Museum Acquires Unique Collection

Short Description
Martin Moeller: How did your toy collecting get started? George Wetzel: It began about 25 years ago, when I. started to have my own family. …

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Content
blueprints Spring 2007
by Martin Moeller
Collections
Museum Acquires Unique Collection
Toy Story
The National Building Museum has acquired an extraordinary
collection of several thousand architectural toys, assembled
over the past few decades by George Wetzel, a now-retired
schoolteacher from Peotone, Illinois. Items in the collection, many
of which date to the 19th century, include simple building blocks,
sophisticated Erector Sets, and other kits used by children of various
ages to create miniature buildings and cities. Viewed together, these
toys not only trace the progress of construction technology, but also
reflect and illuminate dramatic shifts in domestic culture.
They are also tons of fun to see.
The Museum has begun the process of unpacking, cataloguing, and
storing the newly acquired toys, with an eye toward developing
future exhibitions based on this collection. Such exhibitions will
likely be irresistible to visitors of all ages-seniors and Baby Boomers
will see items that remind them of their own childhoods; young
adults will find plenty of objects they recognize even as they marvel
at the rich character of more historic pieces; and young children will
be intrigued and delighted by the craftsmanship that went into toys
in the pre-digital era….