Creative Playthings
Encyclopedia
Creative Playthings was an educational toy store and catalogue that was established by Frank
and Theresa Caplan
in 1945. The goal of Creative Playthings was to provide simple and beautifully designed toys to promote a child’s creativity and imagination.
The original Creative Playthings store was located at 102 West 95th Street in New York City
(which they eventually moved to Madison Avenue and 72nd Street). Initially, Frank Caplan made hardwood building blocks himself to sell in their store, often cutting and sanding the sets while parents waited in the shop. He then added animals, people, vehicles and other toys. Caplan believed that providing unpainted abstract forms that emphasized shape, color and texture, as opposed to life-like details, would stimulate a child’s imagination. In collaboration with Martha New, Caplan also designed sets of large plain maple cubes that young children could rearrange into various forms and furniture. Known as "Hollow Blocks," these and other designs exemplified notions of “unstructured play,” in which creative usage could be shaped by the individual child instead of determined by the manufacturer.
As Caplan wrote in the first Creative Playthings' catalogue in 1949: "Play has a basic role in the drama of a child's development. It is a serious business for the child, his true means of learning and growing...Every child should have a wide variety of play materials to evoke in him a spirit of inquiry; to develop physical manipulation to the fullest; to stimulate creative expression. He requires not only the miniatures of real objects in the adult world, but also building blocks, clay, finger paints, et cetera, that he can adapt to his particular needs."
(MoMA) in New York City. In 1949, the children’s room and playroom of Marcel Breuer
’s "House in the Museum Garden" (a model one-family home in the east end of the MoMA sculpture garden) was composed almost entirely of Creative Playthings objects and designs, including their "Hollow Blocks." The exhibit was a tremendous success and received considerable publicity, including praise from Eleanor Roosevelt
, who commented, "I particularly like the children's playroom with nothing but those hollow blocks which could be made into furniture and still remain toys." An article in The New Yorker
also praised Creative Playthings' designs for their innovative and unconventional approach: "If the present kindergarten generation develops, when it has grown up, some rather horrid mass psychosis, I shall certainly be the first to blame it on the general vulgarity of the nursery decoration that our young exposed to. Parents who share my mistrust of cloying pink or blue color schemes, of the ubiquitous Donald Duck motif, and of the sort of furniture that looks like stunted examples of humdrum pieces should by all means investigate the nursery paraphernalia to be found at Creative Playthings."
After the Breuer house, the Museum of Modern Art
(MoMA) and Woman's Home Companion
cosponsored another model house in the garden featuring Creative Playthings' designs, this time by Los Angeles
architect Gregory Ain
. The modern "Hollow Blocks" and durable wood toy designs became much sought-after and in 1950 Creative Playthings was incorporated with Frank Caplan as president and Bernard Barenholtz as vice president. Incorporation allowed Caplan and Barenholtz to expand Creative Playthings in order to supply educational toys and equipment to schools.
, Louis Kahn
, Henry Moore
, and Robert Winston on comprehensive playground designs - although some of these designs were not fully realized. He also collaborated with numerous international artists to design playground equipment, such as the Swedish sculptor, Egon Möller-Nielsen
’s fiberglass helical slide.
In 1953, Creative Playthings again joined with the Museum of Modern Art
(MoMA) and Parents Magazine to co-sponsor a nationwide contest for imaginative playground design, resulting in a series of award-winning abstract outdoor equipment known as “Play Sculptures” designed by young artists. Stemming from Frank Caplan’s commitment to children in urban contexts, Creative Playthings sought to rethink urban play space and redefine the traditional jungle gym through modern art, encouraging children to explore different shapes, textures and spaces and use their imagination in active play.
to design a series of “Playforms” - smooth sculpted animals, vehicles, and figures in wood that fit neatly into a child's hands. The abstract "Playforms" became signature pieces of Creative Playthings and were highly praised by numerous design magazines and organizations, such as Interiors and Arts and Architecture.
In the early 1960s, Creative Playthings was the first company to manufacture and sell kalimbas designed by Ethnomusicologist, Hugh Tracey
. They commissioned other musical instruments, including Xylopipes, a xylophone
using hollow metal tubes, designed by John Rosenbaum
.
In 1967, Caplan introduced the first anatomically correct dolls to the U.S., which was met with some controversy.
purchased Creative Playthings as part of its move to corner the educational material and media market. Frank Caplan stayed on for two years as a consulting director and in 1968 became president of the CBS Learning Center. He eventually resigned in 1969. In the mid-1980s, CBS sold the Creative Playthings name to a playground equipment company in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Frank Caplan
Frank Caplan was a youth worker, educator, folk toy collector, and pioneer in developing and manufacturing educational toys for children...
and Theresa Caplan
Theresa Caplan
Theresa Caplan was an American twentieth-century scholar of early childhood development and a collector of worldwide toys. Working with her husband Frank, she wrote multiple acclaimed books and built a massive collection of toys that is now part of a significant museum.Born on 6 June 1913, Caplan...
in 1945. The goal of Creative Playthings was to provide simple and beautifully designed toys to promote a child’s creativity and imagination.
The original Creative Playthings store was located at 102 West 95th Street in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(which they eventually moved to Madison Avenue and 72nd Street). Initially, Frank Caplan made hardwood building blocks himself to sell in their store, often cutting and sanding the sets while parents waited in the shop. He then added animals, people, vehicles and other toys. Caplan believed that providing unpainted abstract forms that emphasized shape, color and texture, as opposed to life-like details, would stimulate a child’s imagination. In collaboration with Martha New, Caplan also designed sets of large plain maple cubes that young children could rearrange into various forms and furniture. Known as "Hollow Blocks," these and other designs exemplified notions of “unstructured play,” in which creative usage could be shaped by the individual child instead of determined by the manufacturer.
