The morning call., 1893-09-24
IN A TOY SHOP.
Changes Made in Chill
dren's Playthings.
FASHIONS DOWN To DATE.
Noaf1's Ark No Longer in Demand.
No American Dolls Worth
Mentioning.


all other lines. rapid changes have taken
place in the last thirty or forty years, and
a toystore is now really wonderful
place to contempiative adult brains as we'll
as to childish ones, says the Chicago
Herald Novelties on every side. prin-
ciples of motive power exemplifed per-
| fectly in miniature form. educational in
ventions as well as those for mere amuse-
ment, the toystore compasses them all and
the natural question is, Where do they all
come from?
One-half at least of the toys that little
johnny and Mamie play with are now i'm
ported from Germany, France and Eng
land, and of those made In this country
Pennsylvania can claim but very small
5 sHare- The ingenious American brain
turns out the bulk of the best mechanical
toys. most of which elaboratey con-
| structed affairs hail from Connecticut,
while the tin toys mostly owe their origin
also to the far Eastern States, and the
manufacture OF wooden playthingS is
local industry. The finer kinds of wooden
things, however, are CT foreign make. such
as handsome miniature stables, with
tiioruughbreds standing contentedly in
| stalls elegant enough to do honor to the
most blue -blOoded horse ancestry.
| The tOolchest, completely furnished
! with every useful implement which so
/ delights the boy with the instinct toward
carpen tering, is distinctly American
though. and so are the bell chimes" the
portable savings banks. the strictly true
scales. the little flatrons, the wooden pals
and spades for seashore use and the
alphabetical blocks. not TO speak of ex-
press wagons. blackbOards and number
less other favOrite sources OF amusement.
The fact nevertheless remains that this
great country has not q national doll, and
its thousands of little girl housewives and
| mammas are dependent on the iInporta-
tion of the German article for the possess
! slOl OF the time-honored ,plaything at all.
Some few of course arc made here, but
they are the poorest kind and have no sale
at all. comparatively speaking. A long
distance glance into the homes of the Ger
man peasants discovers the origin of the
beautiful bisque dolls which the children
fondle and make much of nowadays in
stead Of the sickly and unhealthy wax
things which Of yore were reckOned per-
lection IN the line of playthings.
There in the little rooms of the cottage
home sit grouped peasant lassies in plctur-
esQue working gear, with kerchief rest
ing on the neatly braided hair, busi,y en-
gagged in making various sections of dolls
bodies. For, indeed, these inanimate ba bieS
are fearfully and wonderfully made, and
no one class of persons construct one
entirely from top to bottom. The work is
done III private homes, not In factories,
and in one house may be seen industrious
| figures bending over the artistic arrange
ment of the little flaXen rlngets in an
| other father and mother ana all are con-
! centTating their attention on the manufac-
| ture of busts and the adjus tment of ringlets
upon the smooth bsque crowns; in yet
another the sections COMPOSING jointed
I arms and legs may be seen in process of
construction, and in a fourth pleasant
fa ed girls are filling kid bodies with the
| substance that gives them symmetry of
| OF mi ari
nent parts are shipped separately to this
| country and united finally in a triumphant
whole ia the esta blishment Of the importer.
One OF these importers the other day
| drew aside a screen in his emporium and
| revealed state OF things worthy OF dis
secting-rOom. Every part of doll anatomy
! lay in methodieal. rigid order before the
observer-headS, arms, legs, trunks and
wigs Rows and rows OF perfect dolls were
ranged around ana the unanimity of their
placid, stereotyped smiles smote rather
| painfully on the vision, considering the
! CHASTITY scene confronting them. Nearly
all natiOnalities were there-the almond
eyed Japanese baby, the woDly pated
pickaHinny, the darksskinned Indian pap
pooSe and others too numerous to mention.
AprOpos of dolls. the hOusefurnishing
| needed by them come into mind and some
inquiry being made of the importer as to
the material employed in the manufacture
of mattresses, the reply was received that
! they are mostly stuffed with excelsior. A
dim recollection of the youth who bore
mid snow and ice banner with a strange
device struggled in the interrogator's
mine for a minute, but recent develop
mentS made it appear that excelsior in the
/ toy business means wood ShaVlngs. Doll
| jewelrv. of which beautiful sets of pearls.
rubies and other precious stones are to be
had at very reasonable prices. is imported
! from France, though the tiny watches,
erstwhile Partisan entirely. are now
brought from Germany. Shoes which are
made to conform to the very latest styles
| in adult footwear, come from both the
last named countries likewise, and perfect
samples of the popular Blucher and the
fanciful Juliet slipper can be found on the
! toyStore counters.
A very sad circumstance, strikingly illus
trative OF the fckleness of public fa vor and
| the tendency To consider whatever is old
obsolete, is brought to light by an exaNina-
/ ton OF this subject. The Noah'S Ark,
which has for so long been the staple
treasure of the nursery. and whose collec-
tion of curiosities has proved through SO
many wears OF service its attractivenesS to
the infantile mind, is out of fashion at
last, and soon we shall have nothing but
| its memory left. 1t is one more time
honored institution fallen a victim to the
| progressive nature of the times, and
modern children will not know one of the
greatest joys afforded their predecessors by
the study of natural history through the
medium of the ark.
Contrary to q surpositon sometimes en-
tertaned, the smaller kinds of novelties,
principally in thu line of tin, also owe their
origin Co Germany. Of this sort is the
vari-coiored bit ef mechanism resembling
an iridescent magnitied house tiy which
| all have seen Scutting about Market
street pavement and Tapping huge pair
! of wings by means of clock-work ar
raugement. Inventions of this kind are
made usually by private persons, who dis
pose Of the idea to some of the large
houses, which then proceed to manufac-
ture the articles and put them on the
market.
Pensive-l looking lambs that look as If
they couldn't say "baa" to a gosling are
/ also the handiwork of Emperor Williams
thrifty subjects and mother of pearl.
papier mache, tensil, china, bisque aud
wax goods are theirs also The manufac-
| ture of Easter tokens is quite a distinct
line Of the trade. it appears plaster of
paris bunnies and all.
A Life Insurance Policy.
| mo tO h,,f