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{{Short description|Puppet-like toy}}

{{Other uses|Jumping jack (disambiguation)}}
{{Other uses|Jumping jack (disambiguation)}}
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[[Image:Comic History of Rome p 014 Initial R.jpg|thumb|100px|A jumping-jack toy]]
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[[File:1818-English-Ladies-Dandy-Toy-IR-Cruikshank.jpg|thumb|A [[dandy]] jumping jack toy]]
The '''jumping jack''' is a [[toy]] whose origins date back thousands of years.{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}} The jointed jumping jack figure is a cross between a [[puppet]] and a [[paper doll]]. The figures are generally made from wood and their limbs are [[joint]]ed and tied to a [[pull string]]. When the string is pulled and released, the arms and legs move up and down.


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[[Image:Comic History of Rome p 014 Initial R.jpg|thumb|upright|A jumping jack toy, c.1850]]
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==History==
The '''jumping jack''' is a jointed, flat wooden figure, a cross between a [[puppet]] and a [[paper doll]] that is considered a mechanical toy. The figure's joints are connected to a [[pull string]] that causes the arms and legs to move up and down when the string is pulled and released. Jumping jacks were popular in many contemporary countries including England, France, and Germany, but similar mechanical toys date back to the Ancient Egyptians.
Although the jumping jack is popularly thought of as a European toy, ivory dancer figures made to spin by pulling their strings, which were found at the archaeological site El Lisht and date back to [[ancient Egypt]]ian times, are considered to be among the earliest forms of this family of mechanical toys.{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}}

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== History ==
Although the jumping jack is popularly thought of as a European toy, such mechanical toys have a long history that dates back to [[Ancient Egyptian]] toy figures with movable limbs.<ref>{{cite book |title=Oliver Optic's Magazine: Our Boys and Girls ... |year=1868 |publisher=Lee and Shepard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4DNAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA285 |accessdate=7 November 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Among the earliest-known examples are ivory dancing figures, made to spin by pulling their strings that were among artifacts found at the archaeological site, [[El-Lisht]].<ref>[http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/games.htm Ancient Egyptian games: Children's games, toys, board games]</ref>

=== Pantin ===
In France jumping jacks were especially popular and generally known as “''pantins''”.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wepa.unima.org/en/jumping-jack/|title=Jumping Jack|date=30 August 2016}}</ref> In the mid-1700s, “''pantins''” were popular among the French nobility, and versions were sold that satirized famous figures of the time. [[Edmond Barbier]] wrote in 1747 that "one cannot go into any house without finding a ''pantin'' hanging by the mantelpiece".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Twyman |first1=Michael |title=Encyclopedia of Ephemera: A Guide to the Fragmentary Documents of Everyday Life for the Collector, Curator and Historian |date=24 October 2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-78778-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WXl0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT568 |language=en}}</ref>


⚫
[[File:1818-English-Ladies-Dandy-Toy-IR-Cruikshank.jpg|thumb|Caricature of a lady with a jumping jack dressed as a [[dandy]], 1818]]
In the mid-1700s, jumping jack figures known as “''pantins''” were popular among the French nobility.{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}}


=== Hampelmann ===
In 1832 the ''Hampelmann'' was created by Carl Malss as a figure for the burlesque at [[Frankfurt am Main]]. Later the jumping jack toy became known as ''Hampelmann'' in [[German language|German]]-speaking countries. They were manufactured in the [[Erzgebirge]] mountain range in [[Germany]].<ref>''Dtv-lexikon'', Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich, 1971, vol. 8, p. 169</ref>
In 1832, ''Hampelmann'' was a character created by [[Carl Malß]] as a figure for the burlesque at [[Frankfurt]]. Later, jumping jacks became known as ''Hampelmann'' in German-speaking countries. The mechanical toys were manufactured in the [[Ore Mountains]] in Germany.<ref>''Dtv-lexikon'', Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich, 1971, vol. 8, p. 169</ref>


In 1926, in her first year as a student at the famous [[Bauhaus]] design school in [[Dessau]], Germany, the textile designer [[Margaretha Reichardt]] undertook a preliminary course run by [[Josef Albers]] and [[László Moholy-Nagy]].<ref>Bauhaus100. ''Preliminary course''. Available at: https://www.bauhaus100.de/en/past/teaching/classes/preliminary-course-by-josef-albers/ (Accessed: 30 October 2016)</ref> As part of the course she designed a modern version of the ''Hampelmann'', which was later produced commercially by Naef, a Swiss toy company. Her version is set in a wooden frame, but like traditional ''Hampelmänner'' he has articulated limbs that move when a string is pulled.<ref name=MR8>Jumping jack Bauhaus. http://www.naefspiele.ch/index.php?id=67&L=1 (Accessed: 30 October 2016)</ref>
In her first year as a student at the famous [[Bauhaus]] design school in [[Dessau]], Germany, [[Margaretha Reichardt]], who would become a textile designer, undertook a preliminary course run by [[Josef Albers]] and [[László Moholy-Nagy]] in 1926.<ref>[https://www.bauhaus100.com/the-bauhaus/people/students/margaretha-reichardt/ Bauhaus100.com. Margaretha Reichardt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101015712/https://www.bauhaus100.com/the-bauhaus/people/students/margaretha-reichardt/ |date=2018-11-01 }} Retrieved 31 October 2018</ref> As part of the course she designed a modern version of the ''Hampelmann'' that was set in a wooden frame and featured articulated limbs that move when a string is pulled. Later, her design was produced commercially by Naef, a Swiss toy company.<ref>[https://www.formost.de/designer/d.19.margaretha-reichardt/ Formost.de. Margaretha Reichardt]. Retrieved 31 October 2018</ref>


