Chapter 23 Implements
See also chapter 8 Main and subgroups of toy classification
People - and, in the world of toys, dolls and figures - are surrounded by a
great number of implements, tools and props. They extend and strengthen the natural, physical and mental patterns of behaviour and action. Implements create opportunities for carrying out actions, events and operations that would not be possible if they did not exist.
The multiplicity of human implements and aids is enormous and the number of them that are copied in the form of toy implements, etc. is correspondingly vast.
The current fashion and children’s and adults’ desire to own the newest and most modern version of things means that the market abounds with toy implements and props. At the same time nostalgia flourishes among ordinary users and collectors (adults and children alike!).
It is important to differentiate between tools and implements on the one hand and the many different kinds of props on the other.
Props are of course a kind of tool or implement but, where an implement is used generally and in a variety of functions, the use of a prop is often specific. Props most often gain significance in connection with specific functions such as sport and theatre or in connection with a ceremony of some kind.