Child's wrist watch by Timex, Dundee, ca. 1955

V&A — Summary

This 'Hopalong' Cassidy character wrist watch, designed specifically to be worn by children, was manufactured by Timex, probably at their factory in Dundee, Scotland, in the mid-1950s. It retains its original instruction booklet and guarantee, and is still in its original cardboard box, printed to resemble a log cabin and with a saddle-shaped presentation support for the watch to match with the cowboy theme. This watch is an excellent example, in good condition, of the post-war boom in children's consumer culture, particularly as it relates to the rise of 'tie-in' products associated with television programmes aimed specifically at children. The 'Hopalong' Cassidy character was a prominent part of this new consumer culture in the United States and elsewhere. The character originally appeared in novels, but, from 1935, was the star of 66 feature films and subsequently radio shows, comic strips and television, being one of the very first internationally-distributed U.S. television programmes. William Boyd, the actor who played Cassidy, bought the rights to the character and licensed a wide range of character tie-ins throughout the world, including this watch.

V&A — Physical description

Child's wristwatch with white face, silver-coloured body and black strap in its original packaging, comprised of a cardboard saddle-shaped insert covered to resemble leather, support and base, and cardboard box base and lid decorated to resemble a wooden cabin with pictures of the actor William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy, and paper instruction leaflet. Wrist watch with silver-coloured metal body, curved glass front, black leather strap with silver-coloured metal buckle. The face of the watch has numbers, minute marks, an hour and minute hand all painted red, with a black and white picture of the head and shoulders of Hopalong Cassidy, wearing a Stetson, replacing the number six on the face. A large, round and toothed winding bevel, also in metal, is attached to the right-hand side of the body. The straps, attached to the body by metal pins, have red stitching running down each side and across either end, as well as four pictograms on each strap depicting, in order from the watch body, a cows head looking straight on, a Stetson hat, a cactus and a horseshoe. These have been lightly embossed into the strap and coloured with silver paint, much of which has now rubbed off. The longer strap has seven holes at regular intervals running down its centre, and a silver-coloured metal tag, decorated with an embossed diamond and plant motif, folded onto it, at the end. The shorter strap has been looped at the end, to secure the buckle and strap guard, both of which are of polished silver-coloured metal and again embossed on one side with a diamond and plant design. The buckle is large compared with the watch body, and flared and curved in shape. Instruction leaflet and guarantee, with text printed double-sided in black and red ink, including handwritten text, in blue ink, detailing the retailer's name, address and date of purchase. The paper is folded once to form a four-page booklet, with a black and white photographic image of the actor William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy on the front page. Cardboard box insert constructed from three separate pieces held in place by tabs. The base is red, folded along each side to provide its height, and covered on its uppermost side to resemble leather. The support consists of cardboard, covered on one side to resemble a light-coloured wood grain and folded once to form a horizontal 'body', with its four 'legs' fitting into the base at two slots on each of its two longer edges. A further piece of cardboard, folded and cut to form the shape of a saddle and stirrups, covered on one side to resemble brown leather and painted with darker brown details and decoration in the form of bows around the sides of the 'saddle', sits upon this support. The 'stirrups' also attach to the base by means of two slots. Cardboard box base, formed by a shallow box glued onto a slightly larger flat base, the whole covered on the outside by paper to resemble wood grain, and with text printed in black on each of its four sides and underside of base. Cardboard box lid, covered on the outside with printed brown paper to resemble a log cabin, the details of the wood grain being picked out in darker brown. With a black and white picture of the Hopalong Cassidy in Stetson on each end, and red and black text on the two sides and top.

V&A — Object history

This watch was produced by Timex in Great Britain in the mid-1950s, and purchased from a shop by its first owner in 1955. It was designed specifically for a child to wear, and is accompanied by an instruction booklet which includes a 'letter' from Hopalong reminding the owner that every minute is precious and can be used to 'better' yourself. It was bought at auction by the V&A Museum of Childhood in 2010. Historical significance: This watch is an excellent example, in good condition, of the post-war boom in children's consumer culture, particularly as it relates to the rise of 'tie-in' products associated with television programmes aimed at specifically children. The 'Hopalong' Cassidy character was a prominent part of consumer culture, particularly in the United States but also all over the world. The character originally appeared in novels, but from 1935 was the star of 66 feature films and subsequently radio, comic strips and television, being one of the very first internationally-distributed U.S. television programmes. The actor who played Cassidy, William Boyd, also bought the rights to the character, and went on to licence a wide range of tie-ins, including this watch.