Collections - Part Deux

Last month,  I revealed to you one my hoarding compulsions introduced you to some of my "girls"....I warned told you then there might be more to come.  So, this month, I'm sharing my antique toy top collection.

First, your history lesson:  Toy tops date back to the beginning of time, and have been known to virtually every civilization of mankind.  In fact, tops have been found on every continent except Antarctica. In medieval times, most parishes had a "parish top," frequently located in the town square, for all to use.  (Hence Shakespeare's reference in Twelfth Night to “…turn o’ the toe like a parish-top.”) (Stick with me long enough and you, too, will have bunches of useless information stuck in your head.....)

Anywho....There are different "kinds" or classifications of tops, dependent upon the manner in which they are spun:  Twirlers (spun with hands or fingers by twisting the stem - the Jewish dreidels are twirlers); support tops (spun by a cord while the top is held upright with a support); whip tops (spun by whipping the top to give continuous motion); and throwing or peg tops (spun with a string or cord on the body of the top and thrown causing it to spin). (Most of my tops are throwing or peg tops.)  They are known by different names in different parts of the world: trompos, turbos, trottolas, les toupies, kreisels, strombas. But, whatever you call them, they please me well.

 

Blue tops:

  

Green tops:

Red tops:

 

Used-to-be-red tops:

Striped tops:

 

Plain tops:

Really old tops:

Big tops:

Wee tops:

Lots of room for more tops: