Shape sorter
Category
Toys
Date
Unknown
Materials
stained wood
Measurements
105 mm (height) x 165 mm (width) x 137 mm
Collection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 672226.1
Summary
A shape sorter in the form of a bench, two side sections made of wood stained green, the top horizontal section of unstained wood, with five different cut outs in the form of a circle, triangle, square, letterbox slot and long narrow slot, the whole held together with wooden dowels and tiny nails. The shapes which belong to this shape sorter are catalogued as 672226.2.
Provenance
Part of a large collection of handmade toys and puzzles donated to the Museum of Childhood in 2019 by Nigel Briggs. They were made by John Doble, father of the donor's wife Hanne. He had worked with Nancy Catford (of the Nursery Schools Association), the designer of the toys, during the Second World War. Together they produced paper patterns that people could use at home as templates for thin ply patterns which could in turn be used to make their own wooden toys. Other toys were made from dowels and empty cotton reels.