Wooden Yo-Yo:

Ancient Greece provides us with the first historical mention of the yo-yo. A vase painting from about 500 B.C. shows a child playing with one. Little else is recorded about the device until the 1700s, when the yo-yo became a rage in Europe. More than just a toy, the yo-yo was a fashionable distraction from the stress of everyday life in France, where it was known as an emigrette, and in England, where it was called a bandalore.

Two Cincinnati men, James L. Haven and Charles Hettrick, were the first to patent a "new and useful bandalore" in the United States. In 1929, American businessman Donald F. Duncan established the most successful yo-yo company in history. To promote his product, Duncan sponsored yo-yo contests nationwide. He also sent Duncan Yo-Yo Professionals across the country to teach and demonstrate yo-yo tricks. Although expensive, Duncan's marketing techniques were highly successful. In 1962, when his primary market consisted of World War II baby boomers, Duncan actually sold more yo-yos than there were children in the United States. Most modern yo-yos are made of plastic rather than wood, and the toy remains popular with children.

This unmarked wooden yo-yo was probably made during the 1930s.
(H 23300)