Eberl Tin Windup Hen and Chick

Item:     Eberl Tin Windup Hen and Chick
Origin:  Germany,  c. 1910

Here’s a chick in a hurry. This lovely windup all tinplate toy features a hen with a chick in basket. When wound, the chick ‘hops’ or pecks forwards and backwards as the hen races forward.

The Eberl tin windup hen and chick is a beautifully lithographed tinplate toy. It has an integrated key and clockwork spring mechanism. The windup mechanism sits under the chick’s basket and rests on two wheels. Wind it up, let it go, and the motor propels it forward while at the same time making the chick rock around in a hopping/pecking motion. The hen is poised on a single tin wheel allowing her to roll along.

What a delightful toy it is to see in motion. The lithograph on both hen and chick is lovely and bright. The hen, in particular, is very intricately detailed. The toy measures approximately 6.5 inches long by 2.5 inches tall (16.5 cm x 6.5 cm).

While there is no maker’s mark on the toy, it has a well-documented history. It was made by the Hans Eberl toy company, which produced toys in Nuremburg, Germany from 1910-1920. The toy was distributed by the firm of Moses Kohnstramm, a European dealer for German toys which operated under the brand “Moko”. The toy is documented in the 1926 German publication “Universal Spielwaren Katalog 1924/1926”, p. 262. The book is an anthology of toys from the turn of the century up to 1926.

Condition:
Excellent, all original working condition (even the coil spring), with bright lithograph. No apparent marks or damage – perhaps a slight bit of fading to the basket and some scant pitting.