The Davenport Collection
- a growing resource on magic and entertainment history

Novelties, Toys, Games & Jokes

Sometimes toys and games can also be considered as puzzles. If you are interested in these, also try searching the Puzzles section.

A Magic Castle by Stefan Lüpges

A Magic Castle by Stefan Lüpges

Stefan Lüpges makes these unique handcrafted pieces in Germany. His website explains that the individual conical parts are cut out of a simple piece of wood. He also makes them out of a tree fungus or a root. Since the individual parts are cut in a cone shape, they clamp together when you pull them upwards creating a castle. When the turrets are pushed down, they reassemble into a piece of wood. The individual pieces can be removed downwards, creating a magical 3D puzzle. This example was purchased at the Nuremberg Christmas Market in 2023, but they are available from Zauber Bergen www.Zauberbergen.de.

Waddington’s Lexicon Card Game

Waddington’s Lexicon Card Game

This is a well presented word game based on the detailed rules which are clearly stated in the Rules booklet. The booklet includes details on how to arrange a successful Lexicon drive. Copyright John Waddington Ltd.

Pollock’s Theatre Diorama Card

Pollock’s Theatre Diorama Card

The design is based on one of Pollock’s oldest toy theatres from circa 1880. On opening the envelope, this modern card opens up into a 3-dimensional scene from Harlequin and Colombine. www.pollocks-coventgarden.co.uk.

Pack of 52 art studies playing cards

Pack of 52 art studies playing cards

Copyright Novelties Mfg. and Sales Corp. The design of the US Revenue Playing Card stamp on the box allows the pack to be dated between 1940 and the 1965. The wolf on the back of the cards meant that the cards were often referred to as a wolf pack. See N2782 for another pack of art studies by the same manufacturer.

3D lenticular card with the earth and planets

3D lenticular card with the earth and planets

The 2D photograph does not do this card justice. The earth and sun stand out in 3D, and as the card is tilted sideways the clouds which partially cover the planet vanish. Copyright mapcards.net, a company from the Czech Reppublic. www.mapcards.net.

Light up bow tie novelty

Light up bow tie novelty

This is a rather unhelpful product. It needs a 9 volt battery to operate it, fair enough, but there is no on-off switch and the wire that connects a battery to the bow tie is very short. Made in Taiwan.

I Love Hackney Empire badge

I Love Hackney Empire badge

The Hackney Empire in East London opened on 9 December 1901. This badge celebrates 120 years of what has been an eventful life for the theatre. The story is told on the Hackney Empire website.

Stereo Christmas card made by The Amazing Card Company

Stereo Christmas card made by The Amazing Card Company

This cleverly designed card folds flat for posting. When the card is opened out and viewed with both eyes a Christmas scene is visible in 3D. Everyone has different eyesight, so to accommodate this the box can be flexed to alter the distance between the lenses and the stereo image, ensuring that everyone may view the scene in focus. The back of the card is an image of the Christmas scene. Published by Courtesy Graphics which is a trademark of The Amazing Card Company www.theamazingcard.nl.

Klawvana Flying Butterfly

Klawvana Flying Butterfly

The butterfly is powered by a rubber band. Once wound up, the butterfly is placed in a folded piece of card inside an envelope. As soon as an unsuspecting person removes the card, the butterfly flies out creating quite a surprise. Made by Klawvana, England. The company was run by Jack Klaw, who also traded under Novelties Unlimited. This butterfly was one of six designs sold under the name Klawvana Flying Butterflies. I have Philip Treece to thank for permission to include illustrations of the packaging and some other designs from his collection. Philip’s excellent blog www.CollectingMagic.co.uk contains an article on Jack Klaw and his products.

Silver SwitchPen made by Crushmetric

Silver SwitchPen made by Crushmetric

This is a remarkable object. By flipping the switch on the plastic top of the pen, the shape switches from a silver cylinder to a uniformly crushed surface. The change is reversible. CRUSHMETRIC is a design and production company established in 2019. It was co-founded by artist/inventor Noah Deledda. Their first project, the SwitchPen was launched in January 2022. The company is an interesting one and more details on its formation and other products can be found on its website www.crushmetric.com. This particular pen was a gift from Tim Rowett who works with Grand Illusions and is well known for his amazing collection of toys and novelties. In 2023 the pens are available from Grand Illusions at www.grand-illusions.com.

Pop-up Christmas card

Pop-up Christmas card

This is an appealing pop-up card made by Devine Cards. It is a good example of the impact that can obtained by combining paper engineering, laser cutting and colour printing.

Novelty mug from The Magic Circle, London

Novelty mug from The Magic Circle, London

The Magic Circle in London moved into their new headquarters at 12 Stephenson Way in 1998. Prior to the move, there was an opportunity to visit the site while alterations to the building were still being made. Attendees were each given a mug, as illustrated. The message on the mug is “Vanished from The Magic Circle Building Site, 12 Stevenson Way”. The printing purposely becomes fainter towards the right. Note that the word Stevenson is misspelt, it should be Stephenson.