Here's a seasonal tale! Whilst researching the JR21 Checklist for early Rosenthal friction toys I came across three different plastic Santas. All of them were made by Merehall and our old friends, Hsi [see previously posted "model no.315"], whose logo's you can see below on the toys' bases: MM and )$( along with model numbers. The quaint colourful box art of the top toy is certainly similar to early JR friction-drive toys, so I began searching for a possible Rosenthal Santa.
And I'm pretty sure here he is! No box but the look of the scooter is very Rosenthal when compared to their Hitch Hiking Bunny. Found on Ebay, the seller kindly confirmed the look of the logo - "Yes, an M is inside a diamond shape, but I looked it over and could not find a model number anywhere . . .thanks for your interest. Roadshowfinds". The listing description was "This charming hard plastic friction toy is marked on the bottom Made in Hong Kong with a very fancy letter M. It is about 4" tall, 4" long, appears to be in good condition, only some minor surface wear, if any. Friction movement is not real strong, and I think the reindeer head is supposed to move up and down as it goes, but stays still".
To be 100% about Santa's Rosenthal roots we could do with seeing a box! Can anyone oblige?
Picture credit: roadshowfinds
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