Our search for the provenance of this intriguing donation led to Creative Playthings, a company founded in the 1940s by Frank and Theresa Caplan. Additional research revealed that the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis houses a collection of Caplan inspired toys. The following information on the African American hand puppet family was provided by Janna Bennett, Curator of the Americana Collection of the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis

About Creative Playthings
Creative Playthings, which has its modest beginnings as a tiny educational toy shop at 102 West 95th Street in New York City, was established by Frank and Theresa Caplan in 1944. Frank Caplan, President of Creative Playthings, was one of the first male nursery school teachers in the United States. He was a graduate of the College of the Cit of New York, with an MA in Philosophy of Education from Columbia University, and had extensive teaching, youth services, and editorial experiences. With a $500 investment in building-block lumber, Frank Caplan cut and hand-sanded Caroline Pratt unit building blocks in the rear of the shop while customers waited good-naturedly out front.

As the result of a chance encounter at a New York toy fair, where Frank Caplan had an exhibit of educational toys, a loose association of co-operation was formed by Frank and Bernard M. Barenholtz, who at that time was operating a toy shop with his wife Edith in Clayton, Missouri. Later the executive vice-president of Creative Playthings, he was a former resident of St. Louis, where he acquired his BA at Washington University. Continuing on at Columbia University for his MA in Education started him on a career in community services. In 1950, Caplan and Barenholtz left the retail toy field to specialize in custom manufacturing of play materials and equipment for schools and other educational institutions. The company popularized through the 4 million catalogues it sent yearly to parents the concepts of play and good toys.

In the 1950s, Creative Playthings joined with the Museum of Modern Art in a nationwide contest for imaginative and safe playground design and equipment. This resulted in Play Sculptures, award-winning slides, climbers, and abstract outdoor equipment used by parks, playgrounds, and schools all over the world.

In July of 1966, the Columbia Broadcasting System purchased Creative Playthings as part of its move to enter the education industry. After two years with CBS, Frank Caplan left to start pioneering designing once again in a new company he formed, Edcom Systems, Inc. of Princeton, New Jersey. He was also the founder-president of the Princeton Center for Infancy and Childhood.

From 1967 “The Critical Years” catalog:

“Creative Playthings, Inc. stands apart from all other toy manufacturers because we take play and playthings seriously. Every week a committee of eight professionals reviews the work of designers, the offerings of buyers who search the entire world, and the ideas of researchers and parents. In selecting products, we set the same exacting standards that school people demand in the materials and equipment for their learning centers…

Creative Playthings, Inc. deliberately structures into its toys opportunities to create, explore, and discover new ideas. Our toys encourage sorting, classifying, pattern thinking, and relationship thinking. We worry about attractiveness because we believe children should live with beautiful things. We stress as a subject matter a love of a family, kinship relations, respect for racial differences, and a desire for peaceful pursuits…”

Creative Playthings: African American Hand Puppets
85.1.2899-85.1.2904
J30f10

From Mrs. Caplan’s notes: Molded of poured rubber and hand-painted. C.1955

From 1959: “Academic Aids: Grades One to Six Aids to Learning” Catalog

Dramatic Play
Imagination, make believe, acting out one’s feelings through fantasy-these are priceless privileges of the child. Those who never lost the precious gift become the artists, the writers, the scientists, the leaders with social vision and energy. The fantasies of primary grade children can be dramatized in constructive ways in theater projects. The children can act out their concepts of interpersonal relations, learn more about themselves and others through the clarifying experience of dramatization.

From 1964 Creative Playthings, Inc. Catalogue: “A Child’s Way of Learning”

Puppets, Masks and Shadows:
A child has a natural sense of drama- his life is all experimenting, trying to reproduce events, experiences, the actions of others- his play is playing a part. Puppets and shadow play figures are his three-dimensional story books with which he may bring to life fantasy, visual poetry, heroic legends, well-loved stories, and the magic of fairy tales…they are wholly his to control.
AG-450- RUBBER WHITE FAMILY HAND PUPPETS. Set of 5 hand- painted rubber puppets: Father, Mother, brother, sister, baby. 2 lbs. Set $6.95
AG550- RUBBER NEGRO FAMILY HAND PUPPETS. Same as AG450, but a Negro family. 2 lbs. Set $6.95
All our rubber puppets fit the hand of a child or adult. Educators and play therapists find these most useful in acting out family and story telling situations. A real aid for work with deaf and cerebral palsied children. Also useful in teaching foreign languages.

From 1965 Creative Playthings, Inc. Catalog: “The Peak Years”

Family Hand Puppets. Used successfully in schools and by therapists, these hand-painted rubber puppets come alive for or to children. They are family, they are friends, they are foes; all assume their roles as needed. Set of 5. 5-10 yrs.
White Family Puppets G450 (1 lb., 12 oz.) $7.75
Negro Family Puppets G550 (1 lb., 12 oz.) $7.75

From 1967 Creative Playthings, Inc. Catalog: “The Power of Play”

Family Hand Puppets. These five colorfully painted rubber puppets may be used by children or adults to dramatize family and story telling situations. They are family, they are friends; the may even be foes. They will talk for or to children, as the situation requires.
White Family CG450 (2 lbs.) $8.75
Negro Family CG550 (2 lbs.) $8.75

From 1969-1970 Creative Playthings, Inc. School Catalog: “A Child’s Way of Learning”

Family Hand Puppets
Set of 5 colorful, hand-painted figures. Flexible, smooth- surfaces, tough, washable material.
Black Family Hand Puppets NG550/2 lbs/$7.75
White Family Hand Puppets NG450/2 lbs/$7.75
White Grandfather
Black Grandfather
White Grandmother
Black Grandmother
White Doctor
Black Doctor
White Nurse
Black Nurse
White Policeman
Black Policeman
(All above individuals are 7 oz. and $2.25)
Interestingly,” The Spirit of Play”, the Spring-Summer 1969 catalog only lists the white family puppets.

1969-1970 Creative Playthings Catalog (now produced by CBS, Inc):

Hand Puppet Family
These easy-to-manipulate rubber figures, two adults, two children, and a baby, help children express themselves.
White 2lbs. RG450 $9.50
Black 2lbs. RG550 $9.50