British Toy Making blog
The V&A Museum of Childhood is currently working on a major project to catalogue, conserve and digitise the toy manufacturing archive material held at the Museum. The British Toy Making project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, focuses on the archives of four major 20th century British toy manufacturers – Lines Bros. Ltd., Mettoy, Palitoy and Paul and Marjorie Abbatt Ltd.
Latest from the Museum of Childhood
Ammunition box
A short text describing the photographic techniques used to take two photographs showing munitions made by Lines Bros. Ltd. during the Second World War.
Lebus Archive Catalogue online
This fascinating collection contains a large number of letters written by Anthony Lebus to his parents during his time at preparatory school, Eton and Oxford.
Abbatt Archive Summary Description Online
The summary description for the Abbatt archive here at the Museum of Childhood is now on-line.
Mettoy Archive Catalogue Online
The catalogue for the Mettoy archive here at the Museum of Childhood is now on-line, and you can see it on the Archives pages of our revamped website.
Toy Illustrations and Anticipations
These drawings of toys make me wonder what it must have felt like to be a child 60 or more years ago.
Photoshop in 1940?
I’ve been photographing some Lines Bros. catalogues from 1940 recently and have really been enjoying myself looking at the photomontages for the Pedigree Prams catalogues.
A Merton Workbench
It has been said that you can tell a lot about a person by the desk they sit behind. A cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind. So what can a phototgraph of a workbench tell us?
Photographing the British Toy Making Archive
Introducing Dani Tagen, the newly appointed photographer in charge of producing digital images of the archives.
What's in a name?
Pedigree Prams and Tri-ang toys catalogues are sequentially numbered! A particularly dull fanfare to start this blog, but it does mean that many of the gaps I thought were in this series have now disappeared...
The King's Chat at Merton
King George VI visits the Line Bros. Ltd Factory at Merton to inspect munitions production on June 10, 1941.
Toy Fair - Part 2
Toy Fair is now over for another year. It’s been great fun, though tiring, to spend three days in the middle of it all.
Toy Fair 2011
Tuesday was day one of the Toy Fair 2011. This year we’ve got a stand (thank you to the BTHA for making us feel so welcome), to promote the project and make new contacts with people who have worked in the toy industry.
Challenge Santa - Part 3
The third and final challenge to Santa again demonstrates how closely toys can reflect the particular time and culture in which they are produced.
Challenge Santa - Part 1
Buzz Lightyear was voted the most elusive toy of 1996, and with it set to become one of the most popular toys for Christmas this year, it will no doubt again be causing parents trouble when they have to find one in the shops.
Challenge Santa - Part 2
Carrying on the theme of toys you won’t find in the shops this Christmas, a number of different forms of transport have been thrown to the surface.
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