Normally, I wouldn’t use my blog for anything other than Fernand Martin toys.
Now, I’m making an exception for this book.
It’s written by a friend of mine who lives in Russia and with whom I’ve been writing for quite some time.
I provide him with articles about Russian toys that I find in old archives, primarily French ones.
He sends me articles and tips about Martin toys and other interesting toys he finds in Russia.
This book with 256 pages, is a book dedicated to some major 1930-1950 Soviet mechanical toys. In fact, the book is not so much about toys per se but rather an effort to challenge the established paradigm and view the events of the first half of the twentieth century through the lens of toy heritage, thus placing a toy as a historical object in different in-depth contexts and considering it from a social, cultural, artistic and aesthetic viewpoint, and making it a full-fledged hero of its time that has finally been “given the floor”. The language is in Russian
This book just went off the press in mid-January.
He also used a photo of one of my Martins in this book, like the “Le Gay Violoniste” by Fernand Martin.
Although the book is primarily about the Soviet era toys etc, the context requires to include a couple of European toys.
Given the situation, he has big concerns posting the book from Russia, as it might be lost in transit. That said, the book is available in Finland at a Helsinki book shop and they ship worldwide.
Are you interested in ordering? here is the link: https://ruslania.com/en/search/general/?q=%D0%95%D0%B2%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9+%D1%81%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2&e=10&avail=1&screen_type=mobile