Push Puppet

History

The push puppet's name, Wakouwa, came from its Swiss creator Walter Kourt Walss by taking the first few letters of his first, middle, and last names: Wa, Kou, and Wa. The earliest patent for this type of toy was filed in 1944 by Swiss inventor Marty Meinrad. Two English inventors, George M Tomlin and Harry Burrows, filed another patent in April 1946. Walther Walss then filed the Wakouwa patent in October 1946. In the United States, Kohner manufactured push-button puppets under license from Meinrad, while other companies sold them as push up puppets. American designs included a cowboy on a horse, a football player, and various Marvel characters. Other well-known characters turned into push puppets were Atom Ant, Peter Pan, and Howdy Doody. During the 1940s, Tri-ang and Lines mass-produced Wakouwa dogs in a South Wales factory, holding British patent 580314. Tri-ang had exclusive selling rights across Great Britain, North Ireland, Eire, Malta, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Africa, Asia, Australasia, and South America. These toys were a popular Christmas gift in Britain in 1946. Wakouwa boxers were also made and sold in Britain.