The Walrus & The Carpenter

[ibtg]

I read this thread with great interest, as we used to run a toy shop in Glasgow, until a couple of years ago.

I don't know if any of you will know it, but it was called 'Abacus - Toys and Games' and was in Gibson Street, near the University. The shop sold lots of nostalgic toys and good quality wooden toys and games, not unlike the Sentry Box (which is still there, by the way).

The sad truth, we came to accept, is that very few people want that sort of toy now. They wanted the plastic, mass-produced toy or latest battery-operated craze that everyone else has. Those sort of toys that are supplied in every department store and supermarket much cheaper than the small independent store would have to have paid for them, due to the fact that bulk buying can make such a difference.

We were glad to retire from the business, as sales were not exactly setting the heather alight and things only promised to get worse with the recession etc..

People loved to come in and browse, it reminded them of their childhood. Grannies and Granpas were probably most interested, but they knew that their grandchildren had other toys in mind. We stocked the Paddington you all mention so fondly and metal pedal cars, wooden rocking horses, doll's houses and more.

Glad to see such an interest in the Walrus and the Carpenter, we were going to name our shop with that name, but were unsure if we would have been allowed to - if the name had been registered in the UK or whatever, so we chickened out and went with Abacus instead, which we had inherited from another toy shop that we bought over some years before.

[Mori]

I'm Sure i bought this item from the Walrus and the carpenter for my my oldest when he was a todler, in fact there were several other tin toys i had bought for my kids from that shop, must have been the late 80s early 90s, this is the only one left and in my cabinet as i am the bigest kid of them all.

the antena goes round and round and the tail & cabin lights flas on/off as it twirls around the floor with the wee ball floating above its funnell.

Was a great shop the W&C, shame all these kinda shops are disapearing from our streets in this new digital age.

[delirium]

I remember that wee shop. Although I don't think I was in it when I was young enough to appreciate it.

There was a similar toy shop in Hamilton called Bustopher Jones. I used to go there to spend birthday money on furniture for my dolls house. It was a bit bigger than the Walrus & the Carpenter and had a rocking horse in the window. Must've been around about where Crichton shoes is for any that know Hamilton. It ran in my mind they were owned by the same people, but I might be just be inventing that because they were so alike.

[RDR]

I remember the Walrus and Carpenter well. I used to work opposite it.
Not strictly a toy shop but one of may favourite childhood shops was the Clyde Model Dockyard in Argyll Arcade. When did that close down?

[Josef]

I remember the Walrus and Carpenter well. I used to work opposite it.
Not strictly a toy shop but one of may favourite childhood shops was the Clyde Model Dockyard in Argyll Arcade. When did that close down?

It might tell you in here somewhere.

[RDR]

I remember the Walrus and Carpenter well. I used to work opposite it.
Not strictly a toy shop but one of may favourite childhood shops was the Clyde Model Dockyard in Argyll Arcade. When did that close down?

It might tell you in here somewhere.

Ta! I was going to mention the shop in Cambridge Street as well and it's in there. Sadly they are all gone now....bit like bookshops....everything on line these days

[stewartg]

I read this thread with great fascination. Looking at that picture of what was formerly The Walrus and The Carpenter (277 Sauchiehall Street), I'm pretty sure the external features of the shop are unchanged. Shame it's now a cheque clearing place...

My brother and I (we're now in our mid 30s) were taken to The Walrus and The Carpenter when we were children, and have magical memories of it. All the same, I'm struggling to remember the detail of the shop interior, and would love to see a picture of it as it was back in the day - both inside and out.

Does anyone know when The Walrus and The Carpenter opened and when it closed? Any idea as to who owned it?

My brother and I still have monkey soft toys that were bought for us there, probably in the late 1970s. Both are high quality, and still in good condition, although they were played with a lot! Will post a picture if there is any interest.

Please post anything you can remember about The Walrus and The Carpenter!

[JandR]

hi there
I worked in the walrus & carpenter from 1979-1983 untill i stopped to have my first child,they were wonderful fun filled days
The shop was larger than you probably remember as a child,the cheque shop and greggs were the walrus they have split it into two shops. next to that was a close then m&a browns the tearoom & bakers,we also had 3 store rooms & they were up the close (besides ian barry photography)
In the walrus we all had set jobs & sections to work in i dealt with the book corner(up the back),helping my boss dress the window & special orders raised by customers as well as getting the deliveries of goodies out on the shelves.
The musical instrument in the store was a nickelodeon brought in by our bosses mr.reid & mrs clark.
I hope i have brought you all some inside info, till we speak again
Jan x

[banjo]

thank you jandr,there you go hgrs,straight from the [wooden],or [rocking ] horses mouth.

[Nobby]

I have opened a toy shop in Melbourne and named it The Walrus and the Carpenter. I named it after the shop in Sauchiehall Street which I have very fond memories of. Anyway I would love to hear more about memories of the Walrus and the Carpenter.

I will have to come and visit! Where are you; Rathdowne St?

I've been in Melbourne a few years now, but remember popping into the Walrus and Carpenter. I used to deliver along there every year, when working as a Royal Bank messenger in the summers of 79-83 [out of the old Royal Exchange Square branch - and what a mess they've made of that building now!]

Don't remember making deliveries to the shop though. Probably banked with a competitor. It was the sort of place I still visit now, and wish I had kids. Just to give me the excuse to buy something! There was a cute little shop like that down Brunswick St, a few years ago, that had wonderful wooden toys in the window. Don't know if it ever took off or is still there? The closest "educational" one to you that I also used to frequent was the one in Clifton Hill, which is still there a I think?

(And for the rest of you HGers, you will have no idea where I'm talking about. Sorry!)

[brickwall]

Remember the prices?

Blimey, but it was all great stuff as compared to the lead laced Chinese imports of today.

[stewartg]

JandR: many thanks for your reply. it's great to hear from someone who worked in the Walrus and the Carpenter. I'm sure all of us who contributed to this thread would be delighted to hear any further memories of the shop that you wouldn't mind sharing. I don't suppose you have any pictures of the shop from when you worked there? Can you remember some of the things that the shop sold? What did the Nickelodeon look like? I can only vaguely remember its presence... Did you go back as a customer after you stopped working there? Again, very many thanks, and I look forward to further posts from you!

[skoodie]

Hi All,

Stumbled upon this quite by chance when investigating model railway shops in the city. Your discussions brought it all flooding back to me. My personal love of this shop were the glass shelves, stacked with rows and rows of Britains model animals... As a kid, I couldn't wait until my next visit to buy some more. Magic!

PS I still have them all to this day.

[morag4801]

I remember being taken to the Walrus and Carpenter when I was wee (early 80s) by my mum. Not to buy toys, or even to look at them - just to play the magic piano (nickelodeon as mentioned above, but I never knew it was called that). I remember being very sad when the shop closed, and the magic piano was moved to the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh. However sometime after that my family moved to Edinburgh, and my mum and I would make (fairly regular) special trips into town to the museum just to play the magic piano! The last few times I went it was quite often out of order, and don't even know if it's still there now - not been for over 10 years...
Morag

Edit: I have just remembered we called it the "honky-tonk"

[Doorstop]

In a surprising co-incidence that's what the local piano players used to call my mother.

We try not to talk about it in polite company.