The story of Geoffrey Bowman Jenkins and some of his wonderful inventions and products

by Colin Laker

An all colour fully illustrated standard work

The first of two books on the subject written and researched by Colin Laker with help from the Bowman Jenkins family.

262 A4 pages stitched and bound with a laminated paper cover with over 380 photographs and illustrations
.

The work is an historic journey from the mid 1850's to the early 1930's about the family and products of one of the Nation's greatest toy manufacturers. On this journey, the reader is introduced to the bombing of mainland Britain during the First World War, the early days of the Royal Naval Air Service and the exploits of Capt. Bernard Arthur Smart DSO and Bar, the legendary Zeppelin hunter.

By 1918 and running parallel to the dangers faced by his cousin Bernard, a young Geoffrey Bowman Jenkins had expanded his toy making business and was making wooden toys in a S.E. London workshop under the name of 'The Woodcraft Patents Company'. He was later invited by the Board of Directors of Hobbies Limited in Dereham, Norfolk to manufacture toy steam engines and boats under the Hobbies label. He moved from Clapham to Dereham with his wife and daughter in the spring of 1923.

By late 1927, he had expanded his product range and his cousin Bernard Arthur Smart joined him in Dereham to become a fellow director of Bowman Models. His toy steam engines, boats and locomotives are world famous and now command high prices at auctions.

Geoffrey Bowman Jenkins was a very inventive man with several Patents to his name, not least with the world's first hydraulic powered toothbrush. Named the 'KAVOR' an example can be seen in the Science Museum, London. He was also responsible for the creation of the 'Jentique Furniture' name; a firm which over the years gave employment to hundreds of people in Dereham.

Book 2 which concludes the story is now available.

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