T.V. TOWER - ATC ASAHI - JAPAN

Lithographed tin lever action wind up tower on base. Control box with people looking out. Sputnik style satellite at the top. A lever is pulled to start the top of the tower rotating. Two airplanes orbit the tower, one marked Mars No-60 and one marked Moon. 11" 28cm tall. There are at least three versions of this toy. Top left and bottom left: the Tokyo Tower versions with two slightly different bases. The Tokyo Tower has the distinctive red and white bands of color. It is probable that this toy was designed as a Tokyo souvenir then reworked for the west. Top right, Eiffel Tower version with distinctive girder lithography and French scenes on the base. Advertised in newspapers in 1960.