As children we all loved Fairy Tales. The most enjoyable and well known tales were created in Germany during the early 1800's by the Grimm brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm. This item probably dates just over a century later. Looking at the artwork (the colouring and hairstyles of the characters), the general simplicity and austerity of manufacture we believe this picture block toy dates from the early to mid 1920's. This is further backed up by the fact there is no maker's name or country of origin stated just a simple ink stamped "Foreign" on the underside of the box which would be normal for German manufactured articles post WW1 due to the remaining anti-German feeling while these manufacturers' still needed to sell their wares to aid the recovery of the Germany economy post Treaty of Versailles.

As this item has been played with for around nine decades and by generations of children it's not surprising that it shows signs of age and wear. The complete compliment of blocks have been protected very well by the thick, red faux leather looking covered cardboard box however the box has fared less well. Two sides of the lid are missing, all the corners have split, the edges have rubbed and there is some surface wear. The lid shows a coloured picture of one of the six images that can be made by arranging the blocks and although it has kept it's vivid colouring someone has writing in ink "Build up Blocks" in two places. Even with all this damage it still retains a vintage feel. On the underside of the lid is another picture of one of the images that can be made. We have made all six pictures (see photographs) but can only recognise two fairy tales, Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood the other four may be less well known. The 30 wooden blocks are covered on each side by thin paper on which the images have been printed. They are generally in good condition, colouring remains unfaded and surface wear is slight, some of the blocks have suffered a little more which is unsurprising for it's age and the playfulness of children but this doesn't detract from the beauty of the pictures. Looking past it's defaults this is a wonderful piece that would tell wonderful stories if only it could talk. A lovely piece for a collector of vintage toys or jigsaws, as a decorative piece in a themed room or as originally intended as a picture building toy for children.

Date: c.1920's
Maker: Unknown
Made in Germany (?)

Dimensions (Box): 25.5cm x 21cm x 4cm