The inspiration behind the birth of Bubbleblower goes back to a rather sorrowful story.

By the end of the 1910’s, the Spanish flu pandemic had already reached Central Europe.

A considerable part of the population contracted the fatal disease and the climate of opinion

grew gloomier and gloomier.  Streets were empty, theatres were full of vacant seats,

hurdy-gurdies became as silent as the grave, and all those kids blowing bubbles in

the playground were nothing but a vague memory. Simon Meisterburger was particularly concerned

about the last phenomenon on the list. He believed that in a way the soap bubble symbolized

a life worth living for, that it represents hope and happiness. But what should we do when our

young buddies with their feeble little lungs cannot blow a single bubble anymore?

Uncle Simi made up his mind and set out to invent a technique for mechanizing the

process of blowing bubbles. Fortunately, his brother from Moravia, who by the way was one of the epoch’s most eminent experts of precision engineereing, Mór Meisterburger was staying at his homefor a short time. 

The Meisterburger brothers put their heads together and the outcome went down in history. It is also worth mentioning that the company’s name appeared on the toy although MASZTER Toy Factory was established only 10 years later. The Bubbleblower can boast with ergonomically designed levers and tanks, precise gears, and a secret ingredient that forms the perfect bubble. On the turn of the 1910’s, the Bubbleblower became a widespread toy especially among the wealthy, but all the same gloomy members of the upper middle class. It was MASZTER’s first innovation and became a strategically important product in the 30’s; however, a little later it became outdated due to its export to Russia. Nevertheless, the Bubbleblower still represents a view of life that is sensitive to social changes and advocates never-fading optimism.

Otto Szabo - Robotto

Bubbleblower / Bugyborékoló

2012-14

60x42x55 cm, upcycling, kinetic

 

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