Ado Ko Verzuu toy clown pully Holland 1925

Jacobus (Ko) Verzuu

Utrecht 1901 – 1971
Construction supervisor, toy designer

Very nice and super rare early toy clown pully designed by Ko Verzuu for Ado Holland in 1925. Ado means Arbeid door onvolwaardigen, translated; labour by incapacitated, which makes this an even more special piece. Toys by Ado are being highly collected at the moment, even more than ever cause this is very decorative combined with 1950s furniture from all countries!

Jacobus Johannes Josephus (Ko) Verzuu, a former construction supervisor from Utrecht, led the ADO workshops. He had delved into architecture and art and developed a strong preference for the abstract lines and bright colours, which can also be found in the followers of De Stijl group from the 1920s, followed by Piet Mondriaan, Theo van Doesburg, Vilmos Huszár, Bart van de Leck, J.J.P Oud, Gerrit Rietveld and more. This group of architects and artists was active between 1917 and the early 1930s. They made abstract art, architecture and furniture in the primary colours red, blue and yellow. The dollhouse furniture by Verzuu is strongly inspired by the clean lines and the colours used by the architect Gerrit Rietveld.

Very nice and unusual early piece of Ado, handmade and hand painted in several colours. This is a super important toy for the history of Ado toys. This is actually where it all began, this is what they started making when Ado was established. Hand-sawn figures like this toy pully clown. This rare piece is fully original and in fantastic condition. These early toys were sold at Metz and Co in the 1920s, after the toys were also sold at de Bijenkorf . Ado toys have a great charm because of their played look and original age wear but this one is very well kept, especially for its age. This toy is in a very good original condition with a nice played with patina. In 10 years of collecting Ado I haven’t seen a piece like this before. Only a few were made in the time. Documented in the Metz and Co book on an advertisment from Ado toys, page 55 (see last picture). Would be an amazing and highly decorative addition to any interior or Ado collection.