The Little World

When you pick up something from the Little World, you are often faced with the problem of classifying it.

That is, if you regard it as a problem. I don’t, but I am unscientific. This is a result of my circulation; my blood goes down one leg and up the other…

This may be a matter of semantics, but our club is all-inclusive and we frown on anti-semantic statements. So let’s try to define:

a. A model. A representation of an actual thing – whether that be animate or inanimate – that purports to represent it with some degree of accuracy. The degree is debatable in some cases, but the intention is there.

What is not there is utility. The model is designed to be seen, but not played with. It speaks to the eye and the mind – not the hand.

b. A toy. Here the representation may be more sketchy – distorted and simplified to enable someone to handle and play with it. This is where the educational value comes in – as much tactile as visual.

Note that there are toy girls and toy boys out there in the live world, and they function in much the same manner…but are more expensive.

c. An artefact. The submarine you see in the heading image seems to be cast from brass. It has been chrome plated at some stage of the game, and sadly handled since then. See the vice jaw imprints.

I think it represents a TAMBOR-class sub of the US Navy, and I would be willing to bet it was made by apprentices, machinists, or bored factory workers during the WW2 period as a souvenir for the submarine service. Perhaps it was on some Navy officer’s desk before ending up at a junk sale.

It is not accurate, nor playful, nor instructive. But it is a part of real history.