How do you use objects to capture and preserve a concept as abstract as play? For although play stands as a universal phenomenon, it is also a deeply subjective experience, which can look and feel completely different depending on the time, place and people engaging in it. How can anyone, much less an entire museum, adequately convey such a personal and imaginative experience through artifacts in a way that does play justice? In my time as an intern with The […]
A Brief Jewish History of the Toy and Game Industry: The United States
The Toy and Game Industry in the U.S.
The U.S. toy industry, for obvious reasons, doesn’t have hundreds of years of history extending before the industrial revolution that Europe experienced. Before the early 1800s, if you were a child of wealthy parents, you likely had toys purchased from overseas for you or perhaps purchased in one of the new-fangled “department stores” in a major city. If you weren’t so fortunate, the few toys and games you most likely had were “folk […]
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A Brief Jewish History of the Toy and Game Industry: Nuremberg, Germany
Many people know how much impact Jews and Jewish culture have had on entertainment industries like film, television, and comic books. But Jewish designers, entrepreneurs, and inventors have also shaped the world of toys, games, pinball, and video games, and the products of their careers are a huge part of the collections of both The Strong museum and the childhoods of millions in the U.S. and around the world. Those careers go back to the early days of the industrial […]
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The Battle over Street Play in New York City (1910-1930)
“Where there are kids, there is play.” Iona Opie
“The setting of boundaries is always a political act.” Edward J. Blakely and Mary Gail Snyder
“We begin with the child when he is three years old. As soon as he begins to think he gets a little flag put in his hand.” Dr Robert LEY, leader of Nazi Labor Front.
As an urban game designer, and an immigrant to the US, I find it particularly interesting to understand the relationship between cultures and […]
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