James Bond Car 1965 Courtesy of V&A Museum of Childhood
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has joined forces with the V&A Museum of Childhood to preserve a huge collection of toys from Christmases past.
The HLF has given the V&A £244,500 to preserve the archives of four famous British toy manufacturers, donated to the Museum of Childhood when they ceased trading in the 1970s and 1980s.
The archives include plenty of kids favourites that would have topped many a Christmas list over the years including Sindy dolls, the Spacehopper, James Bond cars and Action Man.
Catherine Howell, Collections Officer of the V&A Museum of Childhood explained of the project:
"The Museum of Childhood is a gem in the heart of East London and to have the chance, through the HLF, to preserve the historical records of some of the most famous children’s toys of the past is a real gift not only to the museum but to all, young and old, who benefit from its collections."
Sindy 1963 Courtesy of V&A Museum of Childhood
As the largest central collection of publicly available information relating to the UK’s toy-making heritage, the archives include photographs, adverts, catalogues and materials from the hey-dey of British toy manufacture throughout much of the 20th Century.
Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the London Region, Sue Bowers, said:
"By investing lottery players money into conserving these wonderful archives the HLF is giving a fantastic Christmas present of discovery to the thousands of children who come to play and learn here."
Major international players from the world of toys can be found here: Lines Brothers (1919 – 1971) – makers of Tri-ang toys and Pedigree dolls; Abbatt Toys (1932 – 1971) – makers of important educational toys; Mettoy (1933-1983) – best known for Corgi vehicles and the Spacehopper; and Palitoy (1919 – 1986) – most famous for the production of the all-time favourites Action Man and Star Wars.
For more information on the V&A Museum of Childhood toy manufacturers archives go to:
www.vam.ac.uk
