The writer is none other than George R. R. Martin, who wrote the Game Of Thrones series of books (which I have not seen or read yet). George collects toy lead and plastic knights and has had problems with lead rot.
“I have been known to paint a few figures from time to time, usually while “watching” television. (It’s odd how many TV shows don’t need to be seen to be understood). My skills are no match for any of the other painters whose figures are shown here, but I enjoy it … The marvelously detailed pewter castings (by Eduard Kasintzev of the Ukraine) surely deserved better paintwork than I was capable of giving them… but I am a lot better than I used to be, for what it’s worth.”
Close up scan of the Britain’s toy soldiers on the table. Spot the first casualty on the right.
I came across this Edwardian / WW1 postcard by Underwood the photographers featuring some delightful and familiar toy soldiers.
These look like the Foot Guards, marching at slope, firing, drummer and officer, some of my favourite Britain’s toy soldiers manufactured from their early days in the late 1890s /1901 onwards (wearing gaiters) right through to the 1950s / 1960s but ones which are still in production from time to time today, date on their base 1990.
The boy and the toys give this a look of H.G. Wells’ 1913 book Little Wars, mixed with Edwardian children in woollen Jerseys such as Christopher Robin from Winnie The Pooh and other children from A.A. Milne poems illustrated by E.H. Sheperd.
The bearded old soldier has a military style greatcoat, a hint of a Chelsea pensioner, opposite this curly haired boy (or almost girl?) Maybe the postcard suggests he is not only reliving his past battles with the Britain’s toy soldiers and bell tents but looking at his once eager young self. This is a motif repeated in famous Victorian paintings like Millais’ The Boyhood of Raleigh:
You know how you buy something, start researching it and come up with some unrelated unusual stories?
This postcard led me to discover more about early stereoscopic photographers in America, Edwardian penny magazines and one of the BFI’s most wanted missing silent films by a pioneering British woman film director. A film which started a court case between one early female film critic and the female director about whether women could direct proper films or not …
The toy soldier postcard was given away free in 1d weekly magazines, so there must be quite a few of these cards around, posted and unposted.
It was given away in Smart Fiction magazine published weekly 1d by Shurey’s of London which was published or flourished between 1913 and 1924 before merging with Smart Novels. It published short stories by a range of authors: http://www.philsp.com/data/data433.html#SMARTFICTION
The Underwood photograph was also given away in the similar Yes or No magazine, published weekly by Harry Shurey of London from 1904 – 1922, interestingly entitled in a 1917 (sample copy online) edition “A favourite in the trenches”:
Short story magazines for the boredom of billet and trenches must have been a welcome distraction. Would the soldiers have been sent these magazines and postcards by their families or would they have been bought and posted home by the soldiers to their children?
The Shurey family and lost British films …
The Shurey family were an interesting or pioneering bunch from publisher father Harry, editor Charles through to Harry’s daughter the 1920s silent movie producer Dorothy / Dinah Shureyhttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinah_Shurey.
On the BFI most wanted lost films, Dinah Shurey’s final film The Last Post 1929 (sound added 1930) has an intriguingly Underwood style photo of children dressed as ‘toy’ soldiers.
Brief Plot Synopsis: Soldier takes the blame when his Bolshevik brother shoots a soldier during the General Strike (which was in 1926). All for the love of the same woman … childhood sweethearts etc … you can read more of the plot at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Post_(film)
Looks like this postcard has been well cared for in a scrapbook or album, having well marked triangular mount corners.
This Space for Communication?
A collector I know of animal and zoo postcards named Alan Ashby, author of We Went to the Zoo Today: The Golden Age of Zoo Postcards, pointed out to me once that postcards with the space on the back to write your message were permissable only from 1902 onwards in the UK. Hence the reminder “This Space for Communication.” Before then the short message had to be written squeezed into the caption space on the front of a picture postcard. The back was all for the important business of the address and postage stamps.
The cost of a postcard postage and the stamp give some you a rough idea of date if no postmark date can be read – the 1/2d or halfpenny postage mentioned on this unposted card changed to 1d round about 1918 onwards. If this had been posted it would likely had a George V stamp from the WWI period.
Alan Ashby also pointed out that many early postcards were mounted in albums, rather than posted, as they were bought as souvenirs of a visit or collected for scrapbooks.
Two of the different poses featured in the postcard. The Britain’s drummer is a restored or repaired and repainted one of mine, the others were recently acquired from Britain’s stockists and online. Note the recent 1990 shiny detailed paint work compared to the front older Britain’s second grade or lower quality three / four paint restricted palette.
The Toy soldiers?
These look distinctively like early Britain’s figures and bell tents. These look like the Britain’s Foot Guards, marching at slope, firing, drummer and officer, manufactured from the late 1890s /1901 onwards (wearing gaiters) right through to the 1950s / 1960s. Some are still in production from time to time today, dated on their base 1990.
This boy or girl and toy soldier or soldier daddy motif is obviously a sub genre of postcards across the whole of Europe at this time of war.
Lots more interesting WW1 era toy soldier postcards in his fascinating June 20, 2012 blog / Article “The Search for Identity in a Smaller World” by Alan Petrulis in his Metropostcard blog:
The Edwardian child in the postcard is not that different in appearance from the poorly child in an illustration of the Land Of Counterpane poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated here by US artist Jessie May Wilcox.
Robert Louis Stevenson himself was a poorly child who went onto become not only the famous novelist but also an early wargamer, writting up his battles in the Yallobelly Times maginatively about in the 1898 Scribners magazine article Stevenson at Play. http://vintagewargaming.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/robert-louis-stevenson.html
But collecting illustrations of this (my favourite?) poem and the difficulties of wargaming with toy soldiers in bed is a whole ‘nother story for a future blog post …
Now that’s what I call imaginative terrain! Jessie Wilcox Smith’s illustration to The Land of Counterpane. Wikipedia image source.
