Archie Andrew’s Ventriloquist Toy, 1950s

Archie Andrews was a ventriloquist's dummy used by ventriloquist Peter Brough in radio and television shows in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s. In many ways, Archie was Britain's first ventriloquist's dummy superstar. In his heyday, the 1950s, the Educating Archie radio show netted 15 million listeners and boasted appearances by the likes of Tony Hancock, Max Bygraves, Harry Secombe, Beryl Reid and Julie Andrews. 

This Archie head was made by Palitoy in the 1950s. Its cardboard packaging is a bit worn and has been taped up at the back, but still a wonderfully eccentric little relic from a bygone era.