PAGE FOUR

Judging by the play instinct in every child, we can safely assume
that man has always made some form of toy to amuse and to
educate his children. Whether this be a miniature spear, or a doll
carved out of a piece of bone, these toys, although originally
intended for play, would also have had their instructional side.
Even today the primitive people of the Far East, South America,
and Africa make toy boats to teach their little sons the art of
building a boat, and they carve small arrows for them to use,
first in play, but later on in the serious occupation of hunting.
When some years ago I was asked by a television director to do a
few programmes on the history of toys, I had to turn from a toy
designer into a toy historian. This entailed many months of hard
work in libraries and museums, but once the pages of history
started to unfold in front of my eyes, I became completely absorbed
and enthralled. And I do hope that any of the readers whose
appetite has been whetted by this very brief mention will follow it
up by their own studies in museums or through books.