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Published by Edita
Lausanne, selection of International Book Society, distributed by the New
York Graphic Society Ltd, copyright Greenwich CT 1967 (First?) Edition.
Having 252 indexed pages, lavishly illustrated with 629 drawings and photos, including 35 tipped-in color plates, 44 full-page color photos,
plus two folding photo sheets. Providing a marvelously detailed survey of manufactured toys from the beginning of the mass-production in 1860 to the outbreak of World War I. Includes chapters on paper toys, table games, steam engines, nautical toys, automobiles, airplanes, musical toys, electrical toys,
and more! An absolute treasure chest of vintage toy memories not to be
missed! Bound in cloth 10.5 by 12 inch hard covers, still in original dust jacket showing
light wear, jacket protected within clear plastic wrapper, book held
within sturdy slip case, binding still internally tight and strong, contents clean and
bright, and overall in very good condition.
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(text taken from dust
jacket...)
Like soldiers' uniforms and ladies' dresses, toys evolved from ancient times at a uniform pace, catering to changing tastes but manufactured by much the same procedures through the years. So it was, at least, until the mid-nineteenth century, when in the course of a few years the world of toys changed radically. Two industrial revolutions-steam and electricity-brought about the change, not only through the increased use of machines and new techniques of metal casting and engraving, but also through the increased buying power of large portions of the population. Thus, in the space of sixty-odd years, the toy industry so expanded and diversified that this period from 1850 to 1914 can truly be called THE GOLDEN AGE OF TOYS.
In these years, traditional toys were perfected and new toys came into being. Thanks to machines which could roll iron, zinc and copper into thin sheets and then cut, perforate or stamp out these sheets, the shape of toys became more graceful without any loss of the solidity needed to withstand the rigors of play. At the same time, all the avenues of fantasy and imitation of reality were opened to exploration. In this golden age everything was possible and nothing had yet become stereotyped. There were toys to suit all pocketbooks and tastes, and the humour, the freshness and the ingenuity of the craftsman was still everywhere to be seen.
Today, a hundred years later, those toys that escaped the ultimate fate of destruction have been given a new lease of life by collectors and museums. They have lost, of course, their original usefulness as objects of play; but they have gained instead the pleasant, antiquated grace of nostalgia. The passage of time has given them poetry and a soul, and their second existence is a calm and contemplative one. Through this book, a larger public is offered a chance to share this contemplation, this nostalgia; and to view the riches of this imaginary Noah's Ark from a bygone age which have been fortunately protected from the ravages of rust, fire, wars
and the worst enemy of all-indifference.
Jac Remise inspired this book. He loves toys, he collects them in his Paris home, and he knows their history. In his programs on French television he seeks to impart to his viewers his passion for them. Jean Fondin, journalist, editor, writer of children's books, has written an elegant and well-documented text which, combined with the illustrations, make of this book a work of
art the most sumptuous ever to be devoted to toys. Finally, D.B. Tubbs' excellent translation has given freshness and originality to the text. In its 254 pages are 629 illustrations, 35 of them full-color prints hand-pasted to the page, with another 44 color pictures and many more in black and white, cataloguing the irresistible charm of the golden age when toys were young and gay.
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