Inducted Year: 2011
The first dollhouses developed to display the miniature possessions of very wealthy Europeans in the late 1500s. These diminutive “baby houses,” as they were known, consisted of cabinets divided into compartments to display miniature furniture and household accessories. Exclusively the playthings of adults, baby houses not only showcased finely made furnishings of exotic woods, metals, fabrics, and other materials, they also served as symbols of a lady’s wealth and refined tastes.
Miniatures, however, fascinate children as much as adults, […]
Blanket
Inducted Year: 2011
Children have played with blankets ever since ancient agrarians domesticated woolly animals and spun their coats for fabrics. In imaginative play and make-believe, kids have discovered the many playful uses for the blanket. It fills in for a king’s robe, a bride’s veil, a superhero’s cape, a Roman soldier’s cloak, a princess’s flowing gown, and a wizard’s flying carpet. Thrown over a table, it forms a tent; draped around two chairs, it becomes a fort; on top of […]
Hot Wheels
Inducted Year: 2011
In the 1960s, Elliot Handler, a cofounder of Mattel, Inc., envisioned a die-cast car to surpass the popular English Matchbox brand. He wanted a line of toy cars to dominate Mattel’s boys’ division just as its Barbie doll had become the strongest brand in its girls’ division. Handler insisted that the toy cars look authentic, so the project enlisted Harry Bradley, a top auto designer from Chevrolet, to lead the toy design team. What Handler really wanted was […]
