Making Mechanical Toys

Mechanical toys transcend categories of age with their universal appeal. Whether the mechanism is hidden or revealed, simple or complex, the cycle of movement allows you to simply turn a handle and see the magic work before your eyes. Making Mechanical Toys explains how to make these wonderful and fascinating toys through a variety of bright and exciting projects. The well-known 'Kim' game can be played with the Jungle Box where the animals appear one by one. In MIAOW! the cat never quite catches the mouse who is after the cheese. Detailed descriptions and photographs also bring to life dancing ladies, drummers, bobbing boats and a snappy little alligator clothes-peg toy in this delightful and lavish book.

Rodney Peppé trained as a wood engraver at the Central School of Art before spending five years in advertising. As a freelance graphic designer he published his first children's book in 1968, The Alphabet Book; more than eighty books and two TV series, HuxleyPig (ITV) and Angelmouse (BBC), followed. Rodney Peppé's Moving Toys was published in 1980 and this, together with his friendship with the legendary artist-craftsman Sam Smith, led to toymaking. He was a winner of the British Toymakers' Guild 'Toymaker of the Year Award,' the Charles Bolton Cup. He had one-man shows at the V&A Museum of Childhood,The National Theatre and the Holburne Museum, Bath. In 1995 his work toured the British Isles for eighteen months. His automata and mechanical toys are now held in collections around the world. Automata and MechanicalToys was published in 2002 by Crowood, and in 2003 a book on his own work, Toys and Models, was also published. In 2013 a touring retrospective exhibition 'The Wonderful World of Rodney Peppe' opened at Ruthin Craft Centre.