The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1891-12-30
TOYS FOR THE NEW YEAR
HOW THEY ARE SOLD ON The
STREETS OF PARIS.


Variety of oarious Articles = Their
CheaPness-Pharaoh's SerPenss.
From Dec % TO Jan. every yesr the
city Of Paris becomes one vast fair. Police
regulations OF all kinds are relaxed: beg
gars aud barrel organs have free run Of the
capital. in the open spaces swings. car
r0usels. roundab0uts. shooting galleries.
aud somnamOulists' consulting cabinets
are installed Along the grand ooulevards
and main avenues interminable lines Of
| wooden booths are erected Sellers Of ali
/ kinds OF useful and useless objects begin
/ 10 I'll the air with their cries, aud 70 gather
obsrructins grOups in front Of their dis
/ play Of miscellaneous merchandise.
/ The origin of the little booths is almost
as old a the custom Of giving Christmas
and New Years presents. but it IS only
I since lss9 that those erected on the Ooule-
I wards have been sufficiently numerous 20
/ constitute a special fair Since New Year's
day Of lS52 they have not ceased 70 make
their annual visit except dnring the winter
of ISsO-l
Permission l. given each year for erect
ing these booths from Dec p TO Jan 6 on
the bouleyards. the quays aud the public
squares. with the exception OF the Plsce
Nendome and the Place lie Ia Concorde
The principal spos is, % course. the main
bouieyards from the Btstile 70 the Made
leine, where about so Of them are placed
on both sidewalks OF the thorouchfare
Some 900 or SO more are scattered about
in other psirts OF the city From the Bias
tile TO the Place lie Ia Republique i the
favorite locality for the orange venders.
and from that point % the Madeleine the
toys, triHkets. knicSknaeks. etc. known
under the general name Of the Article De
Paris. reign supreme
The maximum width - each booth j.
eight te-t. and a space OF three feet i left !
between cIch construction. No booth can /
Dc p.urri within a hundred feet OF a stor. !
selling the same article that Is to h. dis
played hy the temporary dealer. The &C
cupauts % the booths pay No tax TO the |
city When the weather IS good the net
profits during the fortnight vary frOm -
10 40 franes for each booth, varying. Of
course, with the nature OF the merehan-
disc The permit IS given By the police !
commissioner OF each quarter.
Besides the permissions given TO Oceu-
pants of booths. acert.iiu number Of licenses 1
are granted O. the camelOts or street ped 4
silers, who squeeze into corners By the trees.
where there is not space enough for a
booth They ,save portable table or stand
and fold up their apparatus az might like
the Arab and quietly steal away-uHtil the
following morning. The cameiots are nu-
merous AT all SEASONS Of the year, but dur
ing holiday time il seems As though hun
dreds OF them had sprung up cut OF the
ground Like the ragpiekers the street
peddiers are mainly recruited from tine
large class who have no trade and are
Obliged to turn their hand 70 anything
which will give them living.
The corners OF streets closed for repairs
are the ftvorite places for the peddier, and
he has only 70 set up his table and begin 70
arrange his stock in trade 10 have n crowd
OF idiers see what be has got. Glanciag
around he Suddenly eyciaims. Il may as
we'll rum myself today As tomorrow. A
man must eat. mustn't he's and then he
starts of with his honimenr or story about
what he has 10 sell
The bonimeut Is the great card for the
peddler. Some improvise their story; others
recite- The article to be sold can change.
but never the boniment. Sonne of the ped
,dlers try 10 amilse their erOwtl by trllirz
amusing yarns. and then By clever tran
-sition pr1Iisiug the article they have TO sell
Others try to catch customers by awaken
ing their curiosity Several use the pa-
triotic dodge Of encouraging home indus
Try" aud all eudeavOr to prove that the
object they offer l. sold Is an advertise
meut, and consequently below cost-
These pefidiers travel over the country,
visiting all the fairs. They have their
special hotels ia ali the principal piaees.
During the New Years fair in Paris speci
mems Of all these itineranr venders. both
regular and Irregular. may he seen, some
having booths. others operating with
simple table or tray, and all dealing as a
in ~ 2 I
twenty-uine or thirty-uine sous. Such are
the traditional prices. just one cent iess
than the usual prices @. other men.
Tire objects sold in the booths along the
b0ulevartis defy enumeration You may
find everything there from egg Oeaters and
potato masEeTs up 20 casts Of the Venus Of
Milo. of HoudOn's kiss, and OF Mme
Recamier, and between these two extremes
are boubOns. nOugrr. musical instruments,
bird calls, filters. American popcorn. Swed
ish cutlery, books. artificial flowers, mir
rors, visiting cards, but above all toys Of
all kinds, dolls, dolls furniture, tin sol
-diers and more especially very cheap TOYS
last year the novelties were 50 called me
-chanical toys which you wind up with a
string To set them going. SUCH are
nurse pushing a perambulatOr, a baker
and his eIrt, a lady with her parasOi. an
sff~FrlEa4 AeaFEAlA-Er Two WALTERS rWU urf= .
men lighting duei. etc. These toys are
ali niatie OF Tin. and a very simple mechau-
ism causes them % move over a plane sur
face with comic stimulation Of moving
limbs. or. Ike the dueIists. TO Innge az
each other with furious swords for two or
three minutes, while the impetus Of the
string and spring lasts. Such TOYS are al
made As cheapiy as possible. and vary ia
price from thirteen cents Ia thirty-nine
cents
~ an instance Of the economical way IN
which they are manufactured we viii take
well known thirteen cent tOy. the me
chanical rabbit seated on a iirtle car which
ia motion makes the animal beat a pair Of
cymbals First Of all. the wheels must he
perfectly round in order 70 have the rotary
movement % the axletree make the TWO
tones strike regularly. Il these wheels
were cut expressly they would cost double
the price Of the roy itself. 50. necessity be
iug the mother Of invention. the toy max
ers conceiEed the idea 81 getting them
ready made by purchasing the waste
pieces Of wood from the cruet stand manu-
facturers- TIE tops Of the ordinary crUet
stands are cut ont WIKI punch. th's 3p-
GRAFTON leaves ~ waste :vo cgu-f pieces
of wool where the oii aad vius-ar cruets
.
The stcPpers are r.aced while tee casters
are in use TSe small pieces serve for
Ihe front wieeiS OF the rabbits car and I ,
the larger ones lor the hird wheels. The [
axletrce i ulaie frcn the waste umbrella
baudles, from those that are not perfectly
straight
The rabbit himself IS in cardboard, and
covered with refuse skin that the furrie-s
cannot use To complete the illusion tie {
animal must have eyes, and ordinary shoe
nails specially Vanished give the desire.
enriched with gold lace aud cords, was as !
elaborate a the headgear OF a tailor
made woman OF our times. The vest, ,
usually of white satin. frequently heavily
embroidered with gold. silver or colors,
always Ornameated with noticeable and
often valuable buttons. had long flaps its
entire length, and was, after the coat, the
most pronounced article OF attire
Rufiies Of LACE. fine a. that worn By c
their sisters. their cousins or their aunts." 4
fell about their well kept hands and adOwu j
their snow shirt bosoms The widest =
latitude in color and fabric vas permitted.
aud though General Washington. Mr. jay. !
Robert Norris and other distinguished :
men cOnhned themselves 70 black. white
or scarcely visible colors, many Of the T
celebrities Of the day wore hues as vivid or Il
as delicate as the most dainty debutanfe. II
Mrs. Washington never requested her
weekly visitors % b. seated Indeed. all a
: 81 -.