Toy Instruments: Design, Nostalgia, Music

By Eric Schneider

With toys from around the world, this book takes a look at musical toys made between the 1950s and the present day. It features design aspects of the toys and their packaging, and includes access to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0982075480
• ISBN13: 9780982075487
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: Mark Batty Publisher
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.5" x 1.0" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Fun, funky little package marred by obnoxious editorial captions

This is a fun, funky little book. It's chunky, square, and has a great design sensibility. The main drawback is that, in spite of the book's loving and enthusiastic approach, the author has crafted snide, derisive captions for each item like some sort of insecure schoolyard bully. Does this guy really need to prove that he's cooler than the Bee Gees rhythm machine or refer to another item as being "made by retards?"

Nostalgia and a Book of Fine Design

TOY INSTRUMENTS is subtitled 'Design Nostalgia Music' for a very good reason: despite its small size (6 1/2 X 6 1/2 X 1 inches) this is a treasure trove of more musical toys than probably any one of us has encountered. The collection is courtesy for Eric Schneider who has been collecting toy instruments since 1979 and here shares his compulsion with us. 'Electronic musical toys are the expression of our deepest dreams. They activate you personal creativity (even if you don't think you possess it.) The sound is often horrible but always impressive....They are pure fun, even when it is just for a minute. They have beautiful boxes with great art. etc'. And with that introduction we open this little toy book to discover more ideas and bits of history that imaginable. There are keyboards, drums, karaoke sets, weird machines that make mood noises, voice synthesizers and much much more. The pages are filled with excellent photographs of the toys, details from the packaging, and advertisements that draw the yearning buyer into the scheme of 'making your own kind of music.' It is a pleasure to share Schneider's collection and provide some moments of reflection to the good old days that are very fulfilling. Grady Harp, May 10