The V&A Museum of Childhood just won itself a £244,500 grant to research, digitize and properly archive the papers of four toy classic toy companies. In what sounds like the basis for a Will Ferrell Christmas film, some lucky archivist will spend three years playing with Corgi cars, Sindy dolls, space hoppers, Action Man and Star Wars figures.
(Who would have thought being an archivist could be so much fun? Imagine the interview questions: "According to the opening credits of He-Man, only three others share his and Battle-Cat's secret. Name them, and in reverse-height order.")
The Museum, in Bethnal Green, holds an enviable pile of toys from the 1970s and 80s, along with paperwork documenting the creative processes behind them, but has so far lacked the cash to properly research and display the toys. We'd love to know what the inventor of the space hopper was smoking; thanks to the lottery grant, we'll soon find out.
By the way, did you know that there was a He-Man character called Fisto?
Image from g-hat's Flickr photostream.
