Ever since the Wright brothers made their first flight in 1903, the toy industry has been keeping a close eye on current events, more or less naively reproducing these planes and their pilots as they performed perilous feats on the edge of the firmament. Flying at the end of a wire, accessories or carousel propellers, these humble toys are a childlike tribute to these madmen of the sky.
The Wright brothers tested their “Flyer” aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. After Wilbur’s first unsuccessful attempt on 14 December 1903, they made their first powered flights on 17 December 1903.
In Germany
Georges Carette
Aerial Pursuit, from 1905, plane: 15 x 15 cm
“Wright” biplane, circa 1910, 16.5 x 20 cm
Johann Distler
“Wright” plane set, pre-1914, toy: 19 x 18 cm
“Wright” biplane, before 1914, 9 x 10.5 cm
Günthermann
“Wright” biplane, 1910, 19 x 25 cm
Johann Philipp Meier
Wright” biplane, circa 1908, 7.5 x 8 cm
Mohr & Krauss
Carousel with 3 “Wright” biplanes, circa 1910, 29 x 19 cm
Müller & Kadeder
“Wright” three-plane carousel, circa 1909, 40 x 25 cm
The Count of Lambert circles the Eiffel Tower, 1909-1910, 44 x 70 cm
One “Wrignt” biplane carousel, circa 1910, 27 x 60 cm
“Wright” biplane carousel, circa 1908, 23 x 30 cm
Plank
“Wright” biplane, circa 1910, 26 x 24 cm
Wahnschaffe
“Wright” steam biplane, circa 1908, 14.5 x 15 cm
“Wright” steam biplane, circa 1908, 11 x 20.5 cm
“Wright” steam biplane, circa 1908, 25 x 35.5 cm
Unknown manufacturer
This toy, propelled by its propeller, moves along a cable from which it is suspended by its carriage.
“Wright” biplane, circa 1908, 17,5 x 26,5 cm
In France
Charles Rossignol
“Wright” biplane, circa 1914, 11 x 8 cm
Fernand Martin
L’Aéropalne, 1909, 46 x 48 cm, in two versions, one or two biplanes
Louis Maugin
“Wright” biplane, circa 1910, 15 x 23 cm