On this bill there are three well-known Bonnet pistols:
–the PAN PAN (number 247)
–the TAPE FORT (number 262)
–the FLAC (number 256)
And now the unknown LE COSTAUD with number 266.
But there is still another unknown part on this bill under the name: “EPERVIER” in English this means (Sperrow) Hawk.
I think this is also a pistol, because I have often seen tin toy pistols with the name Hawk but till now not from Victor Bonnet but I am not sure yet.

And now the recently found addition:

I very recently found the French patent for this pistol LE COSTAUD with number 266
The patent number is FR 730.021
The following dates can be seen on this patent:
-Announced on April 04-1931
-Submitted on May 03-1932
-Published on August 05-1932
Now we know for sure that this pistol has been produced since 1932.

The displayed bill and pistol are from my own collection

During his period as the owner of the old Fernand Martin factory, Victor Bonnet brought many beautiful new toys to the market.
The pistols/guns are very noticeable here because they don’t really look like the other toys.
But it was then and is still a hugely popular toy with mainly boys, who as a boy did not in the past, as a soldier, cowboy or police, walked around with toy guns and called “pang-pang”
Till today, 6 different guns are known.
To my surprise, I found an original bill from Victor Bonnet from 1933 with the order of various pistols on it.

This bill is dated June 16, 1933
The address of Victor Bonnet & Cie factory is still the old address where once Fernand Martin produced his great successes at 88 Boulevard de Menilmontant Paris.
The Martin period is closed on the date of the move from the Victor Bonnet factory to another building in 1934.

At the back of this bill the 6 well-known pistols are also shown.
The order included three well-known pistols and two names that we did not know yet.
Of course we recognize the PanPan, the Tape Fort and the Flac on this bill
For me there are two unknown names on this bill, the Costaud and the Epervier.
From one of these unknown pieces I have discovered what it is, this will be discussed extensively in one of my next blogs in the next month.
So we still miss 1 piece, what is it ??? I don’t know yet, but we continue to search.

And do you know what the missing piece is, send me a message and make me happy.

The displayed bill comes from my own collection

Many of us still know the time when there was no internet with e-mail and the telephone was still very rare, the postcard was then still a popular and cheap means of transferring short messages, congratulations or greetings.
Nowadays, postcards are almost no longer used due to the availability of faster, cheap media.
The postcard was introduced in the second half of the 19th century.
On a postcard there was room for writing a message and usually there was an image on the other side.
Fernand Martin’s toy has also been used a number of times as an image on a postcard.
I have examples from France, Germany but also one from the U.S.A.
The most of the postcards shown here are from my own collection.

A street vendor from Paris with a stamp from 1905

French postcard with images of Martins, date unknown

Another French street vendor from the late 1800s, with the Violinist, this image was also used on a chromo collector plate.
This card can be found in the hand-colored version or in black and white

A French postcard with the “Le Charcutier” date unknown

A German postcard of the circus Barnum & Bailey who toured in Europe around 1900.
The “La Boule Mystérieuse” is shown on this postcard

Another postcard now of the circus Strassburger from around 1914
The “La Boule Mystérieuse” is shown on this postcard

A street vendor from New York with a stamp from 1906

A postcard from 1994 with the Number 233 La casseuse d’assiettes from 1912

It is nice to collect this postcards next to the Martin toys.

And I have another very special postcard in my collection, a handwritten card by Fernand Martin personally. See my blog: https://fernandmartintoys.nl/personal-postcard-from-martin/

Besides the violinist and the drunkard, the le Petit Livreur is one of the most produced and well-known Martin toy.
Of all the different “models” mentioned here, there are many different color versions.

