Toy boat
Classification(s):
Wood
Date: c.1951 - 1976
Dimensions:
165 × 256 mm (16.5 × 25.6 cm)
Medium: Wood, paper, thread
Object number: CC008
Place of Production:England
Title:Mermaid
DescriptionWooden toy boat from the 'Turning Heads and Bodies' range, designed and made by toymaker Sam Smith. Made in England. A wooden figure with a rotating head is fishing off the side of the boat. On the deck of the boat is a mermaid and fish. The boat has a mast and ropes. The wood is painted and varnished. The boat has a pink hull. There is a label at the back of the boat, “Mermaid”.
The makers mark is stamped to the bottom, “Sam Smith, England”. A paper label is attached to the boat’s rope, “Sam Smith’s Turning Heads and Bodies”. On the base of the boat is a paper label, “128 A Wooden Painted Boat Mermaid”. There is another smaller label which is illegible.
The makers mark is stamped to the bottom, “Sam Smith, England”. A paper label is attached to the boat’s rope, “Sam Smith’s Turning Heads and Bodies”. On the base of the boat is a paper label, “128 A Wooden Painted Boat Mermaid”. There is another smaller label which is illegible.
ProvenanceThis object was originally acquired for the Inner London Education Authority’s (ILEA) ‘Circulating Design Scheme’ collection.
The collection was instigated by the London Country Council (later the Greater London Council) and the Council of Industrial Design (COID). The collection’s original purpose was concerned with the teaching and dissemination of modern, ‘good design’.
The collection was established in 1951/52 as the ‘Experiment in Design Appreciation’, later renamed the ‘Circulating Design Scheme’.
The Circulating Design Scheme lent boxed showcases to London schools. The showcases contained handling objects, material samples and interpretation on a specific subject.
COID withdrew its involvement in the Scheme in 1957. After which time, it was managed exclusively by the London County Council from 1957-1963.
After the administrative restructuring of London authorities, the Scheme was jointly managed by the Greater London Council and the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) from 1963 – 1976.
The Scheme was operational until 1976 when the collections were withdrawn from circulation. ILEA was abolished in the late 1980s and the collection was donated to Camberwell College of Arts in 1989/90.
ILEA was responsible for secondary and tertiary education in the inner London boroughs, this included Camberwell.
The collection was instigated by the London Country Council (later the Greater London Council) and the Council of Industrial Design (COID). The collection’s original purpose was concerned with the teaching and dissemination of modern, ‘good design’.
The collection was established in 1951/52 as the ‘Experiment in Design Appreciation’, later renamed the ‘Circulating Design Scheme’.
The Circulating Design Scheme lent boxed showcases to London schools. The showcases contained handling objects, material samples and interpretation on a specific subject.
COID withdrew its involvement in the Scheme in 1957. After which time, it was managed exclusively by the London County Council from 1957-1963.
After the administrative restructuring of London authorities, the Scheme was jointly managed by the Greater London Council and the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) from 1963 – 1976.
The Scheme was operational until 1976 when the collections were withdrawn from circulation. ILEA was abolished in the late 1980s and the collection was donated to Camberwell College of Arts in 1989/90.
ILEA was responsible for secondary and tertiary education in the inner London boroughs, this included Camberwell.
NotesSam Smith (born Alan Verner Smith) was born in Southampton and was the son of a steam ship captain, spending most of his childhood around boats in the seaside town. His childhood fascinations with the theatre of the harbour and of the sea no doubt influenced his work. Smith studied at the Bournemouth School of Art, followed by the Westminster School of Art, London. As an aspiring painter, he was an admirer of artists such as Eric Ravilious and Paul Nash - but struggling to find work as a painter he took a job as a gallery assistant at The Little Gallery in London. Smith began making small wooden objects to be sold in the gift shop of the gallery, but as war broke out his craft work and toy making was interrupted. In 1935 he exhibited his work at The Little Gallery, and after meeting Henry Rothschild in 1945 he exhibited at The Primavera Gallery, London. Smith’s work proved popular and he expanded production to supply toys to department stores.