A permanent exhibition at Kecskemét's Sorakatenus Toy
Museum presents the development of toys in Hungary in a radically
new context. The first large group of objects have been brought
to light as part of archaeological findings: small horses carved
from bones, clay toys made by mediaeval guilds, and fragments of
board games with toy stones and dice. Mainly written records and
drawings help us visualize the many pieces of fine workmanship
that were made on order for aristocrats. Another specialty of this
exhibition is that it also presents the development of toy industry.
The first vocational schools for toy manufacturers were established
in Hungary in the 19th century. Toy making has great traditions
in the former Upper Hungary (currently belonging to Slovakia),
and in Transylvania (currently belonging to Romania). In addition
to small toy manufacturing plants established in Hungary, real
value is represented by unique, individual wooden toys and dolls
made by artist-craftsmen, using a range of decorative folk art
motifs. Independent design traditions developed in towns that were
centres for pilgrimages end fairs, and each region had its unique
characteristics.
Treasures of Hungarian toy history include masterwork copies of household utensils
in reduced scale, and some exceptionally valuable models for toys, all of which
are included in this precious collection.
The Sorakatenus Toy Museum and Workshop greeted the Millennium year and the approaching "Year
of Reading" with old children books - many richly illustrated tales and poems
published between 1820 and 1940 -, and with children magazines collected in deluxe
binding. The museum's collection has an abundance of valuable volumes, including
works of famous children book illustrators, such as Walter Crane, Arthur Rackham,
Kate Greenaway and Lothar Meggendorfer, not to mention classic tales published
in the early 1900s and illustrated with Bilibiny's gold-mounted images. The collection
also includes volumes of Hungarian folk tales in English, published in London
in the 1910s, decorated by Willy Pogány, who was of Hungarian origin.
