Jumping jack

This object was once part of the folk art collection of Elie Nadelman (1882-1946), the avant-garde sculptor. From 1924 to 1934, Nadelman's collection was displayed in his Museum of Folk Arts, located in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. The Historical Society purchased Nadelman's entire collection in 1937.

The Nadelmans’ sprightly clown jumping jack, called 'hampelmann' in Germany, was known there as early as the sixteenth century. Related to French 'pantins,' or jointed dolls made out of cardboard, these pulled-string animated toys were popular among the Parisian nobility during the mid-1700s. During the nineteenth century, 'hampelmanner were producing in large quantites in certain toy making centers in Germany for local retail and for export. The fad also spread to England and America, where jumping jacks were produced in a smaller sale.

This example has a distinctive rounded body with incised lines delineating his costume, carved facial feature with prominent forehead and nose, and mitten-like hands and feet. Jumping jacks sharing these features, clearly from the same region, have been cited variously as German, English and American in origin. A well-documented example in the Victoria and Albert Museum points to England as a probable source.