ABSTRACT
Toys, in particular dolls and electric trains, are among the most popular collectibles in the United States. In addition to their desirability among hobbyists, toys shed light on society’s changing attitudes toward childhood. They are mirrors of the fads and fashions of culture at large. Accordingly, a reference book on playthings can assist those interested in charting the development of popular culture as well as apprise collectors about the facts concerning some of their favorites. Although originally intended to amuse children, toys hold a fascination for adults. They intrigue those seeking to relive their childhoods, those attempting to re-create a youthful age that they think was too bereft of such cultural objects, and those pursuing a serious study of the social attitudes of earlier times. Many collectors, when remembering a bauble that evokes an earlier era, recognize that their grandparents had it, their parents probably threw it away, and it is now up to them to buy it back. The memory jogs that this book provides are a part of that recognition process.
