We are a part of eBay Affiliate Network, and if you make a purchase through the links on our site we earn affiliate commission.
The 1950s was a particularly good decade to be a toy robot. The world was going through something of an awakening, as both the horrors and marvels of technology were revealed. Along with the shock of the first nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima...
Continue reading
The 1950s was a particularly good decade to be a toy robot. The world was going through something of an awakening, as both the horrors and marvels of technology were revealed. Along with the shock of the first nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, the looming Space Race inspired hope for the wild possibilities of humans traveling and living among the stars. Naturally, science and technology—and in particular that related to space travel—became a fascination. The impact of radiation and fallout lead to many sci-fi and horror films about space invaders and mutants running rampant, like "Godzilla" in Japan and "The Blob" in America. In other films, like 1951's "The Day the Earth Stood Still," sentient robots served as allegories for the dangers of modern technology. In America and Europe, the depiction of robots always had a threatening undertone. In fact, the word "robot" comes from Czech playwright Karel Capek's 1920 play, "R.U.R." or "Rossum's Universal Robots," wherein humanoid machines designed to toil in a factory are given emotions and turn violent, destroying humankind. This Western fear of human-made life goes as far back as Mary Shelley's early 19th-century story about Dr. Frankenstein's monster, and those same philosophical conflicts were grappled with again in Fritz Lang's classic 1926 film "Metropolis," about an intelligent robot called Maria. Beginning in 1940, Isaac Asimov published a series of magazine short stories about a robot developing paternal feelings for a child it was charged with protecting. These tales, and their moral code known as the "Three Laws of Robotics," increased the emerging Western intrigue with robots and were eventually published in 1950 as the science-fiction book, "I, Robot." The robot frenzy was further fueled by popular characters such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. Despite this Western preoccupation with robots, most of the collectible tin toy robots of the 1950s, also known as "mecha,"...
Continue reading

Best of the Web

The Wheelmen
This elegant tribute to turn-of-the-century bicycling includes memorabilia, photographs, and an...
Attic of Astounding Artifacts
Danger... warning! This small but lethal site by 'Doc Atomic' showcases an excellent collection...
Toyraygun.com
One of the most comprehensive vintage toy raygun reference sites, with lots of detailed...
Museum of Childhood
Embrace your inner child on this website from the Victoria and Albert Museum, filled with...

Club & Associations

Most Watched

Best of the Web

The Wheelmen
This elegant tribute to turn-of-the-century bicycling includes memorabilia, photographs, and an...
Attic of Astounding Artifacts
Danger... warning! This small but lethal site by 'Doc Atomic' showcases an excellent collection...
Toyraygun.com
One of the most comprehensive vintage toy raygun reference sites, with lots of detailed...
Museum of Childhood
Embrace your inner child on this website from the Victoria and Albert Museum, filled with...

Club & Associations