Noah’s Ark sails in to the museum
Welcome to one of our latest acquisitions, Noah, his Ark, his wife, and animals, two by two!
This wooden Noah’s Ark, complete with Mr and Mrs Noah and seven pairs of animals was made by The War Relief Toy Works (1920-30) and played with by three generations of children.
The Toy Works was one of several charitable organisations set up during and after the First World War to provide meaningful employment, skills and comradeship for disabled servicemen. The Toy Works made use of adapted tasks and machinery.
The Arks came in three sizes and several colourways, with an interesting modern design for the animals.
They were sold through the toy trade, but also donated to orphanages and children’s charities.
The Toy Works also made a small range of other wooden toys including windmills, farms, building bricks and skittles. At Pollock’s Toy Museum staff have never encountered these and would be very interested to see examples. Get in touch if you have stories to share!