The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1889-07-06
WHERE TOYS COME FROM
Most of Them the Product of
~ Cheap German Labor.
Why the United States Can Not Make the
Cheaper Kinds Of Playthings-An About
Dolls, Toy Locomotives, Ten-Cent
Watches and Other Trifes.

prominent wholesale dealer IN toys to
New York Times man, "nine-tenths come
from Germany. OF these large proper
ton are made in one little place, Some
berg, o town of about ten thousand inhabit-
ants in Thuringen. Almost the entire in
dustry of this place is confined to the man
ufacture of dolls. The inhabitants are very
poor people and are brought up 10 doll-mak.
ing.
"Before it is completed a doll passes
through many hands. The heads, hards
and feet are made by one person, the body
by another, the hair is fixed ON by another,
and the face is painted by two other differ
emit people, one doing the rough work and
the second the finishing touches. The cloth
ing is made by another person and the
dresses are put on by still another. All
this labor is done at such starvation prices
that Americans can not compete in the man
ufacture, although the duty for importation
is thirty-fve per cent.
"To this town of Sonneberg there come
every year large number OF buyers from
all over the world. go there myself and
never fail to meet at least a score of Ameri-
cans engaged in the same business. There
are at least 500 different kinds of dolls, and
the variety is remarkable. The French in
Germans copy them so cheaply that the
worlds buyers go to the latter for their
stock. For the manufacture of fine dress
dolls the French still ho.d the lead by long
odds. tits only in the cheaper goods that
the Germans outspeed them. England fur
nishes very few dolls, and can now recall
only one kind that is distinctly EngIish--the
English rag doll, which is made wholly of
rags, even to the face, theeyes being sewed
on. There are French walking dolls, smok-
ing men and other automatic figures, but
these do not really belong to the family OF
dolls. They arc mechanical figures, too in
tricate in their mechanism to be classed as
mere dolls. or the rubber dolls fully one
half are male in America, where any thing
that is machine made prospers to the ex-
clusion Of imported stuffs.
"The price Of dolls ranges from cent to
$50, but the most popular are those that sell
for Is cents, SO cents and 81, although
there has been great run recently on s.
cent and l0-cent dolls
GAS with dolls, SO it is with other toys.
The most Of them come from Germany,
where they are made very cneaply. This
same town Of Sonneberg furnishes many of
them, but more come from Nuremberg and
small towns in its vicinity. 1t IS in this dis
trict that magnetic toys, swords, guns,
trumpets, horns, wooly Sheep Jumping
jacks, monkeys on sticks, jacks in the box
and ingenious mechanical toys are made.
The carved wooden toys come principally
from the Bavarian highlands, but they arc
brought to Nuremberg to be sold. The
cheaper grades of wooden toys are made in
poorer Saxony and comprise cheap arks and
sets Of furniture.
s.How cheaply they make these things YOU
can Judge from this instance. Hero is
toy of furniture CONSISTING Of three chairs,
bureau, a table, Il sofa and a mirror. care
ooA. Now, ai.er huVihg pau % per cent
uuty anu nav,ng alioweo ~ per cent. Tor
.re'sn1 uno o'nor EXPENSES We sen sucn