Co-First Place Catalog/Publication Winner of the 2014 Award For Excellence, given by the Association of Art Museum Curators
The Swedish toy industry has long produced vast quantities of colorful, quality wooden items that reflect Scandinavian design and craft traditions. This superbly illustrated book, including specially commissioned photography, looks at over 200 years of Swedish toys, from historic dollhouses to the latest designs for children. Featuring rattles, full-size rocking horses, dollhouses, and building blocks to skis, sleds, and tabletop games with intricate moving parts, Swedish Wooden Toys also addresses images of Swedish childhood, the role of the beloved red Dala horse in the creation of national identity, the vibrant tradition of educational toys, and the challenges of maintaining craft manufacturing in an era of global mass-production.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Amy F. Ogata and Susan Weber
Swedish Childhoods from the Era of Great Power to the Welfare State
Bengt Sandin
Depicting Swedish Children and Toys
Helena Lundin
Wooden Toy Manufacturing in Sweden
Peter Pluntky
BRIO: The Brothers Ivarsson in Osby
Solveig Nordh
The Wooden Horse that Became a National Symbol
Rune Bondjers
Dollhouses and Miniatures in Sweden
Birgitta Lindencrona
Playing and Learning: Wooden Educational Toys in Sweden
Amy F. Ogata
Sleds, Skis, and Ice Skates: Winter Sports Equipment for Children in Sweden, 1850-1960
Susan Weber
Selling Toys, Selling Ideas: Retailers, Producers, and Politics
Hedvig Hedqvist
Designing Wooden Toys in the Age of the Technological Imagination
Nina Stritzler-Levine
Children and Toys in Swedish Photographs
Maria Cristina Biagi and Emma Marconcini
Checklist of the Exhibition
Bibliography
About the Authors
Amy F. Ogata and Susan Weber
Swedish Childhoods from the Era of Great Power to the Welfare State
Bengt Sandin
Depicting Swedish Children and Toys
Helena Lundin
Wooden Toy Manufacturing in Sweden
Peter Pluntky
BRIO: The Brothers Ivarsson in Osby
Solveig Nordh
The Wooden Horse that Became a National Symbol
Rune Bondjers
Dollhouses and Miniatures in Sweden
Birgitta Lindencrona
Playing and Learning: Wooden Educational Toys in Sweden
Amy F. Ogata
Sleds, Skis, and Ice Skates: Winter Sports Equipment for Children in Sweden, 1850-1960
Susan Weber
Selling Toys, Selling Ideas: Retailers, Producers, and Politics
Hedvig Hedqvist
Designing Wooden Toys in the Age of the Technological Imagination
Nina Stritzler-Levine
Children and Toys in Swedish Photographs
Maria Cristina Biagi and Emma Marconcini
Checklist of the Exhibition
Bibliography
About the Authors
Contributors
Maria Cristina Biagi
Co-curator of the Collezione di giocattoli antichi, Roma Capitale - Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali
Rune Bondjers
Curator at the Dalarnas museum, Falun
Hedvig Hedqvist
Historian, journalistm and author specializing in design and architecture
Birgitta Lindencrona
Former Deputy Director, Research Division, Department of Education
Helena Lundin
Photo archivist at the Nordiska museet, Stockholm
Emma Marconcini
Co-curator of the Collezione di giocattoli antichi, Roma Capitale - Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali
Solveig Nordh
Manager of BRIO’s toy museum, BRIO Lekoseum
Amy F. Ogata
Professor of Art History at the University of Southern California and former professor at the Bard Graduate Center
Peter Pluntky
Creator of the Leksaksmuseum, Stockholm
Bengt Sandin
Professor in the Department of Child Studies at Linköpings Universitet, Sweden
Nina Stritzler-Levine
Director, Bard Graduate Center Gallery and Gallery Publications
Susan Weber
Founder and director of the Bard Graduate Center, Iris Horowitz Professor in the History of Decorative Arts
Co-curator of the Collezione di giocattoli antichi, Roma Capitale - Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali
Rune Bondjers
Curator at the Dalarnas museum, Falun
Hedvig Hedqvist
Historian, journalistm and author specializing in design and architecture
Birgitta Lindencrona
Former Deputy Director, Research Division, Department of Education
Helena Lundin
Photo archivist at the Nordiska museet, Stockholm
Emma Marconcini
Co-curator of the Collezione di giocattoli antichi, Roma Capitale - Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali
Solveig Nordh
Manager of BRIO’s toy museum, BRIO Lekoseum
Amy F. Ogata
Professor of Art History at the University of Southern California and former professor at the Bard Graduate Center
Peter Pluntky
Creator of the Leksaksmuseum, Stockholm
Bengt Sandin
Professor in the Department of Child Studies at Linköpings Universitet, Sweden
Nina Stritzler-Levine
Director, Bard Graduate Center Gallery and Gallery Publications
Susan Weber
Founder and director of the Bard Graduate Center, Iris Horowitz Professor in the History of Decorative Arts
