Play set:American Indian People 'n Places

The People 'n Play sets manufactured by Creative Playthings in the 1970s represent several of the progressive strains of child development popular in the middle years of the 20th century. Frank and Theresa Caplan founded Creative Playthings in 1945 to produce deliberately simple, well-designed toys that encouraged children to use their imaginations and develop their intellect. At first, the company offered simple, hardwood building blocks. Later, Creative Playthings added animals, people, vehicles, and other toys of wood in stylized or abstract forms. The company added toys in plastics when the material proved cost effective and easier and lighter than wood for children to handle and manipulate. The People 'n Places play sets contained the trademark stylized figures of people, animals, and structures of faraway places. In manipulating the pieces of the sets, children developed hand-eye coordination and an understanding of cause and effect. The sets reflected the 1970s' awareness of cultural diversity. Each set presented a different culture and included a brochure describing the people, customs, animals, and habitat of African natives, Plains Indians, or Eskimos and suggested play scenarios for children to act out or narrate.