String Dom

What a fun marionette!

Toy Theatre Group

I believe in networking and getting to know people interested in what you are interested in. It's the best way to learn more about your passion including resources, as well as find friends that share an interest.

For toy theatre enthusiasts, one newer resource out there to do just that is the Toy Theatre Yahoo group. If you're interested in learning more about toy theatres, or are already passionate about them, I encourage you to join.

Note: For those unfamiliar with Yahoo groups, they are simply a group you join where you can post messages and share information, ask questions, etc. Many groups, including this one, also provide links, text files, image files, etc. (members can contribute to these areas...)

Here is a printing press located in the heart of Pollock's Toy Museum. It may be very old, but it still works well. It's fun to see how the actual sheets are created! 

In the Bowels of Pollock's Toy Museum

Eddy Fawdry on the left, Hugo Green on the right here...in the bowels of Pollock's doing inventory. Now, to some, that might look like their idea of hell. To me, it would be my idea of heaven! If the walls could only talk... (Watch out for your head there, Eddy!) 

Inventorying History

Eddy Fawdry, owner of Pollock's Toy Museum in London, is on the right here. Mr. Fawdry has been conducting an extensive inventory of the museum's contents. From what I've been told, the goal is ambitous, considering the holdings number in the thousands, some of which have not been inventoried in some time! 

Christmas in July

I have received several packages in the mail this past week from very kind, very generous, fellow toy theatre fans. They've sent me penny plains, coloured, how-to booklets, article excerpts, and more. It will take time to fully digest all the content and appreciate it all, but it will be a joy, and an education.

I think I shall and find a good magnifier light; it's obvious my eyes will not be sufficient onto themselves working with such small cutting areas. I also need a good self-healing, composite cutting mat...

Tiny Steps

Today I bought my first tools. X-Acto knife, glues, watercolors. I have a penny plain sheet (thanks to Gigi...) that I will be trying my hand at coloring as soon as I can spare a few minutes.

But first, tomorrow I go on a field trip. I will be visiting the Institute for Regional Studies at NDSU, which is here where I live. While part of my goals tomorrow involve an ongoing family genealogy project, another main objective is to find out anything I can about local toy theatre history.

Fargo is a college town. With several universities and colleges, I've decided to take another approach in my research by contacting each of the schools' theatre departments, as well as local community theatre groups. So far, I have been able to ascertain at least one person who at one time collected and used toy theatre, and am currently awaiting a response on further contact information with their descendent(s).

Movable Books: Cousins to the Toy Theater?

Could some pop-up books be considered toy theatre?

Take a look at this example, currently up for bid on EBay - it is a reproduction of an pop-up book original published in the Victorian age, by someone named Lothar Meggendorder (1847-1925) "the father of the pop-up book"...

Your Assistance is Requested...

I started a Toy Theatre 'stub' on Wikipedia. I invite more knowledgeable toy theatre afficiados to contribute to the entry.

The goal? To help educate the public as well as provide a resource online at this much-consulted site, for our past time.

Smitten

I've been smitten by the toy theatre bug. I am as green as freshly mown hay, but am willing to learn. Part of my learning is to do what I can to share with others, thus the website and this blog.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to get down to Puppet Fest 2005. It's literally in my backyard in two weeks, and I can't figure out how to make it happen...yet.

Let me see...clone myself, and skip paying rent this month...yes...that'll work...!