#historyoftoys

[whirlykidde]

History of Toys

I thought I’d add in some history with the monthly blog posts this year. Let’s start with what kinds of toys were available before the 18th century. Most children were required to help out with chores and cooking and did not have the time to actually play. Also items found in nature were used as toys such as: sticks, stones and balls made out of clay. Sticks were one of the first and oldest toys in the world.  Throughout the early centuries, toys did not change much in materials used to make them. Dolls, rocking horses, hoops, cars and tops were mostly handcrafted. Materials used were wood. Porcelain was used for dolls.  After the Industrial Revolution, toys were able to be mass produced using rubber for items such as balloons and eventually plastic for multiple toy items. The use of plastic made toys available for much lower prices. From then on up to modern day, manufacturing using plastics and other synthetic materials has made many toys available to the masses on a global scale. I never thought I would be designing and making toys by hand, but here I am. Each handmade doll I design is hand embroidered and sewn by me. I use organic fabrics for the clothing and woven cotton for the doll bodies. I learn something new everytime I create another doll or plush toy.  The plush toy animals and objects are illustrated by me and sized and cut on organic fabrics. I then sew and stuff each one. Each plush toy and handmade doll comes with its own qr download of coloring pages and or a poetry book.  I feel we’ve lost touch with the uniqueness of that special handmade toy especially among all the mass produced toys out on the market. I hope to become your go to for that special gift that’s handmade with love for your little ones.  whirlykidde is a line of poetic capsule collections of children's products which  consists of clothing, soft plush toys and poetry books. Everything is  designed, illustrated and ethically produced in Illinois. whirlykidde was founded in 2015 by Founder & Designer Heather Thornton. whirlykidde is located in Naperville, IL. Heather Thornton is the Founder and Designer behind the brand whirlykidde Sources: History of Toys by Tim Lambert Britannica.com technology/toy

[leslieworks]

The Play Well exhibition at the @wellcomecollection covered every kind of nuance and trend in play and in toy manufacture, too. With a gorilla Barbie and GI Joe voice swap, non gender specific dolls, differences in class, health & safety (a real fun killer, excuse the pun), the importance of imagination and so much more. Final pics are a film of a room set up with various structures. A group of boys were let in and a fun process of assessment, dismantling, wrecking, play fighting and resurrecting ensued. I wonder what a group of girls would have done. . Excellent exhibition for anyone training in the field, but also wonderful for parents, children and just anyone who fancies a trip down memory lane! . . . . #playwell #wellcomecollection #wellcometrust #exhibition #importanceofplay #historyofplay #teachers #parents #childrensplay #childrenplaying #historyoftoys #nostalgia #memorylane #atripdownmemorylane (at Wellcome Collection) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8n9NSUHIVe/?igshid=df9pw3s9iofn

[samversusworldvlog]

Bringing you something a little bit different, welcome to Pollocks Toy Museum just off Tottenham Ct Road in London W1. A collection of Mainly Victorian toys displayed in 6 small rooms and winding staircases covered in dolls, teddy’s, puppets, folk toys and many more. Pollocks was originally a shop and printers back in 1850 originating in Horton, Benjamin Pollock actually hand printed and constructed much of the shops material that is here today. The museum was created and the shop stock redesigned in the 1950/60s by Margaret Fawdry where the collection had built up from donations from local communities and from around the world it is run for the benefit of the public and to display the collection than for profit and receives no outside funding. When you next in London why not try a different type of museum than the usual? What toys from old would you like to see?? 🤡🧚🏻‍♂️🛷🏐🚚 #pollockstoymuseum #quirky #museumsofinstagram #1800s #thingstodoinlondonforfree #visitlondon #funinlondon #toys #victoriantoys #loveyourself #historyoftoys #photoshootideas #tottenhamcourtroad #fitzrovia #exploringlondon #visitlondon #visit_uk #visitengland #differentworld #history #historychannel #samversusworld #shopsofinstagram #picoftheday #scalastreet #w1 #westlondon #doubleyourjourney #lovelondon (at Fitzrovia) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzu2LWWg6OG/?igshid=1a2ltitgv2v0m

[quatrus]

A woman kneels down to talk to a child pulling a pull-toy. Athens, Greece, 400s BC. Women kneel to talk to their kids exactly the same way today... #ancientgreece #ancientgreektoys #redfigure #classicalgreece #athensgreece #historyoftoys #pull-toy

[heatheraddley]

Giant Gumby! #toys #gumby #daughters #love #historymuseum #rva #historyoftoys #retro #fun #family #niece (at VMFA Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)

[bryce-duyvewaardt]

On a little research binge I came across an old book I used for my grad project research called The Place Of Play by Maaike Lauwaert. It's fascinating to learn about the history of toys and the environments that fostered toy companies to grow and flourish. Definitely a good read for toy designers. . . . #theplaceofplay #maaikelauwaert #toydesign #toydesignhistory #toydesigntheory #toyhistory #bookstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramfeature #toystories #historyoftoys #treasuredbook

[quatrus]

A doll probably from Babylon, under Parthian rule, about 100 BC-200 AD. She's moldmade, mass produced. The Louvre (where she is now) doesn't actually say she's a doll: they say a statue of a child. But she looks like a doll to me. Just a reminder that while life was going on in the Roman Empire, lots of other people had similar lives in the Parthian Empire. That's modern Iraq and Iran. #parthians #historyoftoys #babylon #iraq #ancientdolls (at Iraq - Al-Hillah, Babylon)

[quatrus]

Another toy: from ancient Egypt, a pull toy of a woman grinding grain. Whoa, a laugh a minute! You pull the string, and she makes toy flour? There are other examples of this pull-toy, though, so this must have been a pretty common toy. #ancientegypt #historyoftoys #ancientegyptiantoy #egypthistory #africantoys #ancientafrica #grindstone