Artists, craftspeople and antique toy buffs will welcome this magnificent collection of antique toy illustrations reproduced from rare original trade catalogs. Spanning 66 years of toy production in America, this volume comprises a trove of 5,000 royalty-free illustrations, perfect for adding old-fashioned charm to advertisements, book and magazine illustrations—almost any graphics project. Dating from 1879 to 1945, these graphics originally appeared in the catalogs of such well-known merchants as Best and Company, Butler Brothers, Marshall Field & Co., Montgomery Ward, and many others. They depict an extraordinary variety of toys and old-time amusements, including rocking horses, toy carriages and wagons, antique bicycles, lively mechanical toys, trains, sleds, all manner of dolls, an amazing array of novelty items, and much more. Each toy appears with its original descriptive caption and price, making this not only a rich source of immediately usable illustrations, but an important reference tool for antique toy collectors, and a fascinating browsing book for lovers of nostalgia. 5,000 black-and-white illus.

Magnificent collection of antique toy illustrations — reproduced in catalogs from Marshall Field, Wanamaker, Sears, Schoenhut, and other merchandising establishments — depict model trains, miniature fire engines, bicycles and scooters, teddy bears and dolls, banks, games, and scores of other old-fashioned playthings. More than 500 black-and-white illustrations with identifications.

By the middle 1800s, toys were appearing in forms that drew upon--and that inspired--advances in areas such as optics, biology, geography, transportation, and automation. In these decades, too, a new type of wonder tale was being brought to maturity by a Poe-inspired Jules Verne. The modern wonder tale's highly-charged vision expressed the hopes and the fears, and the delights and the traumas, engendered by "new worlds idealism"--that Western pursuit of both mechanical and geographical conquest. Exploring realms belonging to childhood, literature, science, and history, this innovative study weaves together the histories of wonder tales and children's toys, focusing specifically on their modern aspects and how they reflect and express the social attitudes of that time period beginning around 1859 and ending around 1957.

Over 450 black-and-white photos, royalty-free, show great ironwork from all over Europe — doors, gates, railings, grilles, lanterns, candelabra, firedogs, chandeliers, much more.

Over 200 black-and-white photographs and incisive commentary on one of the most popular decorative styles of the 20th century, including remarks by Lewis Mumford, Frank Lloyd Wright, Norman Bel Geddes, and Edward Steichen.

Evokes the wonder and nostalgia of toys in America with the story of the inventors, manufacturers, and marketers behind the toys.