In 2006, we’re used to the three dimensional images of video games flying
by on our television screens. What was unknown less than twenty years ago no
longer elicits gasps of amazement. In some cases, even the most advanced
graphics draw yawns from jaded game players. With this ennui among the younger
generation, how can a collector inspire a younger friend?

The best way
may be to take a minute to show him a Jerome Secor Tambourine Player Clockwork
Toy. Its construction and design is as up-to-the-minute for the Ameirca of the
1870s as a video game of today is is for 2006.

This amazing toy was
manufactured in the1870s in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The action is very advanced
for a toy of this era and is handsomely crafted of lead, iron, wood, and
clockwork gears. The figure is dressed in perfectly appointed cotton and wool
fabric. The facial features are unmistakably that of an attractive and content
African American of the time. When wound and activated, he pleasingly sways his
body rhythmically, taps a foot in perfect time, and mimics an appropriate
musical action, all the while with a hint of a satisfying grin.

While a
highly valued collectible, (there are three known to exist), the toy speaks to
the collector of 2006 on several different levels. The most obvious is race.
This toy was manufactured a mere ten years or so after the Civil War. Yes, the
primary customer would have been the children of affluent whites, but it also
reminds us that, as early as the 19th century, there was a small, growing market
of toys with the African-American child in mind.

America at the time was
mostly rural. Still, there was a small group of African Americans, usually from
the big cities, who would have been able to afford this for their children.
Looking backwards from 2006, the image could easily be construed as insulting on
a thousand levels. However, in the 1870s, that image would have had a much
different meaning for the majority of Americans, both Black and White.

The toy also reminds us of the most popular entertainment medium of the
day, a musical review. These usually traveled from town to town. The major
cities would have continuously running reviews, but America in the 1870s is
still a very rural country and with travel limited, entertainment must come to
the audience. When the toy was designed, the image of this musician would have
been known by almost anyone across the country.

Removing the toy from
its sociological and historical meanings, it is a flat-out, pure mechanical
marvel. The toy was made by the Jerome Secor Manufacturing Company. The company
produced a line of sewing machines. In addition, they had also created one of
the very first patented toys, the American Songster. This was a whistling bird
that was made of brass. Secor created the mechanics, designed the toy and even
wrote the song that the bird sang.

His company had made an international
name for themselves when, at the 1873 Vienna World’s Fair, they displayed their
mechanical singing birds. Many credit Secor with starting the mechanical bird
craze. The company was known for their ingenious application of clockwork
mechanics inside unexpected objects, such as a banjo-player or this dancer. His
most famous creation may have been the Freedman Bank. Another notable success
was his design for the cast iron clockwork locomotive.

It is also a
great reminder of the fashion and material that was available during the time
period. Compared to images of entertainers, the toy is a solid representation of
how someone would have dressed.

These are just a few ways that a toy
like this could help a new collector realize the value that the past has. The
toy elicits any number of emotions for anyone who sees it, but no one can deny
that it is a marvel of construction.

Many consider Jerome Secor an
artist. He had a firm grasp of the mechanics and operations of what he made, but
he also created a very pleasing image of what the character or bank or toy
should look like. He took the fashion of the day into consideration in his
design and also kept the marketplace in the back of his mind. He combined all of
this into a singular vision that continues to set toy manufacturing standards,
even today.