List 02. Archival Collections Related to Artifacts of Play
Record Group
Identifier: List 02
Collections within the archives that relate to playthings, collectors, traditional toy and game companies, and other materials that provide unique windows into the many facets of play.
Found in 109 Collections and/or Records:
Riddle Rhymes manuscript
File — Box Individual Manuscripts
Identifier: 114.5987
Abstract
This manuscript, titled "Riddle Rhymes," contains poems and short stories about riddles, rhymes, and jokes. It was written by Dwight Edward Martin, c. 1945.
Robert C. Smith playground design concept sketches
Collection
Identifier: 122.1581
Abstract
These drawings of various playground design concepts were created by Robert C. Smith. The majority are unlabeled and undated, though several denote "concept sketch for water-play area, Personalized Way Child Care, Ross Rd., Jan. 8, 1985."
Robert M. Johanns Bridge Robot design drawings
Item — Box Individual Manuscripts
Identifier: 118.2166
Abstract
This file documents the creation of a "Bridge Robot" playing card tile sorting device designed by Robert M. Johanns (1897-1971), who resided in Rochester, New York and worked as an engineer for General Electric. These pages include notes, sketches, and detailed diagrams of the parts to his "Bridge Robot." Accompanying these documents is a provenance letter with biographical details on Johanns from his nephew, Paul Scheeler, dated 2018.
Ron Dubren papers
Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 111.7048
Abstract
The Ron Dubren papers are a compilation of correspondence, game designs, notes, drawings, product descriptions, and paper prototypes created by Ron Dubren throughout his career in the toy and game industry. This collection also includes reference materials and an oral history recorded in 2008. The bulk of the materials are dated from 1980 through 2002.
Scrapbook of clippings on dolls
Item — Box Individual Manuscripts
Identifier: 2018.scrap
Abstract
This scrapbook about dolls was made by an unidentified creator using magazine and newspaper clippings from 1939-1940 in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Topics cover antique shows, doll collectors, doll theft ("Sally Simmons"), dolls' clothing, portrait dolls, miniatures for dolls' houses, puppets, and more. Magazines clipped include Vogue, Life, and the Saturday Evening Post.
Second and third grade compositions notebook
File — Box Individual Manuscripts
Identifier: 92.79
Abstract
This composition notebook contains handwritten notes and writing exercises, including nursery rhymes and lines from well-known literature. The author is Mabel R. Fenner, who likely also penned the later annotation "Pencil pages may be 2nd grade or 3rd, ink pages marked 3rd grade."
Seventh and eighth grade compositions notebook
File — Box Individual Manuscripts
Identifier: 92.81
Abstract
This composition notebook, with labels of "Seventh Grade Compositions 1915 + 1916" and "8th Grade Compositions 1916-1917," contains handwritten notes, outlines, and essays. The author is Mabel R. Fenner, with the seventh grade teacher's name written as Miss Marylee Stillman.
Seventh-grader notes and notebook
File — Box Individual Manuscripts
Identifier: 98.270-98.271-98.272
Abstract
This collection of notes and a notebook documents seventh-grade friendship (and drama) between several female students at a Rochester, New York-area middle school. These notes represent a favorite pastime of teenage girls of the 1980s and 1990s: note-folding and note-passing.
Sid Sackson collection
Collection — Box 1-48: [Sid Sackson collection]
Identifier: 2016.sackson
Abstract
The Sid Sackson collection is a compilation of diaries, correspondence, notes, game descriptions, and publications created or used by Sid Sackson during his lengthy career in the toy and game industry. The bulk of the materials are from between 1960 and 1995.
Digitized diaries and related documentation can be accessed throughThe Sid Sackson Portal .
Digitized diaries and related documentation can be accessed through
Spin Master Ltd. records
Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 2017.spin
Abstract
The Spin Master Ltd. records are a fully-digital compilation of toy designs, photographs, videos, publicity, and historical documentation on Spin Master. The bulk of the materials are from 1994 and 2013-2016.