The Hawaiian gazette., 1878-10-23
WEDNESDAY. OCT. %. lsI
The Wonders of Toy-Land.


CHILDRESs TOYS ARE MADE.
Chambers Journal says:
Woodworking is the chief occupation OF many
a mountain village both in tine Tyrol and in
Switzerland but in no place has it been carried
10 greater perfection or been entered into more
thoroughly by the inhabitants than at st. Ulrlch.
One branch OF it indeed the manufacture OF
wooden toys, particularly dolls, may be cousid-
cred almost q specially of the district; for the
little town OF St. Ulrch is the great storehouse
from which the chief toy-traders of Europe, we
might almost say the world, draw those rich and
inexhaustbIe supplies which brighten SO many
nurseries and gladden. the hearts OF so many
little ores. The art is said to have been intro
duced into the valley about the beginning OF the
last century, since which time It has been the
principal employment Of the inhabitants, male
and female, young and old alike for ancient
grandlathers and grandmothers may be seen
steadily pursuing the vocation that has been
theirs from the earliest years and as soon as
the little boys girls can be safely trusted with
knives, they begin their rude endeavors to carve
the form of some animal or toy which is the Pc
| culiar line of their family. This is one OF the
| odd things in connection with the trade. that, as
| general rule, each family or group OF families
| has its own special department from which they
| do not devate. Some carve some paint, some
| gild, the painters often working only on one par
| ticulaI color while the carvers constantly stick
to the manufacture of one or two, or at the most
OF half dozen animals, of certain toys or certain
portions of the toys and dolls, and 30 on through
all the endless rami6cations of their Lilliputian
industry. 1t is most curious sight to watch
them ut work. They use no models. and WORK
entirely by rule OF thumb long practice having
made them so perfect that they turn out the
| ttnu ARTICLES uithnut tho GliUhtpGt hesitation
every one as precisely alike as If they had been
cast in mould. In this way are manufactured
the varied collections of animals found in Noah'
Ark. Some families will cut out lions, tigers
cames and elephants /: others, sheep, oxen ant
deer /; Others, chiefly BIRDS while another GROUP
will produce the wonderfully -dressed little mel
aud women popularity supposed to represent
Noah and his seven human companions. Tn,
coloring of these productions is quite anothe
branch of the trade, and while the carving goe
on at all times with unabated regularity tn
painting OF the various articles is only added q!
they are required; that is, when orders COM
from the toy dealers and this frequently varie
according. to circumstances so that the color
ing and gliding business is not on the whole s.
steady and profitable as the carving. There ar
several shops and warehouses where the article
thus manufactured are sold but there are tw
leading merchants who act as wholesale export
era buying the carved work either from the PEG
pie themselves or from minor agents, who realiZ
small profit by acting as middlemen. Permis
sion can readily be obtained TO visit those estab
lishments and it is curious and amusing sigh
to walk through their vast repositories, and in
spect the extraordinary collection of dolls an
toys gathered together under one roof. TIL
dolls are 10 themselves very wonderful exhibi
ton There rooms upon rooms quite file
with them, of every size and style, small an
large, painted and implanted; their size Varyin
from tiny atoms scarcely an inch long, to hug
figures of nearly yard in length, most of thet
jOinted, and the greater part uncolored, and jus
as they came from the hands of the carver The
are carefully sorted according to their variou
sizes and great shelves and cases IN every d
rection are crammed with them. Some size
are more popular than others, q very favorit
length being about two inches of this size on
of the great doll merchants of St. Ulrich buy
thirty thousand every week during the who
year The makers of this kind can turn OF
about twenty dozen day, each skillful worker
the painting being quite an after concern, wit
which the carvers have nothing to do. Hel
also are bins filled with wooden animals, also
different sizes and different degrees of excellencl
for while some are merely roughly shaped an
the production often of very young children
others are carved with very great care and de,
; terty, aud are faithful representations of ii
creatures they are intended to initiate. All ii
numerous toys with which we are familiar in tn
! shops, or which we have played with in chill
hood, here first spring into being. Noah's Arl
. empty and full armies of wooden soldiers c
horseback and on foot farmyards of various d
mansions, stored with every article needlul f
the juvenile agriculturist; dolls furniture
every shape and pattern; sets of tea cups ar
saucers, and all kinds of domestic utensils lit
wooden horses, little wooden carts. In short
is toys, toys everywhere and even with all OF
experience of the capacity of children for acqui
ing such possessions, it is really difficult to cred
the fact that this enormous manufacture al
: unceasing distribution go on, like the poet
brook, forever"