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03 July 2007

Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood

The moment I saw this creature, I knew it would not be a camera-free visit. (The little one in front is made from a wishbone, and the dolls from other bones.)Continuing the ingenuity theme, there were toys from Africa made from tin cans, and others from bits of wire and whatever.
A historical set of building bricks. It says "journal quilt" to me!
Knitting Nancy - happy memories - but did anyone ever use up the miles of cord produced? That rainbow wool is effective, in its own quiet way -
Among the teddy bears were these mad owls -
And among the wind-up toys were Gertie the Goose
this pig that trembled and flapped his ears -
and various other charming birds
Lovely rocking horses -
and sturdy walking horses -
This one has mythical overtones, to my eyes -
and some puppet horses from Indonesia -

Dolls - the museum has dolls from as far back as 1680. "Miss Revlon" is from the 1950s, her clothes made by an American(?) high school student -
Elizabeth R dates to 1953, a spin-off from the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
This 1840s doll with her pocket
comes complete with underwear, including the hip roll that made full skirts stand out from the figure so nicely -
This elegant lady from the 1780s stands before a replica of Kew Palace that was actually a wardrobe, with cupboard in the middle and lots of drawers in the wings on the sides.
Pincushion celebrating the birth of a baby - the lettering etc is made with tiny pins.
Throughout the museum there are places for kids to play
and in "the east end on holiday" exhibition, places for dads to sit about in deckchairs while the kids get serious about sand -This is one of my favourite games from childhoodand we couldn't resist trying on the historical bonnets -

1 comment:

  1. I have driven past this museum before when I lived in London, but never been in, now that I have kids who would enjoy it, I live in Yorkshire! It looks like a really special place. The attention to detail in many of the toys is amazing.

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