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Pollock's Toy Museum
London
Benjamin Pollock was a highly influential figure in the toy industry at the turn of the century. He used to print toy theatres (or paper theatres) which children could use at home to stage their own productions using paper cut-outs as props and characters. The museum, after whom it is named, dedicates itself to the English tradition of toy theatres, and has vast amounts of puppets, stages and other theater paraphernalia on show.
For the small admission charge, you get to see a hell of a lot of toy-related history and, for some, take a nostalgic trip back in time. It's spread over four floors, the ground floor devoted to Pollock himself. It's a toy shop in its own right, with the whole museum above it (so it acts as the museum shop as well). The first floor (each floor is accessed by staircase) contains four rooms containing construction and mechanical toys; English tin toys and puppets; wax dolls; and teddy bears and dolls' houses respectively. At the top of the second staircase is a room full of more dolls made from various different materials (wood, china, celluloid) and, beyond that on the top floor, is a toy theatre workshop.
