At the Frazier History Museum in Louisville, “miniature” refers only to the size of the soldier, certainly not the size of the collection. The museum is home to The Stewart Toy Soldier Gallery: 20,000 little men—and a few women—most of them soldiers, with a sprinkling of civilians. The exhibit represents toys made by 125 producers from 80 countries—highlighting a few of them in detail. These diminutive delights span the years 1770 to the 1950s.
“This is undoubtedly the most important collection of its kind in North America,” said Penny Peavler, president and CEO of the Frazier History Museum. “It is a world-class collection.”
So how did the Frazier come to amass such a collection? From a collector, of course—Charles Stewart of Frankfort. Co-owner and administrator of the Stewart Home & School, Stewart began collecting as a child.
The Stewart Home & School is a residential and educational community in Franklin County for people with intellectual disabilities. For five generations—about 125 years—the Stewart family has fulfilled their mission to meet the needs of these individuals. The 850-acre campus served as the Kentucky Military Institute in pre-Civil War years. Stewart credits growing up in a setting with such roots for his love of history and military items.
He said he had a larger-than-average collection of G.I. Joes and other plastic figures as a kid, somewhere in the 300-500 range, but he did not consider himself a toy soldier collector until after graduating from Centre College in Danville.
Stewart began collecting first-rate and rare items, and got hooked on the history and artistry of each piece, amassing tens of thousands of the figurines.
“But as the collection grew, it took over the house, the garage, the attic,” Stewart said. “I thought about selling it at auction in 2009, but several people recommended that we talk to the Frazier Museum.”
It was a perfect fit. The administrators of the museum say the Frazier is where the world meets Kentucky, and their goal is to bring history to life. Nothing depicts a battle scene or a vignette from the past quite like a display in miniatures.
Collecting miniatures is certainly not new. Peavler said people have been collecting for millennia, with evidence that miniature military figures were toys in ancient Egypt.
She said famous collectors include Winston Churchill, H.G. Wells and George R.R. Martin, whose series of novels A Song of Fire and Ice was adapted into the popular HBO series Game of Thrones.
The collection is housed throughout the museum in backlit cases so visitors can see the details of the figures. Some are displayed lower, at a good height for young viewers.
Not everything from the collection is in a case. The Frazier has created a playscape in the center of the gallery, where kids can get their hands on toy soldiers and set up forts and scenes with rivers and rocky landscapes.
“The toy soldier collector of the future can establish that connection here at the Frazier today,” Peavler said.
The Frazier bills the collection as rare, unique and important, which is how it was classified by Norman Joplin, author and historic miniatures expert. It includes soldiers made of lead, hollow cast, composition, paper, wood and plastic. They were produced by every major toy soldier manufacturer in the world.
“In some cases, the pieces we have are the only known example of that maker’s work that exists today,” Peavler said.
One of the oldest pieces in the collection is by a German toymaker and dates back to the 1770s. It depicts a Boston regiment of the British Army.
“These are soldiers who fought in the Boston Massacre, prior to the Revolutionary War, but it had not happened yet,” she said, referring to the time period in which the miniatures were made. “It is astounding to think about contemporary toys being made about events that were current.”
Peavler’s favorite display is a diorama called Camp Kentucky, which depicts a Civil War regiment, complete with tents that open and close.
She said the exhibit is interesting to many, whether they are collectors, history buffs, kids or people with just a passing interest.
“Each piece is a miniature work of art,” Peavler said.
Charles Stewart agreed.
“It is a comprehensive encyclopedic history collection,” he said. “It has extraordinary diversity and many famous rarities.”
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