The Art of Lionel Trains - Toy Trains and American Dreams

Reader Reviews
"Saying 'Lionel' to anyone over the age of 40 brings forth nods of recognition and stories of smoking, whistling trains chugging around Christmas trees." "The Art of Lionel Trains" is a showcase of familiar images, famous pictures and the artwork from catalog covers, newspaper advertising and other marketing pieces. Some of the pictures are sentimental and show the dreams of children. When my mother bought my husband his first Lionel Train, I think he spent most of one afternoon putting the track together and then would amuse our cats by running the train at least once a day, complete with smoke billowing about in our mostly empty room. I kept wondering what was burning. My memories of Lionel Trains now include cats jumping across tracks to avoid the impending doom. They were actually quite fascinated for weeks. This book highlights classic Lionel trains, helps to revive memories of toy trains from the past and analyzes art and its relationship to dreams and values. The Chapters Include: Dreams of Ambition 1900-1923 Dreams of Consumption 1920-1933 Dreams of Authority 1931-1947 Dreams of Security 1946-1964 Dreams of Nostalgia 1963-1993 Dreams of Tomorrow 1990-2003 This book is a history of Lionel Trains from 1900-2003 and is the perfect gift for Lionel Train fans everywhere. Each chapter contains detailed information on all things train through an analysis of advertising. What I noticed, is a sense of family unity throughout the pictures. It also seems that a Lionel Train looks best with a Christmas tree. Artists actually started promoting this idea back in the1920s. The text in the advertising is readable in most cases. You have to love the pictures of the poor kids watching while "grandpa and dad" took over the train tracks. Roger Carp has been a member of the editorial staff of Classic Toy Trains Magazine since 1988. You might want to look for additional selections by Roger Carp: The World's Greatest Toy Train Maker: Insiders Remember Lionel Classic Lionel Display Layouts You Can Build ~The Rebecca Review


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