TOYS SECRETS - Toys and Games: Musée de la civilisation

Toys' Secrets They lived through the years. They came across oceans and covered many continents. They are known worldwide. They followed the course of material progress. In ancient Greece, they were used as offerings to gods. In modern times, they entertained people at the royal court. And in the 21st century, toys simply amuse children. Everything you always wanted to know about toys: a little history :
The Holy basket Toye… toy Ideas on amusement and education Everybody has fun Barbie and co.	Objects of luxury Amusements for adults Roles and reality From metal to plastic A look at video games

The Holy basket In ancient Greece and Rome, the first toy given to children was a rattle. As they grew older, they would receive different toys appropriate to their age: balls, dolls, moneyboxes, rattles, drums and so on. All these toys were kept in a basket. According to custom, adolescents would offer their toys to the divinity, and young girls had to keep them until their wedding day. At the time, most toys were made of clay.
Objects of luxury In 15^th- and 16^th-century Nuremberg (Germany), goldsmiths, jewellers, painters, and brass smelters all participated in the making of toys. Each of these craftsmen gave a personal touch to the amusing objects they were creating. Only aristocrats and the wealthy then had the privilege of owning toys.
Toye… toy The word “ toy ” dates back to the 15^th century. The origin of the word is uncertain. Around 1303, toye was used to signify an amorous playing or sport in Mannyng’s Handlyng Synne. [In French, the word “jué” appeared for the first time in the Album of Marguerite of Austria in 1523. It would later be spelled “jouet”.
Amusements for adults At court, the majority of toys were used to entertain adults. Those objects of amusement made for French, English, German and Dutch aristocrats can be described as luxurious and sophisticated. Dolls were made in the image of lady of the bourgeoisie with the finest of her jewelry and the most sumptuous of her dresses. Besides they travelled across Europe to spread Paris’ latest fashions. Other miniature objects including trowels, animals and cannons were made with precious materials such as gold, silver and copper.
Ideas on amusement and education Czech forerunner of human thought Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1670) and English philosopher John Locke (1602-1704) were both interested in education and knowledge. Comenius published a book for children filled with words and images of the real world. For his part, Locke maintained that toys contributed to the development of young children’s mind. Little by little, education specialists looked at toys in an educational perspective, as they started to admit the difference between children’s and adult’s personalities. The Genevan philosopher and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1780) emphasized the importance of games and toys within the society.
Roles and reality Around 1800, little girls would receive objects aimed at preparing them for their future role as a mother: a stoves and wooden kitchen utensils, tin dining room suites, and doll furniture. As for little boys, they would play with moulded and painted tin animals, toy soldiers, and all kinds of wooden floatable objects. At the time toys symbolized the distribution of roles between men and women and reproduced reality on a smaller scale then.
Everybody has fun With the Industrial Revolution of the 1870s, factories grew in number and production increased. Finishing work of specialized handcrafters was slowly replaced by mass production. Toys started being manufactured industrially. Materials changed to fit the ornamental style of that period. More widespread distribution led to lower prices. Every family could now have so-called "people's toys". However, some of them were still made to attract the wealthier customers.
From metal to plastic Little by little, toy manufacturers chose metal to replace wood and papier-mâché. In the late 1870s, toys made out of printed metal plate were very popular on the market: horse-drawn carriages, fire trucks, and toy stoves made little boys and girls happy. Around 1900, warships made of thick metal plates replaced the traditional sailing boat. From the 1950s, plastic became the most popular material. Technological progress was the source of major improvements in the field of moulding processes. Plastic was cheap, robust, light, and easy to mould, allowing for an important production.
Barbie and co. Urged by Ruth Handler who wanted to give her daughter a “model doll”, Jack Ryan created Barbie. Manufactured by Mattel and aimed at 12-year-old girls, Barbie dolls were first shown at the 1959 New York Toy Fair. Since then, Barbie’s face has changed and her body has become articulated. Her clothes followed fashion trends; she did many jobs throughout the years, as her popularity increased. Ken, her fiancé, and Skipper, her little sister, were created later. Barbie’s environment corresponds exactly to the “material enjoyment” idea conveyed by the consumer-oriented society.
A look at video games Created in 1961 by three American students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Spacewar was one of the first video games on computer. Two ships battle in space. The goal is to shoot down the opponent with missiles. In 1972, Nolan Bushnell invented Pong. This game is based on table tennis. The horizontal bar quickly became internationally renowned. The Japanese also had their share of the market with Space Invaders in 1978. On their tracks followed Pac Man and Mrs Pac Man, aimed at “seducing” female consumers. These new Japanese games were the starting point of Atari game consoles and Commodore and Apple microcomputers. In 1985, Nintendo got into the game. It was Sega’s turn in 1989, and Sony’s revolutionary Play Station was launched in 1994.