Made by Harry Whanslaw, Soko has a particularly fascinating history, having been used in the very early days of television at John Logie Baird’s studios in Long Acre in 1930, and in fact he holds the coveted title of the first puppet ever made for television. He appeared in seven live broadcasts, and his distinctive black and yellow facial colouring reflects the technical demands of the period: the crude cameras of the time required strong contrasts to register sufficient detail for transmission.
