A History of Toys

Description

1972, oversize hardcover reprint edition (of a work first published in England in 1966), Spring Books / London. 256 pages. Marvelous illustrations, 230 in black and white, 72 color plates. The author is Lady Antonia Fraser, who has completed novels, biographies, and some non-fiction. Here is a splendid history, offering a nice overview of early civilization, the rise of the German toy industry in the 17th and 18th centuries, and how toys evolved to the present day. This is an extremely well done volume, fun to read, with everything from primitive playthings to dolls and toys of the 1920's and 30's.