Bing Toy Traction Engine: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This toy steam traction engine was manufactured by Bing Works of Nuremberg, Germany around 1918-1932. The traction engine consists of a firebox below a boiler with a horizontal slide valve engine attached to a flywheel that drives the tractor’s rear wheel.

The Gebrüder Bing (Bing Brothers) toy company was founded in Nuremburg, Germany by Adolf and Ignatz Bing in 1863 and operated until 1932. The company was renamed Bing Werke (Bing Works) in 1918 when Ignatz Bing died. While very successful from 1863 until 1912, World War I created an unfavorable export market for German products, and the hard post-war years created additional financial hardships. The harsh political climate in Germany forced the Jewish Bing family to flee to England in 1932, and Bing’s assets were acquired by rival toy company Bub in 1933.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Object Name: toy, steam engine and boiler
• Physical Description: steel (overall material)
• Measurements: overall - from catalog card: 9 1/2 in x 8 in x 4 in; 24.13 cm x 20.32 cm x 10.16 cm
• Measurements: overall: 9 5/8 in x 4 in x 8 in; 24.4475 cm x 10.16 cm x 20.32 cm
• place made: Germany: Bavaria, Nuremberg
• ID Number: MC.335707
• catalog number: 335707
• accession number: 1977.0920
• Credit Line: Henry H. Porter
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.