October 14, 2016

Barbie Goes to Paris

Who would have imagined a small town girl from Willows, Wisconsin would one day have her own feature exhibit in Paris? Ok, so maybe she’s not a real person (and...

September 30, 2016

A Cabinet of Curiosity

The bold and ornate details on the outside of the 1:12 scale Antwerp cabinet really make a statement. Created by artist Pierre Mourey in 1999, the leggy cabinet was inspired...

September 25, 2016

Factories in the Business of Play

At The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, the Toys, Inc. story continues into the 19th century as toy making graduated from homes to factories and machines replaced manual labor....

September 22, 2016

Cottage Industries in the Business of Play

Toys aren’t all fun and games, they’re also a thriving 84-billion-dollar global industry! Surprisingly though, the industry is only 200 years old. Yet, it’s come a long way from small...

September 19, 2016

Building a Fine-Scale Collection

What started as a souvenir in the 1950s, became a serious collection by the 1970s, a museum by 1982, and is today the world’s largest and finest collection. Museum co-founder...

September 17, 2016

Spin the Wheel of Life

During the Enlightenment, scientific discoveries and achievements abounded. Scholars explored everything from celestial bodies to microscopic organisms. In the 1820s, scientists came up with the theory of persistence of vision,...

September 15, 2016

Decision 2016: The Nominees

Another election year is upon us, and the stakes are especially high this time! Yes, that’s right, it’s time once again for Americans to fulfill their civic duty and vote...

September 13, 2016

Inspiring a Fine-Scale Collection

On Small Talk, we’ve already looked at three miniature commissions in the early 20th century that helped spark the fine-scale miniature movement: Queen Mary’s Dollhouse, Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle, and...

September 9, 2016

Details Wright to Scale

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s belief in gesamtkunstwerk or “total work of art” meant that all the components of his designs matched each other, as seen in the art glass cabinetry,...

September 7, 2016

Tonka Tough

Before trucks were built Ford tough, Tonka toy trucks were strong enough for an elephant to stand on (we’re not kidding… it was the focus of a 1970s advertising campaign...

The Secret Story of Toys Revealed