About the cover
Architectural toys and games are among a number of popular culture collections available for research in the library of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Montreal. This month’s cover features an illustration of Spear’s Model Village, a building toy from the CCA’s collection which was designed in England and produced around 1910 at the Spear Works in Bavaria. It was marketed as a civilizing and educational toy capable of providing “a splendid antidote to the child’s natural inclination to pull down and destroy. It teaches the joy of building up for construction, and spurs the healthy young imagination to weave beautiful fantasies around fictitious dwellers.” Spear’s Model Village was acquired with the support of Bell Canada. The illustration is reprinted with permission of Collection Centre Canadian d’Architecture/Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal. The centre’s other collections include souvenir buildings, commemorative china, medals, textiles, and printed ephemera.
About the Cover
