Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-11-12

To doll making. Before II Ii completed .
doll passes through many hands Inc
head. hands, and feet are made by ona
person, the body by another the hair 10
fixed on by another, and the face y paint
ed by two other different people, enc
doing the rough work. and the second the
finishing touches. Tho clothing is made
by another person. and the dresses are
put on by ssill another.
IAN this work In done at such starva-
ton prices that Americans cannot compete
in the manufacture. although the duty ~
% per cent To this town OF Sonneberg
there comes every year large number
OF buyers from all over the world j go
there myself. and never fail to meet q
score or so OF Americans engaged In the
same business There are at least 500
different kinds OF dolls. and the variety Is
remarkable. The French invent many
OF the most attractive. but the German
copy them so cheaply that the worlds
buyers go 20 the latter chiefly for their
stock. For the manufacture OF fine dress.
dolls the French still hold the lead b,
long odds II Is only in the cheaper good
the Germans outspced them. England fur
nishes very few dolls, and can now rs
call only one kind that Is distinctly En
giish-the English rag-doll. made who'll
Of rags.
There are French walking dolls. smol
ing men. and other automatic figures. but
they are mechanical and too intricate "a
be classed as mere dolls. OF the rubber
dolls fully one-half are made In Amer
lea, where everything that Is machine
made prospers to the exclusion of the i'm
ported stuffs. The prices OF dolls range
from cent 10 $50. but the most popular
OF course. are those that sell for 20. 50
cents and 81. although there has recently
been a great rus on and Decent dolls.
As with dolls SO IL Is with other toys. The
most Of them come from Germany. where
they are made so cheaply. The same
town OF Sonneberg furnishes many OF
them, but more come from Nuremberg.
and smaI towns in its vicinity.
1T IN In this district that magnetic toys.
swords guns trump,Ss. horns. woolly
sheep, jumping jacks. monkeys on sticks.
jack -in-the-box. and ingenious NE ;'ancal
toys are made. The carved wooden toys
are made In poorer Saxony, and comprise
cheap arks and sets OF furniture. How
cheaply these things are made you may
Judge from this instance: Here is toy
set consisting OF three chairs, bureau.
a table. a sofa, and mirror. carefully
done up in a substantial pasteboard box.
Now after having paid - per cent duty.
and having allowed 70 per cent for freight
and other expenses. We sell such such
furniture sets at rs cents dozen and
make reasonable profit. Think Of that.
You can figure out the original cost II
you choose.
Porcelain toys-tea sets and things OF
that sort--are also made very cheaply, tho
waste places In the potteries being filled
up with their mold1 without much cost.
Toy horses, cows, elephants. cats, dogs,
lions, tigers, and all kinds of animals
are made chiefly In German prisons.
Many of these are ingenious novelties,
being SO constructed as TO be able to move
heads and emit noise resembling more or
hess the natural cries of each animal.
The retail prices Of these toys run from
30 cents 10 $40. OF the wooden toys, fully
one-half are made in America. They in
cude A, u. c blocks. building blocks, and
games, and are easily turned out by
machinery. Iron toys are also made
/ largely here. and so are tin toys. The tin
for the latter is imported from Europe.
and when the toys are finished they are
/ exported for the European market.
"The majority of the rubber toys come
from France--mostly from Parls-al-
though the manufacture of this line Of
plaything Is constantly increasing in
America, and the American rubber toys
are really the best to be had. The rea-
In the manufacture OF rubber toys IL
found in the fact that the great demand
for other goods shuts out the toys Toy
watches are remarkably cheap. and are
made I'm France. We sell watches with
chains, charms. and movable hands. for
d cents a dozen, after having allowed
for duty and freight. OF the standard
games the best chessmen come from
England: backgammon and checkers are
made altogether in America; bone domi-
noes. dice. and the cheaper grades OF
chessmen come from France; toy print
ing presses. locomotives. and all that
line of goods are domestic.
TOY printing presses were formerly al
most wholly furnished by the Germans,
but latterly the Americans have super
seeded their Teutonlc brethren. In educa-
tlonal toys America leads, the world
and exports large quantities. So IL does
also i'm the manufacture OF the necessary
articles for outdoor games"