Toys from the past star in new museum exhibition

A vintage toy exhibition is currently taking place at a Scots museum.

Arbuthnot Museum in Peterhead. opened in 1893 and it celebrates Peterhead’s maritime history by displaying model boats, historic photographs, whaling and Inuit artefacts and arctic animals like polar bears.

The vintage toys exhibition has been launched by Aberdeenshire Council under their developmental and cultural scheme, Live Life Aberdeenshire.

The toys on display date from the Victorian era to the mid 20th century – some of the pieces include a rocking horse over 150 years old, a Russian pecking hen set, and miniature vehicles by Corgi and Dinky.

The display shows the different materials which were used in the making of toys. Wood was most commonly used up until the 1850s; with the boom the industrial revolution thereafter, new technologies were used. Tinplate and plastic were in common use by mid 20th century.

Fiona Clark, Aberdeenshire Council’s museums development coordinator said: ‘This exhibition brings together toys of bygone days from the collections of Aberdeenshire Council Museums Service, many of which have been donated by local people.

‘Children have always valued their toys as playthings and companions to be loved, abused and discarded according to mood and whim. But it is adults who have elevated toys to the display cabinet.’

David Cook MBE, Live Life Aberdeenshire’s sub-committee chair, said: ‘This is a nostalgic exhibition and I’m sure many will recognise some of the toys on display which reflect not only changing technology, but also the society in which these toys were first popular.’

Councillor Anne Stirling, communities committee chair, said: ‘It is interesting to see items indigenous to the North East on show and there is a fine example of a gird and cleek, a popular street toy among working-class children. I hope everyone will get a chance to come along and enjoy the exhibition which runs until mid-June.’