Sam Smith (toy-maker)

Sam Smith (Alan Verner Smith 1908–1983) was an artist, craftsman, and sculptor, especially known for his toy-making for adults and children, carving small wooden curios such as boats and seaside dioramas.[1][2] He signed much[3] of his 1930s work "Alan V". Later, he signed items "Sam Smith, England"[4] as it became successful and sold in London (for instance in Primavera shop) and New York. He painted (mostly in oils) and signed many pictures.

Sam Smith
At Kingswear in 1976 age 68
Born
Alan Verner Smith

(1908-07-27)27 July 1908
Shirley, Southampton, England
Died9 February 1983(1983-02-09) (aged 74)
Newton Abbot, Devon, England
Education
Known fortoy-making
Notable work
  • Tmith (1973)
  • The Crew Cats (1975)
  • Rover's Regatta Day (1977)
Patron(s)

During the Second World War, he worked as a draughtsman, for instance producing technical drawings for the development of the Bailey Bridge in Christchurch, Dorset.[5].

After the war, he, his wife Gladys, and Jasper Jowett lived in the steep-hillside house named "The Golf House" overlooking Kingswear, Devon, and across the River Dart to Dartmouth. For making toys, Sam had many modern wood-cutting tools in his studio in their house.

See also

References
  1. Halina Pasierbska (22 September 2005), "Smith, Alan Verner [Sam]", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/93092
  2. Janine Barker; Cheryl Buckley (2015), "The Primavera Story: 1946–67", British Design – Tradition and Modernity After 1948, Bloomsbury Academic, ISBN 9780857857125
  3. Sam's 1930s toys and pictures still owned by me W Duncan Ogilvie in 2023, the godson of well-remembered Sam Smith
  4. Sam's godson W Duncan Ogilvie, Bristol.
  5. "Mr Sam Smith", The Times, London, no. 61454, p. 14, 11 February 1983
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