"Toys are more than playthings. From the most humble artifacts of primitive times to the elaborate art of exhibition pieces, toys have a special fascination for people of all ages. Certainly a great attraction is their extraordinary power to illuminate the past. Whether old, curious, beautiful or bizarre, these everyday objects mirror their time period and reflect the mental attitudes of the people who fashioned and owned them. The story of toys tells its own history of civilization…but surely the very special fascination of toys is their ability to open a perspective from the uncertainties of the present into an apparently secure past by evoking nostalgic memories of lost childhood.”, Robert Cluff, The World of Toys.
