Name/Title
Dimestore Barclay Toy Soldiers, c. 1930sEntry/Object ID
2021.128.53Description
Acc. No. 21.128.53
Subject Category: Citizens of Alameda
Date or Period: c. 1930s
Object: Toys
Description: A collection of 24 hollow cast lead alloy figurines in WWI era clothing. Set includes: mostly US-uniform styled figurines in tan clothing: 2 flag bearers, a soldier with helmet and gas mask, a parachutist, 2 marching soldiers hugging a gun, one marching soldier with gun at rest, a soldier on one knee taking aim, two drummers, one horn blower, one bugle player, ; plus 2 larger and 1 smaller rolling cannons, 2 marching cadets in light blue; a mining expert in blue, 3 sailors, a doctor, nurse and stretcher. Most of the US-style figurines had a removable helmet, only one of which survived.
Size: (average) Height: 3 1/4 inches.
History of Objects: Tin army figurines of the Martin family of 1419 Mound Street. No manufacturer's markings were detected, but the figures are typical of the short stride (c. 1934) and long stride (c. 1937) Barclay soldiers. These would be sold in Five-and-Dime stores such as Woolworths.
Acquired from: Estate of Nancy Martin
Donation Date: 2016
Catalog Date: 12/13/2021Interpretative Labels
Label
12/30/2021 MvL: current (incorrect, see Research Notes) sign:
"Collection of Cast Iron World War I Era SOLDIERS in their original box"Label
1/2/2022 replaced sign with following:
“Barclay Cast Metal soldiers
Keystone Exploding Fort
with original box
c. 1930s”