Making Mechanical Toys

Rodney Peppé trained as a wood engraver at the Central School of Art before spending five years in advertising. As a freelance graphic designer he published his first children’s book in 1968, The Alphabet Book; more than eighty books and two TV series, Huxley Pig (ITV) and Angelmouse (BBC), followed. Rodney Peppé’s Moving Toys was published in 1980 and this, together with his friendship with the legendary artist-craftsman Sam Smith, led to toymaking. He was a winner of the British Toymakers’ Guild ‘Toymaker of the Year Award,’ the Charles Bolton Cup. He had one-man shows at the V&A Museum of Childhood,The National Theatre and the Holburne Museum, Bath. In 1995 his work toured the British Isles for eighteen months. His automata and mechanical toys are now held in collections around the world. Automata and Mechanical Toys was published in 2002 by Crowood, and in 2003 a book on his own work, Toys and Models, was also published. In 2013 a touring retrospective exhibition 'The Wonderful World of Rodney Peppe' opened at Ruthin Craft Centre.