Produced from 1899
Product number 172
Hand lacquered
Mechanism: Clockwork
Height approx. 20 cm / 7,8 inches
This very amusing toy became one of the most produced toys by Martin and can therefore still be found very often.
Production also continued into the Victor Bonnet period, so more then 30 years.
After winding it up, he starts walking with a wobbly gait, moving the arm with the bottle towards a kind of beer mug in his other hand, and then moving the beer mug to his mouth.
This is also one of the reasons why there is often damage around his mouth due to the movement of the mug. (the area around the mouth is often restored.)
I have already written about this toy in a few other blogs as well, so feel free to read those through too, See in my blog page in the section: FIND ARTICLE and then look under number 172.
The clothing consists mainly of a shirt, two arm sleeves, and two trouser legs, so if you want to buy one, pay attention to the following:
As almost all clothing was made at that time, it is made from a very long piece of double-folded fabric sewn shut on one side.
A long tube was formed which was simply cut to length, so the shirt, arm sleeves, and trouser legs always have 1 seam on only one side.
In the image below, you can clearly see the various pieces of clothing that therefore always have a seam on only one side so it is therefor tube-shaped, the trouser legs were attached to the frame with 1 stitch, and the sleeves were attached to the shirt with 1 stitch.
Above is an image from a sales catalog, and next to it is an image of the box label.
There you can also see the various differences.
And now for a serious warning:
Due to its great success, it has also been copied frequently, so be careful.
Below is an example; look closely at his face, the height of the hat, the bottle, and the “round” knob to wind it up.
And there are more examples, so pay attention
This Martin was even the reason that A.D. Gauwin wrote, in 1903, a piece for piano about this toy.