=== Quockerwodger ===
==Quocker-wodger==
Oxford Reference cites the word "quockerwodger" as "a wooden puppet which can be made to 'dance' by pulling its strings".<ref>[http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199829941.001.0001/acref-9780199829941-e-37584 Oxford Reference. Quockerwodger]. Retrieved 31 October 2018</ref> By analogy, quockerwodger came to be used as a negative appellation for a politician whose "strings" are pulled entirely by their own "puppetmaster".<ref>[https://twitter.com/susie_dent/status/1019149112409718784 Twitter], [[Susie Dent]]. Retrieved 4 June 2020</ref>
[[Michael Quinion]] of World Wide Words has written an article about the word ''quocker-wodger'', defined as "a wooden puppet on a string".<ref>Quinion, M. ''World wide words: Quocker-wodger''. Available at: http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-quo2.htm (Accessed: 30 October 2016)</ref>


==External links==
== External links ==
* [http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/games.htm Ancient Egyptian games: Children's games, toys, board games]
* [http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/games.htm Ancient Egyptian games: Children's games, toys, board games]
* [http://www.opdag.com/History.html History of Paper Dolls]
* [http://www.opdag.com/History.html History of Paper Dolls]
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[[Category:Traditional toys]]
[[Category:Traditional toys]]
[[Category:Wooden toys]]
[[Category:Wooden toys]]
[[Category:Puppet stubs]]

Latest revision as of 18:33, 4 September 2023

For other uses, see Jumping jack (disambiguation).
A jumping jack toy, c.1850

The jumping jack is a jointed, flat wooden figure, a cross between a puppet and a paper doll that is considered a mechanical toy. The figure's joints are connected to a pull string that causes the arms and legs to move up and down when the string is pulled and released. Jumping jacks were popular in many contemporary countries including England, France, and Germany, but similar mechanical toys date back to the Ancient Egyptians.

History

[edit]

Although the jumping jack is popularly thought of as a European toy, such mechanical toys have a long history that dates back to Ancient Egyptian toy figures with movable limbs.[1] Among the earliest-known examples are ivory dancing figures, made to spin by pulling their strings that were among artifacts found at the archaeological site, El-Lisht.[2]

Pantin

[edit]

In France jumping jacks were especially popular and generally known as “pantins”.[3] In the mid-1700s, “pantins” were popular among the French nobility, and versions were sold that satirized famous figures of the time. Edmond Barbier wrote in 1747 that "one cannot go into any house without finding a pantin hanging by the mantelpiece".[4]

Caricature of a lady with a jumping jack dressed as a dandy, 1818

Hampelmann

[edit]

In 1832, Hampelmann was a character created by Carl Malß as a figure for the burlesque at Frankfurt. Later, jumping jacks became known as Hampelmann in German-speaking countries. The mechanical toys were manufactured in the Ore Mountains in Germany.[5]

In her first year as a student at the famous Bauhaus design school in Dessau, Germany, Margaretha Reichardt, who would become a textile designer, undertook a preliminary course run by Josef Albers and László Moholy-Nagy in 1926.[6] As part of the course she designed a modern version of the Hampelmann that was set in a wooden frame and featured articulated limbs that move when a string is pulled. Later, her design was produced commercially by Naef, a Swiss toy company.[7]

Quockerwodger

[edit]

Oxford Reference cites the word "quockerwodger" as "a wooden puppet which can be made to 'dance' by pulling its strings".[8] By analogy, quockerwodger came to be used as a negative appellation for a politician whose "strings" are pulled entirely by their own "puppetmaster".[9]

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jumping jack.
Look up jumping-jack in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Oliver Optic's Magazine: Our Boys and Girls ... Lee and Shepard. 1868. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  2. ^ Ancient Egyptian games: Children's games, toys, board games
  3. ^ "Jumping Jack". 30 August 2016.
  4. ^ Twyman, Michael (24 October 2018). Encyclopedia of Ephemera: A Guide to the Fragmentary Documents of Everyday Life for the Collector, Curator and Historian. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-78778-2.
  5. ^ Dtv-lexikon, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich, 1971, vol. 8, p. 169
  6. ^ Bauhaus100.com. Margaretha Reichardt Archived 2018-11-01 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 31 October 2018
  7. ^ Formost.de. Margaretha Reichardt. Retrieved 31 October 2018
  8. ^ Oxford Reference. Quockerwodger. Retrieved 31 October 2018
  9. ^ Twitter, Susie Dent. Retrieved 4 June 2020
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