A Virtual Museum of Childhood
And also, a selection of FREE Vintage Games & Toys!
We hope to use this virtual museum of childhood to help promote our love and interest for collecting Vintage card games, along with other games & toys around the world. We intend to build and make it available as a reference site for other researchers, dealers and collectors seeking accurate information on their collections.
A Museum of Childhood
Who can deny the magic that any childhood toys have, whatever period of History they come from?
From the Early Regency, through the Victorian and Edwardian periods the need to educate, amuse and entertain children, has given rise to a myriad of innovative and interesting Toys & Games.
When it slowly became apparent that children had their own special needs and interests, a industry was spawned to cater for the needs of doting parents. Before the Regency period, social rules for the Upper Classes and the middle classes that emulated them, dictated that parents although loving, should be remote and formal. Children of the poorer classes were simply set to work as soon as they were judged able.
In the late 18th Century new ideas about liberty, naturalness and companionship began to circulate. Out of this came the belief that "childhood" was a phase of life separate from "Adulthood". That it was something precious and magical.
With it came the idea that children should be protected and sheltered from the "problems" of society, at least for a while. They were encouraged and giving the freedom to experience the joy and beauty of the natural world, before been eased into a "career". Play became recognized as something desirable and with this change in attitude, a steady stream of novel toys and books became available. These were no longer designed with instruction and education in mind but were simply to entertain and be enjoyed.
Now, it appears we have gone full circle and children are encouraged by technology and media to become adult as soon as possible. Under constant attention from advertising firms, with celebrities as role models and the media filling them with anxiety about war, acts of terrorism and global catastrophe, childhood has never been more under attack.
Perhaps, these pages will help you remember and hopefully recapture some of the magic of your own childhood that you can in turn pass on to those younger generations.
We hope that the pages within this virtual museum of childhood will encourage you to remember and recognize the treasures from your own childhood. If you intend to start collecting, then perhaps these examples will give you the expertise to seek out and buy with confidence.
Here you will already find on this virtual Museum of Childhood
A Free A-Z of vintage card games
with descriptions, copies of the rules and price guide.
A Free A-Z of Children's Authors, vintage children's books
Histories and Descriptions, Articles and advice on collecting
Please browse through our pages and we hope you enjoy our presentations.