Toys
The Museum has an extensive toy collection - toys have been, and continue to be, central to the childhood experience. In the past, most children would have had home-made toys, made from materials commonly found around the home.In ancient times, Greek and Roman children are known to have played with marbles, spinning tops and clay dolls. It was not until the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that toys were mass produced.
Traditional Toys
The Museum has a substantial collection of wooden toys, which are described as traditional toys. Many of these toys were first made in Germany. A highlight of this part of the collection is a set of sample sheets, which were carried by salesmen from the beginning of the 19th century to trade fairs and exhibitions.
Learning Toys
We now know that it is important to encourage learning through play, an idea which has been put forward by many educators over the years.
Construction Toys
Construction or building toys, such as Lego and Meccano, which help children to learn and develop their creative skills have been popular for many years.
Moving Toys
The toys in this section were all designed to move. Moving toys range from push and pull toys to more complex clockwork and battery-operated toys.
Puppets
Puppets have been used for entertainment for centuries in countries all over the world. Travelling puppeteers were very popular in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Toy Theatre
Toy theatres became a popular form of family entertainment during the 19th century. It is generally believed that they were invented in 1811 by a man called William West, who had a stationery business in London, when he started to produce printed sheets of characters from various plays.
Character Toys
The Museum has a varied collection of character toys. Some of our early examples are Dismal Desmond, Mickey Mouse and Shirley Temple. While their existence pre-dated the 20th century, it was only in the latter half of that century that the popularity of character toys exploded, alongside the rapid expansion in film production.