Posted by Mark, Man of TIN blog, 25 November 2016.
There are old soldiers and there are bold soldiers, but there are no old, bold soldiers, as the saying goes.
I always feel a bit sad seeing the lead graveyard of damaged toy soldiers that is sometimes EBay.
Repairing horses or cavalry is very tricky. Infantry are less tricky, if you are not too fussy, although many companies like Dorset Soldiers will do a fine job for you but at a cost. Recast heads and arms are available from several companies.
There is surprisingly little information on the Internet about repairing old broken lead soldiers.
I have been working my way through some of the casualties that have turned up in job lots of vintage toy soldiers to give them some gaming life again. I’m not one for a soldering iron or even Milliput / Green Stuff. This is not family friendly for us to use in our house as we have allergies to this Green Stuff in the family.
What else could I use to repair these damaged warriors?
Three fantastic Johillco (left) and Britain’s rifle brigade (?) and Zouave figures charging or running at trail, all well worth repairing.
What puts toy soldiers literally back on their feet in our house is Fimo or Sculpy polymer clay.
Crude, but using the traditional matchstick or cocktail stick into the hollow of the damaged legs, it is possible to make a custom made ‘prosthetic’ Fimo base to support the balance or weight of the damaged figure.
30 minutes baking later and once cool, the figure can be glued back into position on its Fimo base. Two pence pieces make good weighty support bases.
Not sure of maker (Taylor and Barrett?) but with a repaired gun and new feet/ base, this interesting figure is ready for action after a future repaint.
Overly chunky Fimo supports can be disguised if flocked or Fimo / Sculpy remains slightly shaveable with a scalpel after baking.
Once these bases are painted and the feet painted in, they should look slightly less clumsy but at least they are sturdy and live to fight again! With a few new arms bought in and a bit of repainting where needed, they should look almost shiny and new, certainly enough for the odd tabletop or garden skirmish.
Johillco line infantry left, Britain’s metal and plastic Herald kneeling, Airfix Japanese and postwar Crescent British Infantry – a range of plastic and lead figures from different makers and historical periods rearmed very simply with shaved cocktail sticks. Back into action soon with a little repaint.
Cocktail sticks cut and shaved into shape make good simple repairs for broken rifles, once glued into place and painted.
Two damaged Zulus, on left a Reka / Crescent Prewar Zulu, the other Johillco (missing shield and arm as well as foot!
Some of the natives in this batch needed extensive rearming, new shields and rebasing with new feet.
Two repaired Natives joined by some of my recently repainted Second grade Britain’s Zulu figures.
These natives are part of a slowly growing force of natives, one I have repainted from bashed and damaged Zulu figures in job lots, ready for skirmish gaming.
This delightful Britains drummer boy needed a new hand and drumstick. The plastic figure is a plastic Guards band figure with a new Fimo helmet to trim to match a strange joblot bunch of marine bandsmen with hats carved out of busbies!
One or two figures still need to have Fimo hands added like this Grenade thrower or hands / gloves shaved down into size like this drummer boy.
This Johillco grenade thrower may well become a standard bearer, possibly repainted for Imagi-Nations but keeeping the simple face.
Sometimes the balance of figures is not quite right, as in the charging Tommy in the steel hat. One to rebase again!
Well worth the effort of rebasing / repairing feet to bring these Johillco bugler and lovely Britain’s artilleryman back into action. More work is required on rebasing the charging Tommy with steel helmet.
Really pleased to have found a simple method of repairing of rebasing damaged figures. I will post some updated figures when these damaged figures are repainted or finished.
Posted by Mark, Man of TIN blog, 18 November 2016.
Not sure of any maker but a traditional toy soldier is here used to advertise Talk Talk’s security features protecting the family and home c. 2011? Talk Talk advert Slightly more Nutcracker / Danish type guardsman for this past Talk Talk advert UK c. 2011?
In no way do I endorse these product and or companies, I merely found the toy soldier aspects of the advert interesting. They are a few scraps from my toy soldier scrapbook.
In view of fears over hacking and cyber security, this traditional familiar childhood toy guardsman is supposed to be reassuring.
Slightly more modern, a moisturising tank and the toy soldier as guardians of your immune system. “A strong immune system is your best line of defence.” This advert features one of my favourite pound store plastic warriors in front of the Aloe Vera tank!
F510 Scots Musketeer firing – painted in the 1980s but never based until now.
In my recent posting of rebased and reflocked 15mm Peter Laing 17th and 18th Century figures, there were a few Scots figures missing from the first line up.
Here are the missing Scots figures, found and freshly rebased:
F1008 Highlander advancingF1002 Highland Chieftain? and F1003 Highland PiperF1008 Highlander Advancing and F1009 Highlander Firing.Another View of Highlander Firing and Advancing figures.F1010 Lowland Musketeer Firing, painted and unpainted
The unpainted Lowland troops are mine, ones that I never finished in the 1980s, possibly because I couldn’t find or decide on a suitable colour scheme. The painted ones are a motley and colourful bunch I recently found on EBay and rebased.
F1007 Lowland Musketeer on guard
For the other Highland and ECW figures, check our previous blogposts
F1006 Highlanders Charging with ClaymoresF1008 Highlanders advancing
Peter Laing 15mm Highlanders with Lochaber Axes F1001 and Highland drummer standard bearers and command figures. My Matt enamel 1983 painting.
Peter Laing Catalogue section for some of the above Scots figures.
Still more painting and basing work to do on the remaining unpainted, unbased Scots Musketeers, Highlanders and Lowland troops – a job for the winter months.
Posted by Mark, Mr MIN, Man of TIN blog, 4 November 2016.
Man of Tin blog 