The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-12-14

udig tuon dUOub III ali SOrIS OF Out-OI-t ne-Way
places. There is also craze for scrap books,
which are sold in great numbers.
The juvenile military instinct is mnistered to
by wooden guns, tin swords and drums. Toy
pistols are barred-that is, the once popular pis-
toll. with its cap of illuminate oe mercury. that
carried off so many lock -iawed boys to the
grave-as the Legislature has set its everlasting
seal against their further sale. The sale of
drums, however, goes on, and there is but one
plaything in the toystore that has larger sale,
and that is the doll.
Christmas tree ornaments, such as glass bells,
glass fruits, stars and great variety of tinsel-
ry. come from the village Of Lauschau, in Thur
ingen. They are not made in large factories,
but in families, by glass blowers who are fire.
quently women, and girls and boys All
the bellows toys, the roaring lions the
Cabling geese, the quacking ducks
all tuned to about the same soueak-are
made at Sonneberg. The wooden toys are
made largely at the village of Olbernau, in
Saxony. There is not single Noahs ark made
in the United States The arks range in price
from cents to So. Their sale is not as great
as formerly, probably for the reason Sthat
there is from year to year greater variety of
toys for children, invention in that line having
been aroused to great activity and wonderful per-
formance. All, or nearly all, the tin toys are
made in the United States Austria furnishes
to the toy trade new musical instrument called
the ocarino, which, when played upon, emits a
noise not altogether unlike flute. It is Of
doughnut and comes in sizes ranging from an
Irish potato to a Posey county pumpkin. The
toy piano is of Philadelphia manufacture
Swimming toys, that is toys that are propelled
by magnet, are oil made In Nurembure, Ger
many, as are the magic lanterns, except the
highest priced ones, which are made in the
United States.
Carved wooden articles, match boxes of birds
and beasts, easels, photograph frames, etc, are
of Swiss manufacture Their sale, beautiful as
American fashion of wooden weddings came
along to give the thrifty Swiss market for their
wares.
Dolls are all imported, with the exception of
one or two kinds, and are chiefly of German
manufacture. More dolls are sold than any
other article in the toy lne in fact, all the other
toys together, that are imported, do not cost SIS
much money as the dolls that come over the
water. There are dolls of bisque, of PAPER
mache, of composition, of rubber, of china, of
wax. and of wood. Said the gentleman who
showed the reporter through dolldom, Here is
i've cent doll; how many OF this one size do
you think we sell in a seasonY Over 1000 dozens
-24 000" The preference is for blondes-two
out of three sold being OF the faxen- haired
type. The demand is 80 large and steady
that importers send their orders abroad six
months ahead. There is a great demand for
kid-body dolls. These are now nearly all Ger
man, where few years ago they were all of
French manufacture, and the French can no
longer compete with German makers. either in
style or price. How little Jenny Wren the
dolls dress maker in Our Mutual Friend"
would open her eyes were she to see the great
advance made in her trade! The French excel
all other makers in dressed dolls. Some of these
miniature ladies are dressed as elegantly as
princesses in silks and satins, with the daintest
hosiery and the jauntiest and dashingest hats,
with flowing ostrich plumes Some of the finest
are sold as high as $35, while plebean dolls may
be bought for one cent. The French show the
greatest taste and ingenuity in these costumes.
and it is doubtful if Worth himself could furnish
his fine lady customers with garments richer or
more artistic than these. It remained for
American manufacturers to add something in
the way of novelties such as circulars, ham
mocks and roller skates for the little ladies.
Dolls Scotch and jersey caps in all colors are
also sold. These last are made in this city.
There are also large show cases filed with dolls
jewelry, chains. watches, rings, bracelets. etc.
some of which is expensive. Dolls millinery is
now feature-elegant and fashionably trimmed
hats and bonnets, spring, summer and winter
styles-and dolls mufs and pelerines. Then
there are dolls Kitchens dolls trunks, dolls
cradles, dolls carriages and dolls furniture.
The making of dolls furniture has grown to be
a manufacture of Importance in Chicago and
Milwaukee.