THE TOY SHOP IN WIMPOLE STREET
For a great read, please borrow or buy a copy of ANTONIO VITALI: CREATOR OF TOYS by Weingaten Publishers. This is a wise story about children told through the heart and hands of the magical Antonio Vitali (1909-2008).
"A toy made by lovingly observant parents, be it naive or unsophisticated, is preferable to mass-produced merchandise. It was created for the specific needs of that child, known by the parents." A.V.
We are taken on a tour of Wimpole Street where back in 1936, London's West End hosted Paul and Marjorie Abbatt, owners of a shop where "toys were seen primarily as a child's tools for development." Their Erno Goldfinger interior space was an exhibition of quality design. "Here was an uncrowded gallery of toys on the floor or on shelves and counters which were built at child height." Vitali's genius for natural, simple and stylized constructions were everywhere and invited the curious touch.
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