Art as Propaganda: Toys

Excerpt taken from 'History of Art, Volume II, Chapter XXVII: Art as Propaganda', University of Gwylim Press, 4E 02

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Based on what we have already seen, one would be inclined to think that propaganda - especially throughout the Septim Empire - has been targeted mostly at adults; those capable of making independent decisions. Posters, plays, and novels have all inspired men and women to take up one cause or another, often demanding immediate results through nationalistic rhetoric and motifs. But more often than not, propaganda has always been used on those more impressionable: the youth of Tamriel.

Toy soldiers have always been a staple of any child's toybox, so it should come as no surprise that these seemingly-innocuous knicknacks would be an effective propaganda platform.

A visit to any marketplace will undoubtedly yield an large selection of all manner of toy soldiers and weapons, from simple wooden swords, hobby horses made from broomsticks, and of course the ubiquitous tin or wooden soldier. While the majority of these toys are rather crude and made by local artisans from discarded materials left behind from larger projects, the keen collector may notice more intricate pieces on display, professionally made and somewhere between simple toy and well-crafted mantlepiece.

A quick glance at the maker's marks of these toys will likely yield names familiar to military buffs and historians. Names such as 'Auridon Forges', 'Anvil Smithy', and even rather-obvious sigils of various propaganda ministries are stamped across these items - all of which is by no mere coincidence.

In fact, it could be said that the Imperial Propaganda Ministry are the largest toy distributor in all Tamriel. Only with the generous funding of the Elder Council can the Empire see such a large-scale production and distribution of meticulously-crafted and handpainted models and figurines available at low prices to the general public.

While produced on a relatively-mass scale, the standardization and limited production of 'propaganda toys' - combined with the inevitable transience of empires and kingdoms - have made these toys very desirable for certain collectors. It is not uncommon to see toy soldiers and model fortresses lining the shelves of noblemen, military officers, and art collectors; oftentimes these toys depict now-defunct militaries, commemorative toys of historic battles, or simply pieces that are becoming increasingly rare.

Perhaps the most famous toy produced by the Propaganda Ministry is a figurine depicting Magus-General Septima Tharn. Produced during the short reign of the Worm Cult, the toy was intended to help make the Tharn empire more 'palatable' to the general public. Given the all-consuming war which ravaged Cyrodiil and the immediate reception of the Tharn regime as an evil empire, the toys saw very limited distribution, and many pieces simply wasted away in crates piled within abandoned warehouses, eventually destroyed as war raged across Cyrodiil. With so few examples remaining, the Septima Tharn figurine has become one of the most sought-after pieces, with prices typically running upwards of S$500 - over a year's wages for an Imperial Auxiliary.

Another niche specialty within the collecting community are 'paper models'. Almost every man, woman, and child within the Empire has fond memories of these simple little model kits. Printed on heavy paper stock, children can cut out the printed pieces and assemble figurines and models of soldiers, ships, forts, and siege weapons. Often distributed by the Black Horse Courier, tome upon tome of these models can be found within bookstores and newsstands alike. Occasionally single-page 'freebies' are included in children's periodicals or even in the funnies section of local and government papers.

One would be shocked to know that almost all of these paper toys are designed by the merchant-scribe Tandiil. An officer in the Imperial Merchant Navy, Tandiil is most known for his broadsheets and posters commissioned by the Empire, many of which have been covered in the previous section of this book.

What many may not know, however, is that almost all of the paper toys produced by the Empire have been designed by Tandiil and his successors. Indeed, even a cursory glance at the 'flavor-text' included with many of these toys will immediately reveal a rather dogmatic tone, urging children to play with and display these toys to show their patriotism in the fight against whatever enemy has reared its head at the time.

Which is not to dismiss the artistic merit of any of these art pieces. Like the Septima Tharn figurine, original, unbuilt prints usually command very high prices. For instance, an original Black Horse Courier print of a Second-Era Imperial Legionnaire was recently sold at auction for S$380, while an unbuilt Legion Cavalryman, also produced during the Interregnum, can cost a collector upwards of S$400.

As with any propaganda piece, these toys provide a unique insight into life at their time of creation. We see how children liked to spend their time, what they aspired to be, or simply how they lived their childhoods, either in times of peace, or at war. Writers, soldiers, and adventurers alike no doubt saw their first forays into distant lands in the toys with which they played with, and even adults still collect and build these little trinkets as precious mementos of simpler, more innocent times in their lives.