As Caplan wrote in the first Creative Playthings' catalogue in 1949: "Play has a basic role in the drama of a child's development. It is a serious business for the child, his true means of learning and growing...Every child should have a wide variety of play materials to evoke in him a spirit of inquiry; to develop physical manipulation to the fullest; to stimulate creative expression. He requires not only the miniatures of real objects in the adult world, but also building blocks, clay, finger paints, et cetera, that he can adapt to his particular needs."
Museum of Modern Art exhibition
Beginning in 1949, Creative Playthings embarked on a series of collaborations with the Museum of Modern ArtMuseum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
(MoMA) in New York City. In 1949, the children’s room and playroom of Marcel Breuer
Marcel Breuer
Marcel Lajos Breuer , was a Hungarian-born modernist, architect and furniture designer of Jewish descent. One of the masters of Modernism, Breuer displayed interest in modular construction and simple forms.- Life and work :Known to his friends and associates as Lajkó, Breuer studied and taught at...
’s "House in the Museum Garden" (a model one-family home in the east end of the MoMA sculpture garden) was composed almost entirely of Creative Playthings objects and designs, including their "Hollow Blocks." The exhibit was a tremendous success and received considerable publicity, including praise from Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
, who commented, "I particularly like the children's playroom with nothing but those hollow blocks which could be made into furniture and still remain toys." An article in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
also praised Creative Playthings' designs for their innovative and unconventional approach: "If the present kindergarten generation develops, when it has grown up, some rather horrid mass psychosis, I shall certainly be the first to blame it on the general vulgarity of the nursery decoration that our young exposed to. Parents who share my mistrust of cloying pink or blue color schemes, of the ubiquitous Donald Duck motif, and of the sort of furniture that looks like stunted examples of humdrum pieces should by all means investigate the nursery paraphernalia to be found at Creative Playthings."
After the Breuer house, the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
(MoMA) and Woman's Home Companion
Woman's Home Companion
Woman's Home Companion was an American monthly publication, published from 1873 to 1957. It was highly successful, climbing to a circulation peak of more than four million during the 1930s and 1940s....
cosponsored another model house in the garden featuring Creative Playthings' designs, this time by Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
architect Gregory Ain
Gregory Ain
Gregory Ain was an American architect active in the mid-20th century. Working primarily in the Los Angeles area, Ain is best known for bringing elements of modern architecture to lower- and medium-cost housing.- Biography :...
. The modern "Hollow Blocks" and durable wood toy designs became much sought-after and in 1950 Creative Playthings was incorporated with Frank Caplan as president and Bernard Barenholtz as vice president. Incorporation allowed Caplan and Barenholtz to expand Creative Playthings in order to supply educational toys and equipment to schools.
Furniture and playground equipment
In addition to manufacturing toys for school and home use, Creative Playthings developed children’s furniture and outdoor play environments. Frank Caplan worked with such notable artists, architects, and designers as Isamu NoguchiIsamu Noguchi
was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces,...
, Louis Kahn
Louis Kahn
Louis Isadore Kahn was an American architect, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935...
, Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
, and Robert Winston on comprehensive playground designs - although some of these designs were not fully realized. He also collaborated with numerous international artists to design playground equipment, such as the Swedish sculptor, Egon Möller-Nielsen
Egon Möller-Nielsen
Egøn Möller-Nielsen , was an architect and sculptor.-See also:*Alvar Aalto...
’s fiberglass helical slide.
In 1953, Creative Playthings again joined with the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
(MoMA) and Parents Magazine to co-sponsor a nationwide contest for imaginative playground design, resulting in a series of award-winning abstract outdoor equipment known as “Play Sculptures” designed by young artists. Stemming from Frank Caplan’s commitment to children in urban contexts, Creative Playthings sought to rethink urban play space and redefine the traditional jungle gym through modern art, encouraging children to explore different shapes, textures and spaces and use their imagination in active play.
Later partnerships
In 1954, Frank Caplan began a close collaboration with Swiss toymaker Antonio VitaliAntonio Vitali
Antonio Vitali was a Swiss toy designer and maker known for creating handmade wooden toys. In addition to his own workshop in Zurich, Switzerland, he also had a long relationship as toy designer with the U.S. toy company, Creative Playthings....
to design a series of “Playforms” - smooth sculpted animals, vehicles, and figures in wood that fit neatly into a child's hands. The abstract "Playforms" became signature pieces of Creative Playthings and were highly praised by numerous design magazines and organizations, such as Interiors and Arts and Architecture.
In the early 1960s, Creative Playthings was the first company to manufacture and sell kalimbas designed by Ethnomusicologist, Hugh Tracey
Hugh Tracey
Hugh Tracey was an important twentieth century ethnomusicologist. He and his wife collected and archived music from Southern and Central Africa. He began making field recordings of music in the early 20's, through the 70's....
. They commissioned other musical instruments, including Xylopipes, a xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
using hollow metal tubes, designed by John Rosenbaum
John Rosenbaum
John Rosenbaum , was an American educator and kinetic sculptor, associated with the San Francisco Renaissance and the counterculture of the 1960s.-Biography:...
.
In 1967, Caplan introduced the first anatomically correct dolls to the U.S., which was met with some controversy.
Acquisition
In 1966, CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
purchased Creative Playthings as part of its move to corner the educational material and media market. Frank Caplan stayed on for two years as a consulting director and in 1968 became president of the CBS Learning Center. He eventually resigned in 1969. In the mid-1980s, CBS sold the Creative Playthings name to a playground equipment company in Framingham, Massachusetts.