c.1955 Daiya Mechanical Running Dachshund In Original Box
This is the Mechanical Running Dachshund by Daiya, Japan. The toy is in excellent+ to near mint condition and comes complete with its original box and it's definitely one of the strangest toys I've found. I've never seen it before! The toy consists of a metal head and a metal rear connected together with a mechanical spring covered fake (faux) brown fur mid-section. Wind it up and the head section starts to move forward. It stops, but the tail keeps going. This arches the mid-section upwards making it look like an inch-worm. The head restarts, moves froward, and levels out the body. The process repeats. It's very weird! The toy has an attached key recessed underneath the head section and a stop/start lever. The toy measures 2¼" wide. This is sort of wide for a 9" long dog. The larger width was used to accommodate the huge internal spring. This makes the lithographed and embossed features look out of proportion. Huge eyes, a gigantic wide mouth and nose, a worm-like chest, deeply embossed legs, and all topped off with a 2½" long coil spring tail! And of course there's the brown flocked fur mid-section which gives it an overall wormy appearance. The box for this toy is fantastic. The cover show a single, large "dog" with a wormy type body and a wormy type head with mouth open and in full pursuit. A hunter follows closely behind. The front, rear and side aprons illustrate its worm-like movement. I think the box is just as wonderfully weird as the toy. Size: 9" long not including the tail. Date Sold: Oct. 2009
Price Sold: $ 68