Model 1:
Fernand Martin made the first model with the spoke wheels and a head with “look a like” real hair in 1911

Model 2:
The second known model is from George Flersheim and features the Flersheim key, another label, painted hair and the closed wheels.
This model was made from 1912

Model 3:
The third model was made by Victor Bonnet, this model was similar to the Flersheim model but has a different “Bonnet” key.
What was also changed was the operation of the small “steering wheel” under the cart.
With the Martin and the Flersheim the handle is on the left or right side and with the Bonnet usually on the front but there are still some Le Petit Livreurs with a Bonnet key and the handle also on the side.
The Bonnet version also has a brass nameplate on the cart
This model was produced by Bonnet from 1919
After the relocation of the factory in 1933, the brass nameplate and the paper on the case disappeared, replacing it with the new VEBE logo on the case

Model 4:
The fourth and rarest model.
In 1911/12 a separate “MARTIN” model appeared on the market, this model had a higher suitcase/trunk with advertising on it instead of the low suitcase.
This case was also lithographed and could be opened
Whether the labels on the suitcase can be recognized as the round logo of the “Grand Hotel” in Paris.
The boy of this Petit Livreur also got a bunch of hair and a flat cap.
It was suspected that this Petit Livreur was made on special order for the Gand Hotel and was sold as a tourist item to guests / visitors to the hotel.
There would have been sweets in the suitcase, so it was a kind of candy container.
There is still another Martin toy with such a trunk, it is the L’autopatte from 1910.
These two toys are also depicted in the book: Fernand Martin Toymaker in Paris 1878-1912 from Arthur Verdoorn and Lourens Bas. on p. 223.

A collector of hotel logo’s from Portugal, told me that this “Grand Hotel Paris” logo was used at that time in 2 versions, a round and a right-angled one, by the Grand Hotel.
It was used as a seal on letters and was also stuck on tourist gift items in the “Grand Hotel” gift shop.
These logos waren used from the end of 1800 to the beginning of the 1st World War (WW1) in 1914.
With its 700+ rooms, the hotel was the largest in Paris and was used as a military hospital in the 1st World War
This hotel still exists today.

It is not exactly clear whether Fernand Martin or George Flersheim put it on the market, but I suspect Martin because it still has a typical “Martin” key, but that actually means little because Flersheim has also released toys with a Martin key, presumably using up old supplies.
All in all an exceptional piece and very sought after because it is not sold in large numbers.

There is a known photo of the stall with the “normal” and the “special” Le Petit Livreur, this photo was once sold on Ebay.
A question for those who have this photo: send me an image then I can add it to this article.

A very early toy that Martin made were two firefighters with a fire sprayer, which reflects the state of the art of firefighting at the time.

History:
A fire sprayer had already been granted a patent in 1614, but the first well-functioning model comes from the Dutchman Jan van der Heiden in 1672 with a hose fire sprayer.
This type of fire sprayers was sometimes used until the Second World War (WWII)
Large heavy pumps used to be pulled by horses and the smaller models were pulled by firefighters themselves.

The fire sprayer can be compared to a wooden, red-copper or metal tub / container in which a hand pump with a nozzle is attached.
Although this type of fire sprayer delivered a constant flow of water, it had the disadvantage that it had to be filled with buckets.
There is also a type that could itself suck water from a canal or ditch.
Because the hose could not be too long, it had to be placed close to the fire, which of course was dangerous for firefighters and equipment.

Now about the toy model.
Dimensions: Height 16 cm (6-1/4 inch) Length 14 cm (5-1/2 inch).
At the bottom of the storage tank, you can connect a hose.
If you look at the drawing you will see an “A” at the bottom, that’s the wind-up key.
After being wind up, you place this toy on the table.
I don’t know if you have to fill it with water or put it in a little tub with water.
Filling seems unlikely to me because the container due to the mounting tabs it would leak everywhere.
Sucking up seems more likely to me, the water can then be sucked up through the pipe at the bottom.

On the drawings in the catalog and the drawing on the box you see an extra pipe drawn, the water could be sucked through this pipe, on the actual toy you can no longer see this pipe but it can be integrated into the thick pipe where the wind-up mechanism is located.
Both figures then move up and down and thus pump the water away through the hose.

Here above an image from the original Fernand Martin catalog 1898
Compare this image with the image on the lid of the original box and you will see some differences.

If you look very closely you will see the next differences:
  1- The two corners of the catalog image are not richly decorated.
  2- On the box label there is no “triangle with number 138”
  3- On the box label there are no dates of various gold medals that Martin has won
4- On the catalog image the net and gross weights are stated below the image.
  5- On the left of the catalog image is the text “Made In France”.
  6- The catalog image is numberd with number 105, (but more about this number in one of the following blogs).

