Box, Rosko Astronaut Toy
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Object Details
- Manufacturer
- Nomura Toy, Japan
- Summary
- This box contained a metal Rosko Astronaut toy, a tin toy manufactured in Japan for export to Western markets. In the 1950s and 1960s, its maker, Nomura, specialized in producing robot-themed metal toys, including several versions of an unlicensed "Robby" robot based on the popular robot character from the film "Forbidden Planet" (MGM, 1956). In post-WWII Japan, producing these metal toys began as a way to tap into an international market for "penny toys" or cheap playthings, but developed by the late 1950s into a industry manufacturing creatively-designed, complex toys with moving parts and lights that competed successfully with Western toymakers. This Rosko battery-powered astronaut, which can be viewed as either a human space traveler or a futuristic robot, blended the American fascination with outer space with the Japanese fad for robots.
- The Gewirz family donated this toy to the Museum in 2006.
- Credit Line
- Gift of the Carl and Nancy Gewirz Fund Inc..
- Inventory Number
- A20070085000
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- MEMORABILIA-Popular Culture
- Materials
- cardboard, paper, ferrous metal wire staples
- Dimensions
- 3-D: 15.9 x 12.7 x 34.9cm (6 1/4 x 5 x 13 3/4 in.)
- Country of Origin
- Japan
- See more items in
- National Air and Space Museum Collection
- National Air and Space Museum
- Record ID
- nasm_A20070085000
- Metadata Usage (text)
- Not determined
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv906a7ece1-2d43-429f-abe3-0e41d774ab93
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