This comprehensive collection covers almost all facets of early childhood memorabilia encompassing a period from the mid 1800's to the 1940's.
There are dolls made of china, wood, wax and composition, children's china tea and dinner sets and miniature glass, silver and cast iron domestic items, all in remarkable condition.
Beautifully displayed in the ‘Big Top' is a circus with clowns, acrobats, animals and of course the Ringmaster. Toy soldiers by Britains, the famous English maker, a collection of ‘flats' of the Kings and Queens of England, Coronation parades and a large farm scene catch the eye, as does a large Noah's Ark complete with beautifully painted animals entering two by two.
There are some fine examples of early mechanical toys, mostly made of cast iron or tinplate, by American, British and German makers, such as Marx, Lehman and Triang.
Construction sets such as Meccano and Minibrix show how small children could be kept occupied for hours building planes and buildings or designs from their imagination. Examples of games, picture blocks, puzzles and a Pollock's theatre can also be seen. At one end of the room is a large scale model village, made up of largely German hand made buildings, carriages vehicles and figures from the early 1900's.
Another significant item is the ‘horse' tricycle. This has a beautifully carved horse, complete with real horse hair tail, integrated into the frame of a late 1800's tricycle.
These are just some of the highlights of this wonderful exhibition of early childhood memorabilia.