The Toy Story, The Life and Times of Inventor Frank Hornby

First edition, first impression with full number line. Some slight edge wear to top and bottom of jacket and spine, corners slightly bruised, spine slightly faded, some slight yellowing to page block, not price clipped (£17.99), no inscriptions, internally clean tight and square, overall a vg+ copy for its age. 288pp, illustrated. A single man was responsible for the toys which shaped generations of children. Frank Hornby invented the train set, Meccano, the dinky toy and Scalextric. And yet, until now, there has been no biography of this extraordinary figure. Frank Hornby was born in 1866 to a working class family in Liverpool. Whilst working as a bookkeeper for a meat importer, and frustrated by the range of toys in turn of the century Britain he set up a toy manufacturing company. A passionate and inspired man, he developed his first toys for his own children and by his death in 1936 Meccano and Hornby trains were market leaders. In 2001 Hornby's chairman announced the company profits were booming as twenty first century adults rediscovered the joys of their childhood. Encompassing social history, politics and changing attitudes towards children this is a beautifully written life story of an unsung hero. Essential reading for all toy enthusiasts.…