I found this print on the site of the Musée Carnavalet in Paris.
This print shows several recognizable Martins.
This drawing was made during the annual Christmas and New Year sale period on the important Boulevards in Paris in 1901.
The Creative Commons Zero (CCØ) licence Museum Carnavalet Paris.
The designer is A. Tissandier
The following Fernand Martin’s can be seen:
-La Petite Marchande D’oranges
-Le Vieux Marcheur
-Le Pochard
-Les Agents
The other toys are produced by other toy manufacturers
NEW YEAR’S TOYS ON THE BOULEVARDS
I. The black person on a tricycle. — 2. The elephant. — 3. The orange seller. — 4. The Jumping Clown, — 5. The Drunkard. — 6. The dignified gentleman. 7. The police officer. — 8. The Santos-Dumont Balloon. — 9. The steerable balloon.
We thought that this year we would see some novelties in the small shops on the boulevard thanks to the initiative of Mr. Lépine, prefect of police, who had the happy idea last November to organize a toy competition.
The innovations were not very abundant, to tell the truth, but in these cheap toys one could notice a very sensible advancement in their mechanism.
In the past it was mainly due to a simple clockwork, primitive but ingenious, that the toy could work, this time that is no longer the case. To the simple clockwork, like the (No. 1) black person on a tricycle we see, is added a connecting rod which drives the arm and the hand that holds a hat.
This way he can gracefully greet the crowd while pedaling.
Another effect is obtained in a similar way for the aeronaut circling the Eiffel Tower with his balloon (No. 9).
These are connecting rods that control the movement of the legs.
The illusion is complete; we think that the aeronaut himself is putting his propeller into action to win the prize of 100,000 francs. No. 2 represents an elephant; it is also a connecting rod that moves the pachyderm’s head.
the orange seller, also works with the same mechanical means.
No. 4, the jumping clown on all fours, is equipped in addition to his clockwork with a double connecting rod that allows him to jump while spinning, even better than the famous Foottit (George Foottit (1864 –1921) was an English clown who found fame on the Paris circus scene. He is famous for being part of the clown duo “Foottit and Chocolat”) of the circus that could.
One of this year’s funniest toys is the Drunkard (No. 5).
A connecting rod and a pendulum, on either side of the central movement, operate the two arms whose hands hold a bottle on one side and a glass on the other.
The uneven movement of these parts causes a rhythmic oscillation in the drunkard whose head is movable.
The legs go up in the most comical way. (No. 6), the dignified gentleman smoking his cigar, and the cop (No. 7), are both animated by a movement that controls two eccentrics that move the connecting rods in the legs.
Thus they walk with a solemn step, one putting his cigar in his mouth and the other solemnly raising his white club, both actuated by a connecting rod.
Finally, the balloon of (No. 8), hot air balloon of Santos-Dumont that revolves around the Eiffel Tower.
This toy won one of the first prizes in the Concours Lépine.
The balloon is set in motion by a clockwork that turns its propeller.
To put this fun toy into practice, insert a supplied key into the hole visible on the engraving, on the side opposite the propeller attached to the end of the balloon, to turn it.
Other fun toys adorned the boulevard, unfortunately we can’t show them all: some were also a great success.
A graceful lady, seated in her car, was being driven by a handsome driver.
As soon as the key was turned, they both left: the driver seemed very busy and the lady greeted the audience by waving her handkerchief.
This toy has a mechanism analogous to that of the black person on a tricycle (No. 1).
Some of the toys described, including (No. 7), come from the Mathieu house, 131, galerie de Valois (Palais-Royal), in Paris. (No. 8), called The Santos-Dumont balloon, is available from M. L. Sertet, 15 and 17, avenue Ledru-Rollin, in Paris.
The other toys were chosen from the shops on the boulevards.