The Noah story was a favourite theme for artists from medieval times. It offered the prospect of representing not just familiar domestic animals but also wild and exotic ones that were known only by travellers' tales and bestiaries.

Noah's Arks and animals can be found in mosaics, in stained glass, in carved church decorations and in paintings of Biblical scenes. Toy Noah's Arks, which can be traced back to the 18th century, were produced mainly in the Erzegebirge region of the old kingdom of Saxony. Like their predecessors, the animals were a combination of the familiar and the exotic. The Arks reflected the architecture of the region. The high-pitched roofs and decorative friezes so typical of the Arks can still be seen in Northern Germany.

Noah's Arks proved to be so popular in the 19th century (it is one of the few toys enjoyed equally by boys and girls) that the social historian Hildebrandt warned that it should not be the main toy for children between the ages of one and fourteen! An explanation for the Ark's success was that it met the requirements of parents and the desires of children. Parents could view it as an educational toy with a religious message. Not only did children learn classification and identification, they were taught that God promises to save the good, and that every creature, large or small, is a valued member of the world. For young children, possession of an Ark coincided with the acquisition of language. Like Adam they could engage in the lordly power of naming. Later, the Ark could become farm, zoo, house, boat, and family. It provided the reassurance of pairs and a place in which they were safe.

David Plagerson first saw the arks in the Bethnal Green Museum and decided to make one for his daughter. His own training as a painter combined with a life-long interest in animals was to lead to the one-off becoming the first of its kind. One of his early Arks is now exhibited along with those that inspired him. The British Toymakers' Guild awarded him the Marjorie Abbatt Award for 'Playability' in 1997. He also makes Farm, Circus, Nativity and Chess sets.