Dan Fern (British, B. 1945) "Children's Playthings" Original Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting originally appeared on the Fleetwood First Day Cover of the Great Britain 35p Toys and Games stamp issued May 16, 1989. Child's play is sometimes much more than that. It's partly fun but many of the activities of children also help them learn as they grow and prepare for adult life. Toys and play have even earned a role in formal education. Toward the end of the 17th century, primers began to appear under such alluring titles as The Child's Delight (1671) -- though by today's standards it is difficult to imagine a child finding much joy in this book. Then, in 1742, Mary Cooper published the much more amusing The Child's New Play-thing, which presented a folding sheet of letters, each backed by a clever alphabet-based verse. The letters were designed "to be cut into single Square for Children to play with," hence giving the child something to shuffle and arrange while savoring such lines as "A was an Archer and shot at a Frog." The steps from Mary Cooper's ingenious book to alphabetic flash cards and building blocks were very short ones indeed, and manufacturers soon were producing both in large quantities -- along with a host of other inventive educational toys intended to instruct as well as entertain. In time, books were even written to give children ideas for pure amusement. William Clarke's The Boy's Own Book, first published in 1828, went through more than twenty editions in Great Britain and the United States. In 1832, The Girls's Own Book by American author L.M. Child was almost equally successful. Image Size: 17.5 x 18.25 in. Overall Size: 21 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B12021) See More