A very rare and hard-to-find toy, the box is even rarer to find.
The piece with the box on the first photo was sold at the Bertoia auction on May 9, 2019 for $ 8000 without the auction surcharge.

Note: With my approval, a part of this blog has been adapted and published by the BHIC. See the link: https://www.bhic.nl/ontdekken/verhalen/blikken-speelgoed-uit-1887-voor-8000-dollar

Fernand Martin has made two versions of these Harlequin figures
These figures were very popular with the children at the end of the 1800s
You could buy these figures from department stores, smaller toy stores, market halls and from street vendors.

These Harlekijn dolls were for sale in various materials such as fabrics, wood and by Martin in the tin plate version

The first one he made was quite early in his career.
In 1882 he made an approximately 22.5 cm (8 ¾ ”) figure, and is called “Le Pantin Mecanique”
It is found in two color varieties in blue and in red
The special thing about this figure is that it has two faces, one at the front and one at the back
The mechanic was by a rubber band drive
In the museum in Paris Musée des arts and Métiers – Le cnam, the red one can be found, it was in the gift from Fernand Martin to the Museum
As the photos of the museum contain a copyright, I cannot show it here, but a digital visit to the site is worth looking at, see this link:
https://phototheque.arts-et-metiers.net/?idPageWeb=95
enter the keyword “Fernand Martin” at “rechercher”.
The photo you can find at number 0001664-143

The second version was made from 1896, so in the second period of Fernand Martin.
The product number is 152 and the name is “L’assiette Au Beurre Et Le Pantin”
This is also known so far in two color varieties in Blue / red and in Red / blue
It is quite small and only around 10 cm (4”) in size, the drive is here through a pull rope
If you pull this, the arms and legs start to move, Lehmann also had a similar effect with his well-known Climbing monkey.
This figure does have a clear front and back

Both figures are extremely rare to find.

Soltau, a small town located in the north of Germany, just an hour’s drive from Hamburg.
In the center of Soltau, spread out across two buildings (Poststrasse 7 and 15), is one of the most exiting toy museums I know.

Welcome to the Toy Museum Soltau (“Spielmuseum Soltau”), a house full of treasures, dreams and ideas!
The museum houses one of the best and most varied toy collections in the world: from a huge all-original Victorian dolls house with fifteen fully furnished rooms to a great Humpty-Dumpty circus set, from William & Mary wooden dolls to mechanical tin toys and from Erzgebirge scenes to paper toys.

And it will get even better: at the end of March 2020 a special department dedicated to a large collection of Fernand Martin toys will open at the Poststrasse 15 branch of the museum.
This department will be named “Klein-Paris!” (Little Paris!): a new exhibition unit with fantastic French toys from the turn of the (1900) century is currently under construction.
The focus is on mechanical sheet metal figures by the famous Paris toy maker Fernand Martin.

All objects come from the great collection of Arthur Verdoorn and were donated to the “Stiftung Spiel” (Foundation for Play) that runs the museum.
Arthur Verdoorn was a Dutch collector and a personal friend of mine, he was one of the two authors of the fantastic book: “Fernand Martin Toy Maker In Paris 1878-1912”.

I know his collection very well and I often played together with him, in his own home museum, with these toys.

A very large collection that fortunately can be admired by everyone soon.

The Spielmuseum Soltau is not just a museum to look at: visitors of all generations are invited to explore, enjoy, try out, play and learn. So, step into history, reminisce and get inspired!
The museum is open 365 days a year from 10 am to 6 pm and the exhibitions cover a total of 900 square meters.

And have you decided to take a look and travel to Soltau?
Then don’t miss the nearby felt museum “felto – Filzwelt Soltau” and be surprised there, too – for example by more than 120 historic Steiff character dolls all made of felt.

https://www.spielmuseum-soltau.de

https://www.filzwelt-soltau.de/

In principle there are four different Martin bears, three are produced under the same number 193 in a period of more than 25 years.
They are very similar in appearance, there are two colors, white and brown.
The fourth is a completely different bear with number 216

Three bears, who carry the same number:
What do you need to know if you have one or want to purchase one or even find one.
What should you pay attention to!

