Griggs courier., 1893-10-06
AMERICAN MADE Tovs.

AMERICAN MADE TOYS.
In Originality. Variety. YlnlsA ana strsegtA
They Excel An Others.
When the Spanish Princess Eulalie
was about bringing to close her Every
delightful visit" to this country. as she
described it, she conceived the idea Of
purchasing toys of American invention
and manufacture to present to her
children, as souvenirs Of their mothers
prolonged absence from them, npon
her return to Madrid. With this cb-
ject in view, the woman personally
visited several of the depots in New
York where novelties in this class Of
merchandise are stored for distribution
among the retailers of the country.
1t is not an exaggeration to say that
the princess was more than sur
prised ut the novelties which were
brought under her notice. She had in.
timated that she desired to see only
American toys-that is, the ingenious
patented contrivances which were in
debted for their origin and matcrializa-
ton to native inventors and native
mechanical workers. Doubtless, as
most foreigners are apt to conceive,
she supposed she would be introduced
to half u dozen or so novelties, but as
the sellers were quite desirous of max
ing good display of their varied in
genious contrivances, they literally
opened their magazines to her inquisi-
tive searchings, and before she had
closed her inspection and selection of
wares offered her she found she had
become the buyer of no mean invoice
of childrcn's playthings, not one Of
which was duplicated.
The princess was not chary in ex.
pressing her astOnishment ut the W.
riety of contrivances that, while IA
miliar to the native youngsters of the
North American continent, are quite
unknown to those of the Old World to
which she was about torcturn, satiated
with the novelties that until her ad-
vent here she was nationally ignorant
of. Not even in Paris, France, nor in
Berne, Switzerland, with both of which
centers of toy manufacture she was
familiar, had she ever found such
unique adaptation of figure and va
riety of form in mechanical movement
or originality of design. The Swiss
toy maker few years ago was &C.
knowledgcd the superior in this line
and the French worker ranked next
to him, the American being nowhere.
Within the last dozen years the ad.
vance in this class of manufacture in
the United States has been really mar
velous. In metal toys, including those
formed of tin and of lead, or in combi.
nation, and also in iron, the American
products command the market. For.
merly the demand for this class of
goods was supplied by importation.
Now, however, different story is told.
Dcnlers abroad do not look to their
home manufacturers for unique and
elegant attractions. They only can
obtain the automatic class that they
need by purchasing from America.
Princess Eulalie must have been cog
infant OF this interesting fact, else she
would not have cared to burden herself
| with wares she otherwise might have
| supposed were purchasable at Madrid
or in Paris or Berne. And when one
comes to inquire into the varieties
which are included in the manufacture
of toys in this country he can not he
otherwise than surprised.
Nearly all the toys below the sleigh
| and the hand wagon furnished with
shafts and designed to be drawn by
harnessed dogs and goats are, for ths
greater part, composed either singly
or in combination of ductile metals,
and nine out of ten of these crea.
tions are moved by springs governed
by wheels..or what is ordinarily termed
clockwork. There are several manu-.
factories of tin toys in Brooklyn-two
in the eastern district manufacture
very largely, and there are also several
in the western district. There are
quite a number in New York and in
towns Of Connecticut, making not in.
significant item in the industrial make.
up of the country. In one toy manu-.
factory in Brooklyn the reporter
counted, in q list of eighty-one large.
sized and what might be termed in
destructible playthings, the body OF
them tin, often braced with iron,
fifty of them that were moved automa.
tically, the motor power of each being
ingeniously and not obtrusively ar.
ranged. These included animals OF
different sizes, fro IN the tor toise to the
camel, the lion, the horse, the zebra
and the elephant, not forgetting Mary
with her little lamb. OF woodwork, in
the form of the toy, there are many
contrivances, but these for the large
part are for boys, seldom for girls, OF
from seven to fourteen years. Beauty
in the manufacture of these is made
subordinate to strength.
In one toy the American as yet is
quite behind his European competitor.
His doll, large or small, may be &C.
ceptable to the very little girl. but
young misses of from nine to thirteen
years prefer something nicer. And il
is here where the Partisan image comes
in. 1t is not its features nor it's form
that commcnds the French puppet to
the Yankee girl. 1t is the style she
looks at and admires. The facial at.
traction of the French doll may be as
dull-looking and as ugly in the body as
were the choicest of the very unpleas-
ant-looking wooden-faced Dutch idols
her majesty of England and empress OF
India is said to have pleased herself