Toys
From the collector's perspective, antique toys fashioned before WW II are "antiquated", while collectible toys made after the war are regarded as "contemporary". Most collectible toys still in existence were produced after 1880, but many preferred pieces were manufactured only a few decades ago. For boys, toys were usually made of durable materials such as wood, tinplate, and iron. Girls, seemingly more careful, were entrusted with fragile toys such as porcelain dolls.
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DollsThe correlation between antiquity and value as collector's items is lenient with regard to an antique doll; if a vintage doll is more than two decades old it should be considered a collectible doll. Modern materials used in doll manufacturing are easily identified, therefore if you encounter a doll with a head of wood, rag, paper-mache, tin, china, bisque, rubber, wax, celluloid, or any other unusual material it may well be valuable.
Metal ToysTin, iron, lead, pewter, silver and steel are all components that were used in the construction of metal toys. Toy manufacturing techniques evolved with metal fabrication processes; therefore construction gives a reliable indication of age. Beware of fine replicas that were legitimately made as reproductions being marketed as authentic
Paper and PlasterMost children's toys were handcrafted in the home preceding the 19th century; professionally made toys were reserved for children of affluent families. Ingenuity was the hallmark of the home crafter; lacking the materials of the professional the folk artist transformed everyday items into toys for beloved children. Prior to the mid-1800s the paper toy was highly coveted, paper being a scarce commodity. Surviving paper toys from this era are rare, and once again coveted due to the mediums intrinsic vulnerability.
Toy Sets and GamesThe first major site for production of mechanical tinplate, and metal toys was Nuremberg, Germany beginning in the late 19th century. An important development was the production of scientific and optical sets. The model railway was also developed using electrically driven trains first made circa 1880 in Germany.
Wooden ToysIt is widely assumed that the rocking horse was developed in conjunction with the first rocking chairs during the late 1700s. Rockers on cradles had already been in place for century's prior, it is a mystery why rockers were not transposed to any other medium for such a long time.
