Research on Antiques & Collectibles

There is a long-standing interest that seems to be growing of collecting Antique Toy Soldiers or troops and battalions of these metallic Lilliputians. The most widely known organization for Antique Soldier collectors is the Miniature Figure Collectors of America, that regularly convenes at various locations where avid collectors and dealers meet in admiration of the miniature martial arts. In these collectors meetings, many awards are usually handed out with a categorical diversification rivaling the Oscars. To the regular person, this may seem a passion appropriate only to...  Read Full Story

Toys, games and dolls are all of ancient origin. In one form or another all are shown or discussed in the earliest surviving records of all civilized societies, and evidence of their existence is not uncommon in archeologists' digs of pre-historic civilizations. In all societies and in all ages, toys have served a valuable dual function, first as a means of entertainment but more importantly (and perhaps less obviously) that of introducing the child to the realities of the world into which he was growing.  Until fairly recent times the vast majority of children's toys and dolls were home made. At the most elementary level, the child created and, in fact, still creates, his own playthings out of sticks, pebbles and cast-offs from....   Read Full Story

Joshua Logan, who has directed a good many notable names on Broadway and in Hollywood, keeps some of his favorite performers at home. This special troupe—an entourage of twirling ballerinas, somersaulting acrobats, a smiling conjurer, even a mock-ferocious tiger—is frequently put through its paces by the veteran producer-director, who knows a good cast when he sees one. "You see why I love them?" asked Mr. Logan recently, glancing toward the company of mechanical dolls he had just bidden to perform in his New York apartment, where they reside on mantels and tables, peek out from under chairs or stand sentinel in doorways. Activated by a simple turn of a key, these automata, as the dolls are technically known, were going through...  Read Full Story