History of Toys
When you discuss the history of something, it is best to start at the beginning. But with the history of toys, it is difficult to do so as toys have been around as long as we can remember. It is quite likely that the first human children either had toys made for them or created their own with pine cones, rocks, tree branches or whatever else they could find. It has always been the nature of children to play.
Toys have been discovered in ancient ruins from as far back as 3000 BC in the Indus Valley civilization region, an area in what is now Pakistan and northwestern India. Some of these early playthings included toy carts complete with terracotta horses, sculpted birds adorned with feathers and toy monkeys that slid up and down a string. These are some of the earliest pieces ever discovered to indicate ancient children were given actual baubles to play with.
In ancient Egypt, young boys played with wooden toys like small boats and animal figures. Marbles were common and boys participated in team sports using balls made of leather and filled with chaff or other light material. Young Egyptian girls are known to have played with dolls made of stone, pottery and wood with movable limbs and wigs.
Children in ancient Greece played with many toys including clay animals and pull-along toys on wheels. It was in Greece that the yo-yo made its earliest appearance. When children passed into adulthood they would offer their toys as a sacrifice to the gods. Girls surrendered their dolls as part of their rite of passage on their wedding night, usually around 14 years of age.
Throughout the centuries, children continued to play with toys that were handmade from one material or another until the industrial age brought about manufacturing. Spinning tops, stuffed animals and dolls were made using materials such as metal, cloth and porcelain. Tin soldiers were popular in Germany in the early 1700s and toy soldiers in general have remained popular throughout the years.
With the invention of plastic, the toy industry was revolutionized as this new synthetic material made mass production cheaper, faster and easier. By the early 1900s, children were able to choose from an abundance of toys including everything from dolls and doll houses to toy cars and rocking horses. Soon toy companies were competing for a share of the growing toy market.
The Toy Manufacturers of America, the first trade association for toy makers, was established in 1916. In 1930, Fisher-Price was established by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Margaret Evans-Price and Helen Schelle. Marvin Glass established Marvin Glass and Associates in 1941, a toy design studio that was the first of its kind and was responsible for creating the popular Rock-Em-Sock-Em Robots. By 1950, Louis Marx and Company was the largest manufacturer of toys in the United States. Founded in 1921, the company began to lose ground after the 1950s and was sold in 1972 before being completely liquidated in the early 1980s.
In the latter part of the 1900s, electronics became the latest trend in toys with dolls that are computerized to simulate a real infant and video games that mimic everything from football to an alien attack. As children have become more sophisticated, toys have striven to keep up with their growing imaginations. But the basic nature of children to play remains unchanged. While it is impossible to say exactly where the toys of tomorrow are headed, it is sure to be down a path that is familiar though the way may be lighted by new technology.
Categorised as: Toys