BAYKO in the Shire Library
'Building Toys'

This is a truly excellent book, written by Brian Salter, published by 'Shire Library' [ISBN 978-0-74780-815-2] and including full colour illustrations.

As the title says, the book is about building toys…

…there are separate chapters for LOTT'S BRICKS, MINIBRIX and BRICKPLAYER, as well as, of course, the world's first and finest plastic building toy - BAYKO.

But that's not all…

…there are references to, including several photographs of, literally dozens of other toy constructional systems, as Brian's excellent narrative plots the evolution of building toys through much of the 20th century.

Due for publication in February, 2011, it's not appropriate to include large chunks of the text here, but the answer to that is simple…

…I thoroughly recommend that you buy and read this superb book [£6.99].

I have included all the pages with BAYKO script and illustrations, which I hope gives you a taste of the book, there are many more photos of other building toys.

Particularly interesting, to me, is the inclusion of a separate chapter on the whole business of collecting building toys - the first instance of this that I can recall.

The book is very much aligned with the aims and ideals of the BAYKO Collectors Club, which receives a positive press in this chapter…

There are also a number of useful recommendations for places to visit, where building toys are prominently featured.

This is actually the second book by 'Shire Library' on this theme…