Toy Steam Accessories (Shire Library)

This album deals with a once neglected area of toy collecting, the multitude of different accessories produced for use with the vast range of stationary steam engines. These toys range from ferris wheels to fountains and include a variety of machine tools and a large number of working men, including the intriguing sausagemaker. This book describes the principal types of accessory and covers the heyday of production between the two world wars, giving information about the major firms that manufactured them, especially the great German toymakers. It chronicles the history of steam accessories from their beginnings in the nineteenth century to the virtual end brought about by the great depression of the 1930s and by the Second World War. It describes the production techniques and gives a number of tips on the collecting and care of accessories.