The current History of Haslemere exhibition at the
Haslemere Educational Museum (which runs until 30th January 2016) includes a small cabinet display of some of the Godfrey Blount toy buildings. These are rarely on display. It is interesting to see them in person as they are so much smaller than you might imagine a toy building would be. Some toy cows and a horse and gypsy cart accompany them.
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Peasant toy buildings and cows by Godfrey Blount,
Haslemere Education Museum |
The making of the toys at the John Ruskin School, Haslemere was described in the advert below as "The school has been founded in the hope of showing that the spirit of joy and imagination, which is obvious in the creation of toys, should inspire all true labour and culminate in the making of the highest religious symbols."
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| Advert for the toys produced by the Peasant Arts movement |
Looking at the June 1943 obituary of Mrs Godfrey Blount recently, I noted that it said that she was "herself an expert maker of wooden toys and skilled in various forms of craftsmanship", so perhaps the association of these buildings solely with Godfrey Blount is unfair.
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| at Haslemere Educational Museum |
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Toy buildings and horse and gypsy cart by Godfrey Blount,
Haslemere Educational Museum |
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Toy buildings by Godfrey Blount,
Haslemere Educational Museum |
I would love to see that exhibition!
ReplyDeleteThe little buildings look so much like the one we have.
I was very moved to read your post about finding and caring for Maude`s grave. Do you know where the Blounts are buried?
Hoe all is well with you and your family.
Certainly an exhibition not to be missed!
ReplyDeleteThanks for telling us about it-very interesting that Godfrey Blount should not have all the credit for these quite intricate models.
Well done-again
Hello, Happy New Year and thank you! The exhibition is all covered in my pics above, a little bijou! The Blounts are buried in the same cemetery, at St Barts, in unmarked graves. I put something on it on this post here: http://peasant-arts.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/maude-egerton-kings-second-grave-stone.html But I have a few more bits. Remind me what your relative who was friends with Blount was called? I may have something on him.
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