Lot 135: KO VERZUU FOR ADO AND GÉBIE THREE CHILD'S TOYS 1930S-1950S

comprising two Trucks and a Rickshaw, Plywood, rubber, metal

the large car marked 'ado, Nederl. Fabrikaat', the small car: 'Gébie, Nederl. Fabrikaat', the rikshaw with label: 'Ado'

Quantity: 3

large car: 44cm. long<br><br>17 1/4 in.

Speelgoed ado toys, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, exhibition catalogue, Rotterdam, 1994, p. 28.

ADO-toys were produced from the late 1920s until the 1950s. The term 'ado' derives from 'Arbeid door onvolwaardigen' (work by the disabled). The toys were made by cured tuberculosis patients at the sanatorium Berg en Bosch as preparation for full time working life. Ko Verzuu was head of the workshop from 1925 at the sanatorium in Apeldoorn, founded in 1919 and relocated to Bilthoven in 1933. A few years after it was founded a joiner's workshop was installed for the patients. Their toys were appreciated for their artistic value and were sought after internationally. Metz & Co. in Amsterdam, retailed them from 1926 to 1930 through their catalogues.