On Display from October 4, 2002 to January 5, 2003
Alphabet blocks, dolls, building toys, cars and trucks, board games...these toys are "Good then (1914), Good now (1935), Good always (2000)", to borrow from some prophetic words written inside the back cover of a 1935 Toy Tinkers catalog. From generation to generation, classic toys such as these are an important part of childhood and a part of our collective memories. In celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of The Toy Shop of Concord, the oldest independent specialty toy store in the country, the Concord Museum in Concord, Massachusetts is pleased to present a new exhibition, Good Then, Good Always: Toys and Memories.
 Designed for both kids-at-heart and their children and grandchilden, Good Then, Good Always brings together over 100 wonderful toys spanning three centuries and brings to light the fascinating stories behind these classics. Included in the exhibition are vintage Lincoln Logs, Erector Sets, Steiff animals (including an 8' tall giraffe!), Britains toy soldiers, games, puzzles, Lionel trains, Holgate toys, Gilbert Chemistry and Opto sets, Buddy "L" trucks, Dinky cars, 19th-century dolls and accessories, Kathe Kruse and Sasha dolls, a Brio wooden railway, an 8' K'nex ferris wheel, a Lego birthday cake, a Selecta dollhouse and much more.
Good Then, Good Always is at once a light-hearted look back and an intriguing look forward. Engage your mind and your hands in the exhibition's gallery activities: play with some of the new generation of these timeless toys; flip through the pages of toy catalogs from 1895 and the 1950s and discover what is different (or the same) about the toys of the mid 20th century from those of the 19th and the 21st; test your toy trivia; consider what three distinguished experts - an educator, an historian and a child psychologist - have to say about toys and memories. Included free with Museum admission, Good Then, Good Always: Toys and Memories is open from October 4, 2002 through January 5, 2003.
 The Concord Toy Shop was founded in Concord, Massachusetts by Louise Pratt, relative of
Louisa May Alcott. A landmark in a town of landmarks, The Toy Shop has had only three owners in its sixty years of business.
There are numerous programs offered in October and November related to this show. A gallery talk with David Wood, Concord Museum's Curator, a Teddy Bear Picnic, an appraisal day for toys and dolls offered by Skinner, Inc. and Antiques Roadshow experts, a playful parenting workshop, a hands-on toy building project, and the museum's their monthly story hour are available. See the Events Calendar of the ConcordMA.com site for details of these offerings.
The Concord Museum is open Monday-Saturday 9 - 5, Sunday 12 -- 5. For further information contact the Concord Museum at (978) 369-9609 (taped information), email them at cm1@concordmuseum.org, or visit their Website at www.concordmuseum.org.
Photos courtes of the Concord Museum
Backgrounds: By Rhymster, now lost on the 'Net.
 
 
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