The first one is the brown bear with a “hairy” head, so it looks like a head with fur.
This was given number 193 and was made by Fernand Martin in the second Martin period in 1904.
Marked under one leg with “FM” and under the other leg with the famous “triangle” and equipped with a “Martin” key

The second one is the same bear but in a white version, the head is now painted white.
He received the same production number and was made by Fernand Martin in the second period from 1909
But also produced by Victor Bonnet in the fourth period with the same number
If it is produced by Fernand Martin then one leg is marked with FM and under the other leg with the famous triangle.

If it was produced by Victor Bonnet from 1921 until the 30s, it is marked under one leg with “VB & Cie Paris” and under the other leg with “Made in France” and equipped with a “Victor Bonnet” key

The third version is a brown bear but now with a dark brown painted head, this bear was produced by George Flersheim in the third period from 1912, this bear also received production number 193.
Marked under one leg with “FM” and under the other leg with the famous “triangle” and equipped with a “Flersheim” key

And then there is a fourth bear
It is the climbing bear and was produced by Fernand Marin in 1909
The production number is 216
This is a very special bear that, after winding, climbs independently into a pole.

All toys shown in the photos are or were from my own collection

Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Fröhliche Weihnachten und ein glückliches Neues Jahr
Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année
Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo
Boas Festas e um feliz Ano Novo
Kala Christougenna Ki’eftihismenos O Kenourios Chronos
God Jul och Gott Nytt År
Glædelig Jul og godt nytår
Geseende Kerfees en ’n gelukkige nuwe jaar
Hyvää joulua ja onnellista uutta vuotta

This very ingenious toy is a reproduction of reality, it was a circus act from the late 1800s and early 1900s

A piece of history :

This act was performed by an Austrian artist Leon Rauche with his artist name La Roche or LaRoche
LaRoche started at Barnum & Bailey in 1895
The world famous circus Barnum & Bailey had this act in its program from 1895 to 1903.
In 1897, James A. Bailey, as Director of the Barnum and Bailey show, decided to organize a multi-year tour in Europe.
In October of that year, he arrived in England with his complete circus company and began his performance at the Olympia Hall in London.
He traveled throughout England to cross the mainland of Europe.
After visit many cities in Central Europe, the circus returned to America in 1903.

This poster is dated 1897 and that is because almost all images for this European tour were pre-produced in 1897 in America at: “THE STROBRIDGE LITHO CO. “In Cincinnati; Ohio.
In countries where the circus stayed for a long time, the text was adapted to the national language.
The amount of posters taken for this tour was more than 100,000 sheets.
Should a certain stock run out, then according to the American design, sheets were printed in Europe.
In exceptional cases, local designers and printers were sometimes called upon.

The show was in Paris in the period of November 1901 – March 1902
Housed in the Salle des Fêtes of the Galerie des Machines at the foot of the Eifel tower, a remnant of the 1900 exhibition in the Champ-de-Mars.
Barnum & Bailey presented its show consisting of a large number of first-class attractions.
The first show took place on November 30, 1901.
Barnum & Bailey was sold out until March 23, 1902.
The shows took place every day at 8:15 pm, with matinee at 2:00 pm, Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and public holidays.

I think Fernand Martin also visited this show in Paris, but he didn’t come up with the La Boule Mystérieuse at that time, why?? read more…..

The invention of the act :

Leon Rauche (Laroche) has designed this act himself.
Legend has it that circus contortionist Leon LeRoche got his inspiration for ‘La Boule Mysterieuse’ from a popular gambling game that took place outside the tent of a show in Romania.
After bettors bet on one of multiple numbers, the showman rolled a ball from the top of a 1 foot high spiral, screaming as the ball rolled its way to the winning number.
LaRoche’s had a 12-foot spiral built for his own act.
While he was locked up in a metal ball of 2 ½ feet in diameter, he slowly and mysteriously rolled up and down on a spiral track without railing, and without the help anything visible or a motor.
The mystery of its progress is supposed to be explained when the man comes out, but it is more mysterious than ever, for the man has to tie himself in a knot to get into the sphere and certainly does not appear to have room to budge an inch , and the reason why the ball goes up and down slowly is just as inexplicable as ever! “.

