There are so few books that tackle the topic of tabletop theater, that when one turns up, I cannot help but feel obligated to celebrate it. Peter Baldwin, the owner and operator of Benjamin Pollock’s Toy Shop in London, wrote Toy Theatres of the World, and it is a gorgeous book filled with hundreds of black and white photos and color plates.
According to the dust jacket, Baldwin’s book "is the first publication in English to cover the subject of toy theatres worldwide," and at a scant 175 pages it is surprisingly comprehensive in its scope. Toy Theatres of the World has chapters devoted to: toy theatre in England; the papiertheater of Germany; dukketeater in Denmark; the kindertheater in Austria; and the Imagerie Français. No stone is left unturned as the model theatre movement is traced to Spain, Italy and Sweden. It even includes a chapter on toy theater publishers in North America, where the author suggests that many of the theatres in America were copied from English publications.
Peter Baldwin has gathered an astonishing collection of photographs of theatres and character sheets from leading publishers and designers from all over the world including: William West, Benjamin Pollock, J. S. Schreiber, and Theodor Guggenberger.
I do not doubt Peter Baldwin’s passion for his subject. Unfortunately his writing style is very dry, and mostly of scholarly interest. The following excerpt is an example of Baldwin's prose,
According to the dust jacket, Baldwin’s book "is the first publication in English to cover the subject of toy theatres worldwide," and at a scant 175 pages it is surprisingly comprehensive in its scope. Toy Theatres of the World has chapters devoted to: toy theatre in England; the papiertheater of Germany; dukketeater in Denmark; the kindertheater in Austria; and the Imagerie Français. No stone is left unturned as the model theatre movement is traced to Spain, Italy and Sweden. It even includes a chapter on toy theater publishers in North America, where the author suggests that many of the theatres in America were copied from English publications.
Peter Baldwin has gathered an astonishing collection of photographs of theatres and character sheets from leading publishers and designers from all over the world including: William West, Benjamin Pollock, J. S. Schreiber, and Theodor Guggenberger.
I do not doubt Peter Baldwin’s passion for his subject. Unfortunately his writing style is very dry, and mostly of scholarly interest. The following excerpt is an example of Baldwin's prose,
Other stage sizes quickly followed: series 'D' (just 35 x 39 cm) in 1892 and series 'A', the largest (106 x 80 cm), in 1906 (Fig 66). 1912 saw the launch of a new, smaller stage size (the 'F' series) heralded by the publication of an elegant moorish proscenium and character sheet for an adaptation of Aladdin (Pls XXII and XXIII).
I cannot imagine the difficulty of researching and writing about something as ephemeral as a one hundred year old children’s toy made of paper. I wish that there was more information about the personalities and style of the artists and designers involved. A short appendix is included that discusses a Russian Ballet that was created around various plates found at Benjamin Pollack’s shop. Between the photos of the ballet and the recollections of the various English authors previously mentioned I hungered for more about the inspiration that toy theatre has provided to artists.
Published in 1992 by A. Zwemmer Ltd. the book is out of print I am afraid, but you will find copies available at Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop.
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