Toys reflect the situation and developments in real life. Since the early 1900s there was an increased interest in dynamic toys—trains, cars, ships. But during the 1800s and before, toys were mainly static, like these antique tin figures by Ernst Heinrichsen (Germany). These hand-painted figures depict scenes from daily life in the city and countryside, but also from African, South American, Egyptian, and Arab cultures. The choice to represent these non-European people is striking, especially considering Prussian, French, Russian, or English themes would have been more expected at the time. Figures like these rarely show up today and offer a glimpse into how global imagination shaped toy production in the 19th century.
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