The trick was considered “an inscrutable mystery,” a sudden genius.
Everywhere the show agents arranged performances of this wonderful man and his company.
LaRoche doubled the height of the spiral to 24 feet and by the time he started touring with Barnum and Bailey in 1896, the course was already 30 feet high.
After the circus went back to America in 1903, La Roche left Barnum & Bailey and presumably continued with his act to the “Strassburger” circus.
This circus existed from 1892 to 1963

The toy :

Fernand Martin came on the market in 1906 with his “La Boule Mystérieuse” and it was a great success.

But Fernand Martin was not the original designer/inventor of this toy.
On 6 December 1905, a French inventor Mr M Celestin Gasselin applied for a patent under patent number 360440.
It was granted on February 23, 1906, and on April 21, 1906, this patent was published.

Fernand Martin purchased this patent directly from Mr. Gasselin and put it on the market in 1906.
This toy was registered in Germany under a patent number D.R.G.M. 269277
The “Martin” number of this toy is 204

But there is one exception;
This toy maker from Paris has made very nice “Martin” look and likes.
This manufacturer is named S.I.J.I.M. with director Prosper Levi.
He started this factory in 1909 but with the rise of the first world war he disappeared quickly in 1917.
S.I.J.I.M. means: Société Industrielle de jouets et d’inventions mécaniques.
He has not made many pieces but a few very beautiful.
The best seller and known is the organ grinder : le joueur d’orgue, this is often referred to as Martin.
But he has also made less well-known pieces.

32 La Poussette. (The Stroller)

33 Le Joueur d’orgue. (The Organ Player)

34 Les Chevaux Hygieniques ( Hygienic Horses)

35 L’apprenti Cavalier. ( The Rider Apprentice)

36 Le Livreur Rapide ( The Fast Delivery Man)

? no number known.
Le Soute Mouton. (The leap frog. Presumably S.I.J.I.M. but no certainty yet)
This toy was depicted in a magazine from the department store Choumara Paris in 1912 togehter with other S.I.J.I.M. , Martin and other toys.
see pictuer below.

The likely reason that they look so much like Martins is that the manufacturer, Proper Levi, would have been a former employee of the Fernand Martin factory.
I don’t know if that’s right, but he copied a lot and made his own toy after the good example and style of Fernand Martin.
And not without success because its models are very beautiful.
Even the key is a copy of a “Martin” key

As I said before, there are many more imitations that are sold as Martins, so stay allert and pay attention.
An imitation doesn’t have to be ugly, if you like it, that’s fine, buy it and enjoy it.

All photos are from my own collection or courtesy of Michael Bertoia Auctions

In the past, competitors have also made imitations / look a likes of the toys of Fernand Martin.
The names of the manufacturers are not always known because they were mostly small firms.
The last known imitations are fairly recent and from the Spanish Paya and are clearly recognizable.
Paya has made 10 imitations, luckily these are very recognizable as being. Example: the hairdresser, the drunkard, the judge, the conductor etc.

But older imitations are more difficult to recognize, are also on the market.

You can see it most clearly in the shape of the key. (see my older blog about the Martin keys : Different Fernand Martin keys from June 28, 2019
But also the location of the key, with Martin the key is usually (not always) on the left side of the toy body, when you look at the toy with the face facing you, so on the right side.
So if there is a key on the other side or at the back then you have to be careful.
And of course the face is not what you can expect from a real Martin toy.

You see above some examples of imitations of the Le Violonist and the Le Pochard.
Look special to the face from these imitations and you can see exactly what I mean by that.
Sometimes these imitations have in the course of time received original parts from real Martins such as the bottle, a head or the clothes.
And then the question: What happened to the original production molds, were they destroyed or did they end up in the hands of companies that turned them into “Martins” again?
One imitation of the Le Pochard even received an original Martin box.

But there are also various “look a likes” from the fireman, from Günthermann Gama. and others.

Gama has a very clear start-stop trade on his back, a connection between the hands and another ladder on wheels.
The Günthermann can be recognized by:
-a short tube under his left elbow
-model of the key
-the plate on the ladder with imitation flames
-the shape of the freestanding support of the ladder.

As I said before, there are many more imitations that are sold as Martins, so stay allert and pay attention.
An imitation doesn’t have to be ugly, if you like it that’s fine, buy it and enjoy it.

Continued in part two next week

All photos are from my own collection or courtesy of Michael Bertoia Autions