A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending some time at Tarbox Toy Soldiers on Steinwehr Avenue in Gettysburg, PA. The little shop stands only a minute\'s walk from the main battlefield tour bus company in the center of the downtown shopping area. After taking the two-hour bus tour, which was expertly narrated by a licensed tour guide, I popped over to see Charles Tarbox, the owner of the eponymous store. A self described “historical stand-up comedian,” Mr. Tarbox regaled me with tales from his breathtaking knowledge of military history. Tarbox Toy Soldiers is filled from floor to ceiling with museum-quality miniatures all entertainingly posed in cleverly designed dioramas. Tarbox has a broad range of figures from King & Country and W. Britain, many of which have been retired and are no longer being manufactured. To top it off, the shop has three Osprey spinner racks, packed with books from all historical eras, not just the Civil War. I particularly enjoyed the shop\'s arrangement of the books which are sorted by time period rather than by series or by author. To me, that\'s the most rational way to organize the Osprey line, but it takes someone like Charles Tarbox and his deep love for history to pull it off. If you will be one of the two and a half million visitors to Gettysburg this summer, please stop by Tarbox Toy Soldiers and say hello to Mr. Tarbox for us.
45 Steinwehr Avenue Gettysburg, PA 17325-2810 Phone: (717) 338-1865
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