Showcases

The word Taxicab comes from a contraction of “taximeter” and “cabriolet”, coined by Harry Nathaniel Allen, who founded the New York Taxicab Company in 1907. The taximeter, a mechanical device […]

The word ambulance comes from the Spanish word ambulancia, which was first used in the 15th century. Rooted in the Latin ambulare which means “to walk or move about”,  ambulancia […]

If you’re a collector of vintage plastic toys, you may have heard of the name Islyn Thomas (O.B.E.), an influential plastics engineer and businessman who was inducted into the Plastics […]

The colourful, whimsical carnival rides we call carousels today actually emerged out of a middle-eastern combat training exercise dating to the 12th century! In the 1100s, European crusaders witnessed Arabic […]

In 1938, the Bergen Toy and Novelty Co (Beton) was the first toymaker to make plastic American army men, which - despite their disposability - have now achieved immortal iconic status.

We all know this classic wheeled toy has been a childhood staple for a while, but did you know pull toys date back to ancient times...

Hubley is probably best known for their cast iron toys of the early 20th century, but they also made a wide (and popular) range of plastic toys for decades, following post-WWII manufacturing changes.