Bidspirit auction | Alphabet Man Iron Toy

Alphabet Man Iron Toy - Manufacturer Unknown American - 1880's The Alphabet Man represents the most ingenious educational toy made in the late 19th century. The twenty-six letters of the alphabet appear in sequence in a small circular window placed directly beneath the schoolmaster's necktie. Each time the lever is pressed, the next letter of the alphabet comes into view. To emphasize the uppercase shape and sequence of the letters, the teacher points them out with the index finger of his left hand. He peers directly at each child who plays with him, rolling his eyes up and down, underscoring the vital significance of learning the alphabet. Even though he is only a little cast iron educator, he implicitly knows that effective written communication hinges on knowing one's ABC's.In his book ”American Antique Toys”, Barney Barenholtz reminds us that didactic toys, those with an educational purpose, functioned to prepare the child to pass from the home environment to the school environment. He called such playthings the ”toys to grow on”. Barney understood the