Marjorie Abbatt

Lore & Background

Marjorie Abbatt was born in London, the daughter of a fur broker and his wife. She was educated at Roedean School and studied at Somerville College, Oxford, graduating with a B.A. in 1923. After meeting Paul Abbatt in 1926 at a gathering in Godshill, Hampshire, they married in December 1930. She gave up postgraduate work at University College, London to join him. Paul, a Quaker and former conscientious objector, had taught at Sidcot School and was influenced by the Woodcraft Chivalry movement.

Together, the Abbatts traveled to Vienna for educational research, where they encountered Franz Cižek, Montessori kindergartens, and specialists in special education. Paul brought back educational toys from Vienna. In 1932, they founded Abbatt Toys, holding an exhibition in their Bloomsbury flat and launching a mail-order business. Their toys were designed to be functional and educational, and children were encouraged to touch and play with them in their shops. The architect Ernő Goldfinger designed a showroom, a logo, a children's alphabet, and a toy shop for them, and their products were featured in the British Pavilion at the 1937 Paris Exposition.

Reader's Guide

Marjorie Abbatt's significance lies in her role as a co-founder of Abbatt Toys, a company that integrated educational philosophy with modern design. The Abbatts' toys, described as 'almost Bauhaus toys,' were finished in primary colors and simple shapes, intended to stimulate children's creative instincts. Their climbing frame, designed in the early 1930s, won The Observer design award in 1969. Through their company and the organization Children's Play Activities Ltd, they advocated for educational toys and criticized the British toy industry. Marjorie also co-founded and served as president of the International Council for Children's Play. Her work helped establish the concept of toys as tools for learning and development, influencing subsequent generations of toy designers and educators.

Did You Know?

• Marjorie Abbatt graduated from Somerville College, Oxford in 1923.
• The Abbatt climbing frame, designed in the early 1930s, won a Design Centre Award in 1969.
• She was made an honorary M.A. by the University of Nottingham in 1982.

From Surbiton to Sidcot: Formative Years and a Shared Vision

Marjorie Norah Cobb entered the world in March 1899 in Surbiton, the daughter of a fur broker named Edward Rhodes Cobb and his wife Marion Murray. Her education took her first to Roedean School and then to Somerville College, Oxford, where she earned a B.A. in 1923. She was preparing for postgraduate study at University College, London when her path intersected with that of Paul Abbatt, a Quaker schoolteacher from Bolton who had served as a conscientious objector during the First World War. The two met in 1926 at a Woodcraft Chivalry gathering in Godshill, Hampshire — a movement that shaped Paul's approach to hands-on education. Paul, a Trinity Hall, Cambridge graduate, taught at Sidcot School, and his father had been a merchant in cane with ties to basketry manufacturing in Bolton. Marjorie married Paul in December 1930, setting aside her academic ambitions to join him in what would become a lifelong partnership in reimagining how children learn through play.

Vienna and the Birth of a Toy Philosophy

Before opening their own business, Marjorie and Paul Abbatt undertook a research trip to Vienna with the intention of establishing a progressive school. There they encountered Franz Cižek at the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts, attended his classes, and visited Montessori kindergartens. They also crossed paths with Milan Morgenstern and Helena Löw-Beer, both active in special education. Paul was particularly drawn to Morgenstern's work; Eva Brück, Morgenstern's daughter, later noted that Paul wanted to develop her father's ideas into toys that could be made and sold. Back in England, the couple was further shaped by Susan Sutherland Isaacs, whose 1931 book Intellectual Growth in Young Children argued against letting institutional conventions stand between a child and the real world. Paul himself summarised his motivation for leaving teaching as a desire to "break through the barriers that separated me from life." Together, these encounters crystallised a conviction that would define their enterprise: toys must be both functionally well-designed and genuinely educational, bridging the gap between play and understanding.

Building a Toy Empire with Goldfinger's Touch

In 1932, the Abbatts launched their toy manufacturing venture from their Bloomsbury flat, where they staged an early exhibition and began a mail-order operation. Their first catalogue featured illustrations by John Skeaping, and by 1934 they had commissioned photographs from Edith Tudor-Hart. The couple's design ethos — functional form paired with educational purpose — attracted the attention of Nikolaus Pevsner, who was introduced to them in October 1933 by the Quaker John Fletcher and noted their Marxist leanings. A far more consequential collaboration began in 1934, when the Hungarian-British architect Ernő Goldfinger, newly arrived in London, designed their Endsleigh Street showroom. He went on to create their logo and a children's alphabet in 1935, and in 1936 he designed a toy shop at 94 Wimpole Street and their Tavistock Square apartment. At the 1937 Paris Exposition, the British Pavilion featured a playroom by Goldfinger and the Abbatts, where their products — finished in primary colours with simple, stimulating shapes — were described as almost Bauhaus in character. Children were explicitly encouraged to handle and play with everything on display.

Advocacy, Recognition, and a Long Farewell

Beyond manufacturing, the Abbatts used their platform to challenge the broader toy industry. Through Children's Play Activities Ltd, they organised conferences and acted as a pressure group for educational toys, culminating in a 1957 report that criticised the state of British toy manufacturing. In the late 1950s, the designer Ken Garland spent three years working on their catalogue and graphics before departing with Edward Newmark to join Galt Toys. Marjorie's own standing in the field grew steadily; she co-founded the International Council for Children's Play and later served as its president. In 1969, the Abbatt climbing frame — a design dating back to the early 1930s — received The Observer newspaper's design award, a testament to the enduring quality of their work. After Paul's death in 1971, Marjorie sold the toy business in 1973. She continued to be recognised for her contributions, receiving an honorary M.A. from the University of Nottingham in 1981. She passed away at her home in Oxford on 10 November 1991, at the age of ninety-two.