Mes Avions-jouets - Meine Spielzeugflieger - My Toy Airplanes: 1910-1960

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh was the first aviator to venture to fly solo across the Atlantic, and that same year the manufacturer J. M. L. produced a toy version of his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis. These tinplate or sheet-iron planes were based on blurry black-and-white photographs of airplanes, and thus early twentieth-century toy manufacturers permitted themselves a great deal of artistic license. The biplanes and propeller planes by Marklin, Tipp & Co., Distler, Gunthermann, Rossignol, Joustra, INGAP, Paya, or Rico were colorful, and their technical details lacked accuracy. This extensive catalogue carefully presents these naively-designed yet true masterpieces in words and images-besides long-range and record-breaking aircraft, it features hydroplanes, military planes, autogiros (the predecessor to the helicopter), as well as carousels and other flying toys.