ause he’s got a little wire in the back that helps him stand up so he doesn’t fall over. (Many toy robots were just labeled “Robot,” so collectors make up nicknames for them to differentiate between the myriad models.)
Well, one of the variations of the Easel-Back is what they call the “Domed Easel-Back.” He’s got a clear plastic helmet over his head. It’s comical: Why would he need an oxygen helmet when robots don’t breathe?
Another, the “Lantern Robot,” not only has lighted eyes, but he’s also carrying a lantern. So again, why does he have a lantern? Why would he need something as primitive as a lantern to light his way? It’s a very odd conundrum, but those types of fantasy incarnations in toys are really fascinating for collectors. It’s really endearing and charming to see a mechanical robot holding a lantern. It’s a funny juxtaposition.
Collectors Weekly: In the ’50s postwar Japanese culture, robots tend to be helpers. Where did that come from?
Pinchot: The whole concept is that no matter how big or overwhelming things get, you can still have power as a small, puny human. In the far reaches of outer space, where there are any number of unimaginable foes with great powers, you now have something to do your bidding, something that is equally as impressive as your enemy but under your control. Whether it’s Rosie the Robot, Tetsujin, or Astro Boy, the concept is always the same.
The basic premise of robots is that they are willing and able to do what we cannot or will not. They allow us to be in two places at once. And they’re physically stronger than we are, so they can do work for us like a machine. There’s a Japanese robot called the “Busy Cart” robot, which is a construction worker robot with a big wheelbarrow. The real fun comes when we cross the line and give them a personality or thinking powers.
Robby, the robot in the 1956 movie “Forbidden Planet,” was the first robot who attempted to think for people. Naturally he made mistakes—when one character wanted gin, Robby made a bunch of bottles of gin for him, not realizing that it was a bad thing to do.
The theme of robots doing our work for us, helping us, and really being an extension of us will never go away. They are always tools for us to get what we want. The fantasy, fun, and fear comes in when we start thinking about robots taking over—that we might one day design them so well by giving them minds of their own that we can’t control them anymore.
That’s why robots, I think, were so popular; there were so many aspects of play to them. They sort of looked like us, but they weren’t us at all. And best of all, we got to control them.
For kids this is especially welcome because they really don’t have much control over their worlds. They have to go to school, they have to eat at a certain time, they’re told to do everything. But if you give a toy to a kid that allows him some modicum of control over his life, guess what? He’s going to love that toy. He’s never going to put that damn thing down. It’s the same reason why kids love bicycles and toy trains. They get to drive.
Collectors Weekly: Toy robots were initially made for export, but did they sell well in Japan?
Pinchot: I think they did. I may be wrong on this, but I believe they were popular because the Japanese liked American values and culture. They were starting to get tuned-in to our culture and, in reflecting that, robots were popular in Japan as well.
The computer killed the idea of the robot because, really, the computer is the robot.
A U.S. company like Marx would design a toy robot, Smoking Spaceman, for instance, which came out in about 1962. Japanese manufacturers produced this toy for Marx, but they liked it so much they made their own version, which they gave a different name, colors, and packaging, but with Japanese text and characters. They took a lot of our designs and produced them for their domestic consumption.
There were not huge numbers of these tin Japanese robots because Japan is a small country compared to the U.S., so the runs of robots for the Japanese market were smaller. Today, those