The Powerful Katrinka
NIFTY ToysLady pushing a cart with a standing boy
- Type
- People
- Topic
- Character
- Mechanism
- Clockwork
- Movement
- The lady pushes the cart, stops, raises the cart
- Materials
- Tin
- Dimensions (LxWxH cm)
- 19x8x14
- Condition
- Very Good
- Manufactured
- 1923 – 1930
Research notes
The toy has two versions, with and without the cart (lady holds kid with one hand). The lady is a character from the Fontaine Fox ((1884-1964) Toonerville Trolley strip (1908-1955) which ran in 250 to 300 newspapers across North America. Katrinka was created in 1908 (?) as a physically powerful woman, performing feats of incredible strength. Katrinka was inspired by two cooks employed by Fontaine Fox. The boy Jimmy was one of the many children in the comic strip, a member of the McGuire family & brother to Mickey McGuire. At one time he was the president of the Scorpion’s Club. Fox suggested toys to be produced & then designed the toys & mechanisms himself. Each of the Fontaine Fox licensed & authorized toys produced by H. Fischer (like this one) has a mechanism suggested by Fox & based on the story line as it unfolded in the comic strip. The body of Katrinka has several marks: "THE POWERFUL KATRINKA", "copyright 1923 by Fountaine Fox Pat, Applied for Nº293049", "Made in Germany" and "G.M.34282"
Featured in
- Lexicon Blech Spielzeug — p. 323
- The Guide to Mechanical Toy Collecting — p. 121
