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CLICK TO ENLARGE
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The set available here was purchased off EBay, and is undoubtedly incomplete. A typical set contained 4-5 more buildings (including a church, a blacksmith's shop, a store and several more houses) and additional figures (including, in some of the later versions, automobiles as well as horse-drawn carriages), but our set includes the only black figures we've seen in any version.
In at least one OTHER BRADLEY PLAY VILLAGE, the MAT was labelled to indicate the appropriate spot for each of the buildings. In the version on this page there are no such labels, but it seems clear that the size of the lots as drawn on the MAT required kids playing with the set to segregate "Uncle Tom's Cabin" away from the much larger houses where white families live. One of our goals in creating this exhibit is to give you the chance to see whether this "toy" tended to re-inforce the forms of racial discrimination that defined the national culture in the early 20th century, and decide what places and roles are being defined for the black citizens of this town.
Below are the unassembled building and figures. Click on any to enlarge them.
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