Figure 1.--This little English boy was photographed with what look to be his toys, probably in the 1920s (figure 1). Notice the studio back drop. Clearly this is not his home. Thus the toys appear to be those from the photographic studio. He has blocks and toy animals. They are not stuffed animals, I'm not sure about the material.

We are also collecting images of children in different countries showing the kinds of toys the children played with over time. Here most of the images we have collected are American, English, French, and German. We hope to gradually add images from other countries over time. Germany before World War I was especially known for manufacturing children's toys. The Steiff stuffed animals, especially well known. I'm not sure yet how the popularity of different toys varied from country to country.

America

We have not yet worked on an American toy page. The photographic record suggess that the most popular 19th century toy was the hoop and stick. Late 19th century photographs provide some great views of popular toys. Some boys played with dolls, but we are unsure just how popular that was. After the turn-of-the 20th century, electric rail roads and erector setts were especially popular toys.

China

China today produces an incredible share of the world's toys. I believe that the actual design of the toys is done in the West, but then manufactured in China. I think the percentage of toys designed there is very small.

Czechoslovakia

We note a little Czech boy, Karel Chech III, with two wonderful toy horses in 1947.

England

All of the major European countries had important toy industries. England was one of these countries. They also imported from other countries, especially Germany. Toys in the 19th century were often made out of wood, but we also see cast iron toys. We see animal figures (often done as pull toys), balls, blocks, dolls, hobby horses, horns, stuffed animals, tops, toy soldiers, and much more. Toys become even more diverse in the 20th century. Mechano sets, ??? trains, and match box cars were especially popular. There was considerable trade in toys across international borders before World war I. German companies lost many of their English markets as a result of the War. There was some recovery by the 1930s, but after the NAZI take over toy production was scaled back. Thus most English children had domestically produced toys. We believe that until after world war II, most toys were sild in department stores or small dedicated toy shops. Hopefully our English readers will tell us more about toys there. Photographs provide some information about period toysThis little English boy was photographed with what look to be his toys, probably in the 1920s (figure 1). Notice the studio back drop. Clearly this is not his home. Thus the toys appear to be those from the photographic studio. He has blocks and toy animals. They are not stuffed animals, I'm not sure about the material.

France

We do not have a lot of information on French toys yet. Many toys are similar from country to country. We note a La Samaritaine from the 1930s which illustrates popular toys. We seem to commonly note teddy bears (nomurs), blocks, bowling pins (skettles), drums, pull toys, puzzles, toy planes, trins, and cars. Toy soldiers seem to have been a real favorite, al least before World war I. We also notice toys and a game called diablo which seems destinctively French. Drrress up costumes, especially Indian gear, also appears popular.Hopefull our French readers will tell us more.

Germany

Perhaps no country is more associated with toys than Germany, at least before World War II. The photographic record prpvides a great deal of information about German toys. Especially helpful are all the Christmas tree photographs. Less common are birthday photographs.Christmas is the most important German holiday and a portrait of the children with all theior loot under the Christmas tree was a family tradition. German companies were renowned for teddy bears, dolls, trains and much more. German was known for stuffed animals, especially teddy bears, but there were many other animals as well. Pull toys were also popular. A good example is a little German boy's friends about 1930. Mechanical and electric trains were a particularly popular toy for German boys.

Italy

Japan

I believe Japan began exporting toys in the ionter-war era during the 1920s and 30s, rather much like China today, I do not, however, know much about this. I do recall a lot of Japanese toys as a young boy after World War II.

Created: September 25, 2003
Last updated: 2:56 AM 7/30/2007