Child’s Toboggan

Description

This dark-green toboggan, in Basel known as a Kessler or Brettlischlitten (lit. “board sledge”), once belonged to the Bays, a well-to-do family from Bern. Painted in black on the seat are the initials L.B. and the years 1801, 1834, and 1901, so presumably the toboggan was in use for a hundred years, having been repaired and restored for each new generation!
The toboggan is fitted with the classic hallmark of a Kessler – namely a tie rod with bells dangling from it. It was the clanking of metal that gave this type of toboggan the name Kessler, which translates as “boiler-maker.” Toys like this made for children to enjoy the snow and go tobogganing were often rather crude affairs, hammered together out of old boards – hence the name Brettlischlitten (lit. “board sledge”). Sometimes metal rings were used instead of bells. This particular toboggan has both, making it exceptionally noisy!