This late 19th century mechanical walking doll is fashioned in the likeness of Benjamin Butler, a prominent and controversial figure in the American political scene of the later 19th century. Butler held many political positions during his career, including general in the Union armies during the Civil War, congressional representative, and governor of Massachusetts from 1883-1884. His policies and stances on contemporary issues, including being a proponent of designating escaped slaves during the Civil War as “contraband”, made him a popular subject for satire in the form of political cartoons, souvenirs, and toys such as this doll.
The doll was manufactured by the Ives and Blakeslee Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Founded in 1868, Ives was first known for producing complex mechanical clockwork toys. Its clockwork animals and figures depicting characters both fictional and based on real people were popular in the 1870s and 1880s. This walking doll is one of at least nine different varieties known to have been made by Ives and Blakeslee; other offerings included representations of Santa Claus, Charlie Chaplin, and one with the head of a donkey.
The doll’s mechanism was designed by Arthur E. Hotchkiss, a Civil War veteran who later worked in the toy industry and was known for his clockwork creations. Hotchkiss was granted a U.S. patent in 1875 for “a simple and effectual device by which an artificial man may be made to walk or to have the appearance of one walking . . .” The apparatus is wound with a key, and then an intricate system of gears propels the doll’s legs forward in alternating strides. Wooden rollers on the bottom of the feet facilitate the doll’s forward progress in a shuffling motion.
The original owner of this doll is unknown to us. Henry W. Longfellow’s children were all grown by the time it was manufactured, and his grandchildren, the first of whom was born in 1879, were possibly too young to have had such a delicate and expensive toy. Perhaps it was acquired to be displayed as more of a curiosity rather than as a plaything.
For additional information and a brief video showing the doll in action, watch the video on our YouTube channel at: August Show and Tell: Benjamin Butler Doll - YouTube