SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE
TOY SOLDIERS FROM 1893-1971This neat display traces the influences of and on the toy soldier business following the Industrial Revolution and through two world wars, the Great Depression, and the rise of environmental and health regulations. About 2500 lead, composition, and plastic soldiers with toy tanks, aircraft, and ships of the time give a miniature view of both the economic and military times of the 20th Century. Britains hollowcast lead soldiers show how lead soldiers took childhoods by storm and weathered all kinds of historical storms. American dimestore lead soldiers of the 1930s reflect the deprivations and opportunities of the Great Depression. German composition soldiers of the Third Reich show how toy soldiers could be pressed into serving the political and propaganda aims of the powers that be. Military toys of World War II are an intriguing look at the home front and how the war converted every aspect of industry and the economy into the war effort. Plastic soldiers of the 1960s show the effects of environmental and health laws. The history will appeal to scholars while the colorfully painted uniforms and toys will appeal to children of all ages.
Display Cases of Toy Soldiers
Display cases with about 2,500 toy soldiers
Lead Soldiers
Britain's lead soldiers from the 1890s to the 1950s
Toy Soldiers from the 1930s
Dimestore lead soldiers and German Nazi composition soldiers of the 1930s
Toy soldiers of Post-WWII
Post-WWII lead soldiers of Europe and plastic toy soldiers of the 1960s
Toy Soldiers
Britain's lead soldiers; US Marine Corps Band, 1950s
German Toy Soldiers
German composition soldiers of the 1930s; Nazi personalities and stormtroopers