Playmakers : the Jewish entrepreneurs who created the toy industry in America / Michael Kimmel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kimmel, Michael S., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Michtom, Morris.

Michtom, Rose Katz, 1867-1937.

Michtom, Rose Katz.

Ideal Toy Corporation--History.

Ideal Toy Corporation.

Jewish artisans--United States--History--20th century.

Jewish artisans.

Jews--United States--History--20th century.

Jews.

Toy industry--United States--History--20th century.

Toy industry.

Toymakers--United States--History--20th century.

Toymakers.

United States--Social life and customs--20th century.

United States.

Entrepreneurship--United States--History.

Entrepreneurship.

Jewish artisans--History.

Jews--History.

Toy industry--History.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xii, 418 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Jewish entrepreneurs who created the toy industry in America

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : W. W. Norton & company [2026]

Summary:

Playmakers by Michael Kimmel explores the history of the American toy industry through the experiences of first-generation Jewish American toymakers. Beginning with Morris and Rose Michtom, inventors of the Teddy Bear, the book traces the contributions of pioneers such as the Hassenfeld brothers (Hasbro), Ruth Moskowicz and Elliot Handler (Mattel), and Joshua Lionel Cowan (Lionel Trains). Kimmel examines how these immigrant families and their descendants shaped American childhood by creating iconic toys, developing a culture of fantasy and imagination, and influencing the broader landscape of children's entertainment, literature, and psychology. The narrative situates the rise of the toy industry within the context of Jewish immigrant experiences, entrepreneurship, and twentieth-century American society.

Contents:

Part I. The world of our great-grandfathers : Teddy's bear ; Coming to America ; A new ideal of childhood

Part II. The material culture of childhood, 1920-1950 : Furnishing the new ideal childhood ; Struggling against depression ; The war and its aftermath ; Safe havens

Part III. The baby boom : The baby boom ; The experts and the storytellers ; Beyond Ben's "ideal" girlhood: girls and dolls ; Boys and their toys

Part IV. Creating childhood : How first-generation Jews created American childhood.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

ebook version :

ISBN:

9781324105282

1324105283

OCLC:

1519445457

Publisher Number:

CIPO000330008