Wood is one of the oldest materials and is closely associated with the development of mankind. Wooden toys first appeared during the ancient Greek and Roman empires. Archaeological findings include a variety of dolls, horses, and chariots that were all carved from multiple single pieces of wood that could be slotted together. The making of these toys required exquisite craftsmanship and intense labour. Each toy was hand-made and, as such, could be tailored to choice. As such, high-quality wooden toys were often an item of luxury.

By the 1700s, technological advancements during the Industrial Revolution made it possible for German toymakers to craft a variety of wooden toys to sell to the public. Salesmen would travel around Europe to market their products, taking advance orders for special occasions and often for custom wooden toys. Over the next century, the art of toymaking became more precise, detailed, and elaborate. Manufacturers began producing toys like dollhouses, theatres, wooden trains along with their wooden tracks. During this time, one of the famous wooden toys was the Peg doll, a wooden doll that featured wood joints in the arms and legs. They were particularly popular among low-income families as they were sold undressed, which would allow children to make their own clothing from discarded and unwanted scraps of fabrics.

Post-World War II marks the introduction of new chemicals to the manufacturing industry, including the ever-popular thermoplastic. As toy manufacturers shifted to cheaper and modern materials, the popularity of wooden toys’ saw a drastic decline. Today, they are rarely seen in traditional toy stores, but their charm and appeal are slowly paving the way for their comeback in recent years.

When ore deposits in Germany’s Erzgebirge region began drying up in the 17th century, miners turned to another abundant resource – lumber. Many adopted woodcarving as a new trade, founding a regional toymaking industry which produced toys such as this set of Chinese Stairs.

The toy is powered by mercury inside the rods carried by the figures. When mercury flows to the bottom of the rod, this shifts the toy’s centre of gravity, lifting the rear figure upwards and creating the illusion that the figures are climbing down the stairs. The “Chinese” figures are dressed in gold-embroidered costumes, and the stairs are decorated with an Oriental pattern.

This toy showcases the skilled craftsmanship of Erzgebirge toymakers and defies expectations of what wooden toys can achieve, elevating them from the realm of simple figurines to one of complex, innovative mechanisms. It also offers insight into Orientalist depictions typical of the 19th century.

Chinesische Treppenläufer (Chinese Stairs)

By the early 1930s, black-and-white television had already been invented, but such early systems were far from suitable for consumer use. The “Mickey Mouse Talkie Jecktor” Gramophone & Projector was a toy which proposed a method of bringing the magic of big-screen cartoons into one’s living room.

The machine projected movies using a roll of parchment film lit by an Edison light bulb, and the attached gramophone played a 78 rpm toy record in sync with the film as the roll advanced. In reality, however, many consumers found it difficult to manually sync the film with the record, and the Talkie Jecktor’s lofty promises unfortunately fell short in this regard.

Nonetheless, the toy captures the early stages of cinema, where synchronised sound movies, or “talkies”, were still a recent technological innovation; the novelty of bringing talkies into the home must surely have been an exciting idea for many consumers.

Mickey Mouse Talkie Jecktor

China has gone through a remarkable amount of change and progress in the last 100 years alone. From the founding of the Republic of China in 1912, to the Chinese Civil War lasting from 1927 to 1949, to the eventual establishment of the People’s Republic of China from 1949 onwards, the early years of modern China were full of countless sea changes that swept across the nation in quick succession.

A century later, one of the best ways to witness the rapid development of China during this time is through the various children’s toys that have survived over the years. These toys are a powerful reflection of the events that defined those tumultuous years, and are a testament to how everyday objects can reflect pivotal moments in history.

A common theme that features in toys from this period is the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution took place between 1966 to 1976, and was intended to institute Maoism as the dominant ideology in China through a purge of capitalist and traditional elements. There was an emphasis on militarisation via joining the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and an encouraged return to provincial lifestyles during this period, reflected in toys such as the Cultural Revolution Miner and Cultural Revolution Soldier.

Following the Cultural Revolution, other notable events in modern China’s history include the opening of China from the 1970s onwards, the 1986 Chinese student demonstrations and subsequent Tiananmen Square protests, and the inclusion of Hong Kong and Macau as Special Administrative Regions under the “One country, two systems” principle. Throughout all of these landmark events, children’s toys have continued to reflect the changing circumstances in the country, allowing us to chart our way through history via the simplicity of these everyday objects.

In exhibiting this collection, MINT Museum of Toys recognises that children’s games and toys illuminate the cultural consciousness and social mores of prevailing society. The collection also reminds us that in play, children display behaviour and repeat actions that have made impressions on them in early life. Freud famously observed that children absorb “the strength of the impression” and in doing so, render themselves “master of the situation.” The significance of toys in perpetuating sexist attitudes, class segregation and racial stereotypes has been widely studied and acknowledged. While our collection bears testimony to the progress we have made in the fight against discrimination, we are well aware that some of our visitors may feel aversion or discomfort, and we seek your understanding in why we are bringing this exhibition into the public eye.

Throughout history, there have been movements to abolish racism and discriminatory behaviour. Beginning in the 1920s and especially during the 1950s and 1960s, which led to the abolition of Jim Crow or racial segregation laws, the work of activists changed attitudes, generated discussions and actively influenced many other anti-discriminatory efforts.

The first toy in the collection is based on a character who appeared originally in the late 19th century, in the illustrations of Florence Kate Upton. She drew the golliwog, as it became known, with black skin, frizzy hair, white-rimmed eyes, and smiling with exaggerated red lips. This was the typical makeup of a blackface minstrel – who was usually a white person in make-up (called blackface) playing a black person in a comic sketch, dance, or musical performance.

Golliwogs became popular in the UK, Australia, other parts of Europe, and in the source of its origin, the United States. Other racial toys in the same vein soon followed, such as Sambo, Aunt Jemima, and Uncle Moses; and they also make an appearance in our collection. Some of them may still exist as brand icons, but many have been removed or updated.

MINT Museum of Toys believes that in displaying these items, we raise the awareness of discrimination and initiate discussions on prejudicial behaviour and practices. Modern museums are not just repositories of preserved artefacts but act as an informative lens on human history, as well as being a force for education and shaping societal attitudes.

Marusan was founded in Asakusa, Tokyo, in 1947 by brothers Haruyasu and Minoru Ishida, and their brother-in-law, Yasuo Arai. Although the business began as a toy wholesaler, Marusan eventually began to design and produce their own tin and celluloid toys, many of which were made to the specifications of toy distributors in Europe and America.

“Greyhound Lines” was one such toy that was destined for export to western countries. Produced between 1955 to 1959, the friction-powered lithographed tin toy captures an everyday scene for many Americans at the time – passengers riding a Greyhound bus.

More importantly, the toy also captures problematic aspects of everyday reality namely, the policy of racial segregation on public transportation, as it depicts white passengers seated at the front of the bus, while an African-Americans were to be seated at the back of the bus.

This policy was famously protested against by Rosa Parks, an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks rejected bus driver James F. Blake’s order to vacate a row of four seats in the ‘colored’ section in favor of a white passenger.

She was arrested for civil disobedience in violating Alabama segregation laws and she helped inspired the Black community to boycott Montgomery buses for over a year. Park’s act of defiance and the Montgomery bus boycott became important symbols of the movement and she became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation, collaborating with civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr.

Greyhound Lines