Brenda Biondo

This book of beautifully photographed vintage playground equipment is gorgeous! It has the feel of a work of urban exploration (google it), with its worn and weathered structures looking forlorn and abandoned. The equipment is photographed empty, sans children, and in situ; most have a corresponding sales flyer or advertisement reproduced on the facing page, offering diagrams, specifications, pricing, and sometimes children, clad in various plaids and knee socks, modeling the equipment. The book is sectioned by decade (1920s-1970s). The tone is nostalgic, and the photographs of the metal slides do indeed bring back the wincing feeling of a hot slide on one's bottom and bare legs. The book is an absolute treasure. If you're over 30 or so and ever played on a playground, you'll want to flip through this book!… (més)

The photos in this book are spectacular! I especially enjoy the close-up shots that show the great craftsmanship of the old equipment. The vintage ads next to the photos add some context to the photos, however, I had hoped for more captions with the photos. In her forward, Susan Solomon mentions playground equipment sometimes being based off of art or current events going on at the time, and it would have been nice for a few detailed descriptions next to some photos to go into this thought further. Overall a great book that I'm pleased to add to my permanent collection!… (més)