Set of building blocks, Ridged Houses, designed by Milan Morgenstern for Paul and Marjorie Abbatt Ltd., High Wycombe, 1955-1965

Set of house-shaped wooden building blocks. Solid blocks of light wood, polished but not varnished, which are shaped with a pointed roof along the top edge and a cut away inverted 'V' at the bottom. The overall appearance is an arrow shape and it allows the blocks to fit together on top of one another. All pieces have the same basic shape, although one is of a longer length.

Given by Dr. Franz Morgenstern

Given by the son of the designer. At the time of acquisition the blocks had already been displayed at the Museum of Childhood as part of the exhibition 'A Tribute to Marjorie Abbatt' in 1989.

Part of a range designed by Milan Morgenstern for children with learning disabilites, based on his observations of children at the Theodor Heller Foundation Vienna during the 1930s.

The Abbatt catalogue describes the bricks as follows: 'It is almost impossible for the handicapped child to build with normal bricks. These bricks have been shaped to enable him to build with greater chance of success. The 'ridged' shapes hold the bricks together and there is less frustration in building play.'

This object, though designed in the 1930s, was not manufactured until the late 1950s or early 1960s. It was sold as 'Abbatt Developmental Toys for Assessment & Training' in England where Morgenstern and his family had settled in the late 1930s. This was probably the first range of commercially produced toys designed for children with disabilities.

B.923:1 to 4-1993