Our journey as ado toy collectors

My name is Bram Simons, an art historian with a broad interest ranging from medieval altarpieces to twentieth-century sculptures. I am particularly fascinated by Dutch wooden toys from the period 1915-1940. As an avid collector of ado toys, which were the most attractive wooden toys of that era, I encountered a problem a few years ago – space. What began as a small collection of cars from an auction in Utrecht in 2014 has now grown into a sizable collection that occupies three showcases in a GP practice in Amsterdam. To overcome the limitations of physical space, I decided to create an online overview of my collection.

Three factors greatly influenced the development of this website. Firstly, the unfortunate passing of Herman uit de Bosch, the curator of www.adospeelgoed.eu, resulted in the discontinuation of updates on his valuable website. Secondly, I had the pleasure of connecting with Jaap Goslings, a fellow ado collector, who was immediately enthusiastic about my idea for this website and generously offered to contribute photographs from his own collection. Lastly, through extensive research, archival work, and interviews, I came across new information about ado and other toy manufacturers. Naturally, I am eager to share this newfound knowledge, and this website serves as an ideal platform for that purpose!