Treen spinning top (C19th)
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Treen spinning top (C19th) |
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A small, traditional, "treen" wooden spinning top, made circa ~1870.
"Treen" typically refers to small, well-finished household goods carved or turned from polished, densely grained wood, before the general introduction of newer materials made the medium largely redundant.
These small spinning-tops were one of the few types of toy available in the mid-Victorian era, and this one belonged to a boy who grew up just along the coast, in Newhaven.
The toy had three parts: the top itself, a string or cord with a wooden knob at one end, and a a wooden "handle" that held one end of the top's spindle, and had a cutaway section where the string was wound onto the top. The player would then pull the string while holding the handle to get the top spinning, and lift the handle away from the top to release it.
This example includes the "top" and "holder", but is missing the pull-cord and its wooden knob.
