Plaster and wire animal set

A series of composition (plaster over wire) reproductions: elephant and mahout (an elephant's keeper and driver), giraffe, camel, leopard, a lioness with two cubs, tapir, llama, highland cattle, bison, wolves, dog, wart hog, bearcubs, wildebeest, and zebra.

Toy animals have always been popular with children and have ranged from a toy whittled from wood by a parent for his own child, through to the work of villagers, each responsible for reproducing a particular type of animal. This formed the beginnings of mass production. Handsome arks, zoos and circuses were produced, both in Europe and America, largely from wood but some made using composition materials.

From the 19th century metal toys were made. Manufacturers in Germany produced flat, lead figures that were extremely realistic, but in the 1890s Britains Ltd. developed the method of making hollow-cast figures. Toy soldiers were the the largest component of the company's business until 1923 when it released a model home farm, and a few years later, a hunting series. Zoo animals were another popular series. With hollow-casting, great realism could be given to the models. Only in the second half of the 20th century would these be replaced by plastic animals.

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