The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-12-09
TOY BALLOONS.



A reporter, knowing the anxiety of little
toddlers to learn the secret of the toy bal
loon trade, yesterday corralled an italian
with his bunch of gas bags, on Eighth
street, and in half an hours talk, carried on
in the musical language of Tuscany's sunny
cline, elected few facts about balloons
and their manufacture.
The balloon pedlers buy the little rubber
bags, or "bladders,n IN Paris, sometimes
importing them themselves and sometimes
buying them through importers. When re-
ceived here they are stuck together in
lump, but immersion in warm water and
little rubbing up loosens them, and they
are easily pulled apart. When the "bal-
loon man contemplates going out for
day he fills as many balloons as he thinks
he can sell. He generally does the work of
filling in the morning before going out.
Generally the balloon pedler carries but
one kind Of balloon with him, which is
either the gas balloon, fastened to the end
of q thread, or the air balloon, on the end
Of toy whip. The hitter is the kind gem
orally sold at country fairs, where men and
maidens, children and old women alike buy
and carry about the airy nothings."
These are simply inflated gum bladders,
painted and gelatined, filed with nothing
more than atmospheric air. The bright
colored and glistening lunches of balloons,
with which industrious Italians excite the
desires of the children along North Eighth
Street, are generally those fastened to
threads and are inflated so as to rise to the
ends of the string. They are the most ex-
pensive and troublesome kind that the bal.
loon men have to make. The country
"stick balloon requires nothing moro foi
imitation than mere blow-pipe of any kind,
small hand bellows being generally used
for the purpose. For the imitation of the
string balloons the first thing the manu-
facturer must purchase is gns machine, in
which he blows up the filmy bars. These
machines are of foreign manufacture, and
can only be- purchased through some inn.
porting firm in New York. The gas is made
by mixing certain proportions of muriatic
| acid and zinc with some other Ingredient,
the nature of which the makers refuse to
diyulge, in the large generating tank of the
machine. From large tank rubber pipe
connection carries the generated gas into
the small filling tanks, which stands up
right. From the top of this smaller tank
piece of Pipe of small calibre extends four
or five inches. There is key in the pipe
like an ordinary gas key.
When the pedler knows the day will be
fair he knows also that the balloon market
viii be rising one, and he makes supply
of gas sufficient to initiate from 100 to $50
balloons. He sits down at his initiating ma
chine with pile of rubber bladders ON one
side of him and his spool of white thread
on the other. One by one he takes up the
little rubber bag, inserts the small pipe into
the neck of the bag, turns the key and
out swells the balloon to the proper size A
quick turn and the neck of the balloon is
twisted tight enough to prevent the escape
Of the gas. few turns of thread knot
and the balloon is strong. Then they musl
be ornamented with little daubs of pnint
which represent flags, eagles, faces, birds
and animals. To protect them from tho in
fiuences of the weather and also to give
them their bright, glistening appearance,
which is much more pleasing to the infantile
eye than the dull color of the undressed
rubber, thin film of very fine gelatine is
spread over them with brush. They aro
then tied in punches and sent into the street
in the hands of the entire family, from the
head of the house, the manufacturer of the
toys, down to the smallest child.