Paper Toys of the World by Whitton, Blair - 1986

Cumberland: Hobby House Press, Inc, 1986. First Edition. Large Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Signed by author. First edition. Inscribed to a toy collector and signed by author on front endpaper ('Dear Cy: Your contribution of the illustration of the construction plane is a fine example of that type of paper toy + I thank you of the use of it. Blair Whitton'). Light crease down front jacket flap. 1986 Large Hardcover. 236, [4] pp. Oblong. A collector's reference to paper toys, which also includes a history of paper making and printing, and background information introducing chapters on various types of paper toys. Bibliography and index follow text. A 'detailed coverage of paper toys from the earliest times to the present-day offerings by museum gift shops and large publishing houses... Included in this extensive treatise are paper theatres, paper dolls, changeable books, paper houses, paper trains, ships and soldiers, and flip books to name just a few examples. The art of making paper toys reached its zenith in Europe during the late 18th and early 19th centuries and spread over the world rapidly. Toys made of paper could move, change dramatically from one thing to another, and many were actually three-dimensional. European and American firms such as Perelin in France, Raphael Tuck & Sons of England, and McLoughlin Brothers in America vied for this market at a time when parlor games were most popular in both rural and urban communities. Story books became animated, card and board games featured everything from how to succeed in business to how to succeed in love. There are almost 300 illustrations in this book, fifty-five in full color.