Many battery-operated toys during "the Golden Age of Toys" modeled their  design and actions after real life to bring an immediate recognition and affinity with the toy to raise sales numbers.  What our museum loves about this is how battery-operated toys give us a window into daily life 40, 50, 60+ years into the past.  While other toys also reflect their period, because battery-operated toys focused on "automated actions" reflecting real-life activities we believe many additional insights to the time of manufacturing are possible.

Here we see Bear the Cashier (left) and Bunny the Busy Secretary (right) as a complete two variation set in the museum category "On the Job".  Bear the Cashier is clearly not working at the grocery store check out.  Here we see Bear working an adding machine at his desk which suggest he is doing book keeping / accounting task. Bunny the Busy Secretary is easier to understand the title as the job of secretary was quite common in the 1950s.

Regardless of the name, both these toys are nearly  identical except one different function each and the plush fur and fabric covering materials.

Bear the Cashier actions include 1. doing math problems, 2.  phone rings (bell), 3.  picks up phone handset to ear, and 4.  HEAD TURNS.  After finishing the call the handset is returned to the reciever and the adding machine actions starts again.

Bunny the Busy Secretary actions include 1. doing math problems, 2.  phone rings (bell), 3.  picks up phone handset to ear, and 4.  EYES LIGHT UP.  After finishing the call the handset is returned to the reciever and the adding machine actions starts again.