Carved Woods Man By Frank Whittington Forest Toys.

A wonderful group of hand carved toys by Frank Whittington depicting a woods man and his two dogs with a log wagon and two shire horses

The Forest Toys factory was established in Brockenhurst in 1922 by Francis (Frank) Whittington (1876-1973). Frank Whittington had moved to Brockenhurst at the end of World War I at the recommendation of a friend, due to the beauty of the area. The factory produced hand carved and painted wooden toys of people and animals.

All toys were carved, assembled, and painted by hand by Frank Whittington and his employees, and were made to scale to reflect the true proportions of the people and animals being made, with the typical scale being ¾ inch = 1 foot. They were carved out of pine imported from North America via the Southampton docks which was then transported to the Brockenhurst factory. They were most often made in several pieces which were then glued together and later painted.

The factory’s exhibit in a British Industries Fair caused a boost to business due to the toys catching the attention of Queen Mary and the Prince of Wales, who were in attendance. Queen Mary ordered two dozen of the Noah’s Ark set at the fair, news of which made its way into several newspapers, including the Evening Standard and the Evening News. The toys grew in popularity locally, nationally, and internationally with the factory receiving visitors from all over the world.

individual sizes : woods man 12cm High, Horses 14cm high x 18cm wide 4.5cm deep, dog 4cm x 4cm wagon 14cm high x 45cm wide x 12cm deep.