Jim Heimann and Steven Heller’s “Toys” Covers a Decade of Toy Ads

While toys these days seems to be more concerned with safety regulations and political correctness than they are with the fun for intended users, this wasn’t always the case. Jim Heimann and Steven Heller aim to tackle this disconnect with the hardcover, coffee table tome Toys, 100 Years of All-American Toy Ads. Billed as a 525+ page hardcover odyssey that affords the reader the ability to “take a stroll down the aisles of America’s toy store”, this book covers the booming consumer culture of the 20th century that saw toys become a commodity that would define children for generations. What’s more, this comprehensive catalog compiles a decade of ads from all-time favorites to those that have been long forgotten. From Science kits and frilly dolls, to baseball mitts and decoder rings. So, you’re getting the full and complete picture of everything that made American consumption, culture, and consumerism something to behold–even in the last few decades.