Images Courtesy of The Strong, Rochester, New York
Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play
The Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play is a multidisciplinary research repository devoted to the intellectual, social, and cultural history of play. In addition to housing the personal library and papers of eminent play scholar Brian Sutton-Smith, the 187,000-volume research library and archives holds a full spectrum of primary and secondary resources, including scholarly works, popular and children’s books, professional journals, other periodicals, trade catalogs, comics, manuscripts, game design materials, personal papers, and business records.
Access to Collections
Thousands of artifacts from The Strong’s collections are on view in museum exhibits. Tens of thousands of objects are accessible through the museum’s rapidly growing online collections database. Further, the online catalog of the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play provides a window in The Strong’s vast collection of books and trade publications. On-site access to the full museum collection is available to scholars, students, collectors, and other researchers by appointment.
Exhibits
Collections
Toy, Doll, Game, and Related Collections
Currently numbering more than 72,000 artifacts, The Strong’s toy collections are recognized as one of the most comprehensive aggregations of such things for play anywhere. The contents range from alphabet blocks, construction sets, and teddy bears to airplanes, trains, mechanical banks, and more. Individually and collectively, they reflect the events, trends, and cultural values of the various times from which they sprang. Those noted below represent some of the most popular and historically significant groupings in the collections.
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