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Treasure troves of toys in Hungary's museums Toys are found in the collections of most Hungarian museums. In the provinces mostly original folk toys and their reproductions typical for a given region can be seen, while in the capital city of Budapest a significant number of city children's toys are also exhibited. Toys are usually not displayed as separate items; instead they form a part of ethnographic or other collection units both large and small. In this chapter we offer a selection from the toy treasure of 24 Hungarian museums. The presentations are generally divided into three parts: introduction to the museum, overview of the entire collection and a detailed description of the collection's characteristic, particular objects, illustrated by nearly 400 photos. Because the material collection of museums exceeds the available display areas, some toys have for years or decades been in storage behind the scenes. Many of them are shown in this publication. The Szórakaténusz Toy Museum and Workshop at Kecskemét is an outstanding institution that plays an important role in all of Central Europe. Among our permanent exhibition halls devoted exclusively to toys, the exhibition room Playthings Anno in Budapest, the Doll House of Székesfehérvár, the Doll Museum of Szentendre and the House of Tales of Békéscsaba are presented. The Palace of Wonders in Budapest is an extraordinary museum and playground where interested children and adults can learn about scientific phenomena in an interactive way. |
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| "Miniature Lottery", 1780's Szórakaténusz Toy Museum, Kecskemét |
Changing Faces Dobó István Castle Museum, Eger |
Grocery of Mme Minka Fehérvár Doll House, Székesfehérvár |
Rocking-Horse Open-Air Ethnographical Museum, Szentendre |
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Board Games A document dating from the year 1335 proves the playing of the game of chess in Hungary at the time. Farkas KEMPELEN created his chess automaton in 1767. Hungarian competitors are top drawer in the international arena, but chess is also popular in Hungary as an entertaining pastime. Hungary has world class players both in chess and in hexachess that evolved from chess in the 1950's. Go is an ancient game whose beauty is that, in spite of its simple rules, board, and playing stones, it makes possible an extraordinarily wide range of variations. We have excellent young competitors also in this game, where Far-Eastern players enjoy a near monopoly at success in the world. Because there is a plethora of literature on the rules of games, we have decided not to publish them, instead we are offering some interesting problems and their solutions. Furthermore, we are endeavoring to acquaint you with a few games developed from existing games by Hungarians having original ideas, thereby hoping to interest you in inventing novelties by your own efforts. |
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| chess problem György Bakcsi |
hexachess base position |
Farkas Kempelen's chess automaton |
rotary board |
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Playing Cards - Card Games The so called Hungarian card was first manufactured in 1835. It is an interesting fact that the leading characters of a Swiss drama, "Wilhelm Tell", figure on the cards. Among the card games popular in Hungary, bridge, tarokk and ulti stand out. Hungarian speaking readers can learn their rules of play along with those of other card games by consulting the Hungarian language version. The CD-ROM entitled Card City treats this topic in detail. |
| Luxus Tell cards, 1920 aces |
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Origami We have asked 15 of the most active Hungarian origamists to present their own foldings. The steps of folding can be displayed one by one on the computer screen and they can also be printed. The Hungarian Origami Association is a national organisation in charge of international networking as well. We also introduce the most active independent regional centres that organise the local and national programs either independently or in cooperation with other clubs. |
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| Hungarian Cattle © Peter Budai |
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Art and Play Art and playfulness are so intricately interlinked that in this publication we cannot possibly treat all of its many aspects. The "work" of poets and writers includes playing with words and rhymes. Puppet play goes back to the world of ancient art; it was a part of magic and later of cultic rites in Hungary, too. In the fine arts a playful experimenting spirit may manifest itself in various ways. From the 15th and 16th centuries, we have inherited examples of a playful graphic art that, by deceiving our visual perception, present enigmatic illusions which can be seen and understood in more than one way. We can find playful contemporary Hungarian artwork in several other artistic realms. In the world of music, mobiles, computer artists's playful ideas and experiments. |
| István Orosz Piranesi in Budapest, 1996 |
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Brain-teasers Logic games that develop thinking form a divergent group: the famous labyrinths of the past, magic rings, devil's locks, small cases with hidden openings all belong here. Encouraged by the success of Rubik's Cube, Hungarian devotees of mental challenges saw a golden opportunity in the many different fit seeking, slideable, rotary and twistable toys made of plastic or, rather rarely, of wood. The first Hungarian crossword puzzle was published in 1925, and between 1997 and 1999 a Scandinavian type riddle of world record size was created in Hungary. Our puzzle-solvers have experienced much success at international competitions. We offer samples of some types of the riddles seen there. In this chapter the periodical "Füles" receives special mention: several generations have cracked their brains and learned much by solving the problems in its pages. |
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| decoy-jar |
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Play and Game in Education Play activity is one of the basic functions promoting children's adaptation to society (socialisation). It affords opportunities for kids to test various kinds of behaviour, to develop tolerance for failure, and to experience success. In their instructive-educative work both parents and teachers can utilize play and playfulness in various ways. For example, puppet and drama plays may be used to advantage. In the education of learning disabled or brain injured children play has a very important developmental and therapeutic role that it can play with great success from early babyhood on and well into the elementary school years. There are several national organisations interpreting the concept of play and playfulness in a complex fashion. |
| puppet-play in kindergarten Dunakeszi |
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Folk Toys and Games In our days it is still benefits children to learn folk games in kindergarten and in school. In this era of couch potatoes vigorous outdoor games played using implements are particularly beneficial. Folk games were created and polished by children in the course of decades or even centuries, until they came to meet perfectly the children's needs. Kids find pleasure in playing them, they develop both physical and mental skills, form a healthy self-esteem, learn how to make contacts, adapt to each other, and co-operate. In this chapter we present a few interesting folk games. Video clips and audio material (several among them were taken from audio archives) as well as texts of rhymes and ditties help with the understanding of the games' rules. |
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| Ox cart Damjanich Museum, Szolnok |
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Entertainment In this chapter we give an overview of the playing and collecting clubs operating in Hungary like railway, automobile, boat, and airplane modelling. Among Hungarian magicians Rodolfo is well known abroad (few people know, however, that Harry Houdini was also of Hungarian origin). Here you can get an overview of the history of the art of magic in Hungary. Role playing among Hungarians is the province of small but enthusiastic groups. Under today's social-economic conditions its community building feature has great importance and so does its role in preserving the magic of "live" play. Question: Why are 5 out of 90 numbers chosen in the Hungarian lottery? This chapter gives the answer. We mention several interesting facts from the past and present of Hungarian toy manufacturing. |
| cloth dolls 2nd National Exhibition |