Playing Soldier: the Books and Toys That Prepared Children for War, 1871–1918

Hannibal Soldier, Statesman, Patriot And The Crisis Of The Struggle Between Carthage And Rome by William O'Connor Morris. Published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1897. Red cloth. The book ...

Three books on Violins and Violin Makers. Known Violin Makers by John H. Fairfield. New York: The Bradford Press, Inc. 1942. Stated first edition hardcove...

1st Ed softcover "Skulls: An Exploration of Alan Dudley's Curious Collection" by Simon Winchester and a hardcover "Animal Skulls: A Guide to North American Species" by Mark Elbroch. ...

Small Endearments, 19th century quilts for children by Sandi Fox. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1985. Signed and inscribed hardcover with dust jacket. 164 pp. An overview of the...

Author Susanna Salk Dream Rooms for Children presents excellent designs for kids' rooms, featuring stylish spaces created by well-known designers, parents, and even the kids thems...

Lot of 62 late 1960s-1970s toy soldiers, weapons and vehicles by Britains Ltd. Lot includes: 47 total soldiers (mostly plastic with metal bases, three all plastic, and two in Jeep metal), 13 guns / cannons / pieces of artillery (one by Crescent Toy Co.), one boat, and one Land Rover. "The "W. Britain" brand name of toy and collectable soldiers is derived from a company founded by William Britain Jr., a British toy manufacturer, who in 1893 invented the process of hollow casting in lead, and revolutionized the production of toy soldiers. In 1907 the family proprietorship, William Britain & Sons, incorporated as "Britains, Ltd". The Britain family controlled the firm until 1984 when it was sold to a British conglomerate, Dobson Park Industries. They combined the operations with an existing line of toys and renamed the company Britains Petite, Ltd. In the early 1950s Britains was associated with W. Horton Toys and Games which made the die-cast Lilliput ranges of small-scale, rather generic, cars and trucks and other vehicles. In 1959, Britains acquired Herald Miniatures which produced plastic figures designed by Roy Selwyn-Smith. In the 1950s, besides soldiers, a variety of vehicles began to appear, mostly in the military field. In 1966 safety regulations in the United Kingdom combined with rising costs halted the production of lead toy soldiers. Britains shifted most production of Herald plastic to Hong Kong from 1966. In 1971 Britains started Deetail plastic figures with metal bases that were initially manufactured in England but later outsourced to China. In 1973 Britains introduced New Metal models, which are die cast in a durable alloy. Initially these sets were aimed at the British souvenir market. In 1983 Britains responded to a growing collectors' market by introducing additional models and limited edition sets. In 1997, Britains Petite, Ltd was bought by Ertl Company of Iowa, a maker of die-cast toys. Ertl was subsequently bought by RC2 LLC, another American die-cast miniature and plastic kit maker. At this time, production of toy soldiers was moved to China. In 2011, Japanese-headquartered toy company Tomy acquired RC2 which included the Britains die-cast farm miniatures range. In 2005, the W. Britains brand was acquired by First Gear...

Antique mechanical toy ambitiously crafted with a metal mechanism moved by a crank in the back, sending civil war union soldiers, carved in pine...

‘A perfect introduction to art for parents and children to enjoy together.’ – The Guardian A brand-new combined, revised, and expanded edition of the ground-breaking, iconic art boo...