Magic Land Of Toys

More than 500 rare and beautiful toys from the renowned collection of Paris' Musie des Arts Dicoratifs are photographed by Pintado in tableaux of children's playrooms from 1870 to the present. These unearthly photographs alternate with text by Manguel that mingles the real and the imaginary, retelling both well-known and obscure children's stories.

Here is an unusual, charming book of toys, games, and children's literature, written by the author of "The Dictionary of Imaginary Places." More than 500 rare and beautiful toys from the renowned collection of Paris' Musie des Arts Dicoratifs are photographed by Michel Pintado in tableaux of children's playrooms from 1870 to the present. These unearthly photographs -- amusing, moving, intriguing, and at times, terrifying -- alternate with text by Alberto Manguel that mingles the real and the imaginary, truth and fiction, retelling both well-known and obscure children's stories.