Some "amusing and instructive" mechanical toys illustrated in Copland & Lye's 1903 catalogue of Christmas presents.
The notion of a motorist being frightened by a cyclist seems absurd a century later. Both motor cars and submarines were in their infancy in 1903, but had clearly caught the popular imagination. Copland & Lye provided a pond in their department store to demonstrate their clockwork boats in action. Balancing toys were popular at the turn of the century, as illustrated by the "toy of the season." Model railways have a timeless popularity.
Reference: Glasgow City Archives, TD128/96
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
advertisements, Caledonian House, Christmas presents, clockwork toys, Copland & Lye, cyclists, department stores, model boats, model cars, model railways, motor cars, motorists, sewing machines, submarines, trade catalogues