Hardback with dust jacket,size 8vo,278 pages.Illustrated with b/w plates.Boards & dust jacket show some light edge wear & marking + light bumping & creasing.Light marking to the fore edges otherwise contents clean & complete.Most items will incur extra charges for international shipping.These can be substantial for orders outside of Europe.Please consider this before buying.

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Bibliographic Details

Title: The British Toy Business: A History since 1700
Publisher: The Hambledon Press
Publication Date: 1996
Language: English
ISBN 10: 1852851368
ISBN 13: 9781852851361
Binding: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Edition
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

At its height British toymaking was a significant industry, with famous names such as Britains and Meccano known throughout the world. While in essence a specialized form of small-scale engineering, its products and market have always been unique, reflecting the current priorities of both parents and children. This work provides an example of the development of a specific industry over a period of 300 years. Many early toys were homemade. From the 18th century, with its growing recognition of children as something other than small adults, date the beginnings of specialized toys, usually produced by small workshops and sold by street sellers. The 19th century, with its industrial growth and middle-class prosperity, saw an expansion of toymaking. The 1960s and 1970s were the most successful years of British toymaking, with companies like Lesney making record profits. Yet the British toy makers failed to solve a number of fundamental problems. Marketing and financial control remained weak, and British companies were slow to realise the potential of computerized games. Following an unexpected sudden downturn in sales at a time of high interest rates, the major names in British toy making, Lesney, Airfix, Mettoy and Dunbee Combex Marx, all collapsed between 1979 and 1985, leaving the business to be dominated largely by importers.

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