The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-12-20
A Gorgeous Array to Select
Gifts From.
Some of the Novelties Offered
for the Holiday Trade.
Never Before Has There Been Such
Wonderful Toys for Christmas.

Real tortoise-shell salad forks and
spoons are among the offerings for Christ
mas patronage this year, and II they are
not novelties ia the strict senss OF the
term they are certainly novel dining
utensils. A tortoise-shell hack or side
comb is commonplace enough, but tor
toise-sheIl fork to lift your salad with
but then you need not think Of the comb
when eating salad. or course there are
great many Christmas "novelties" in our
Westmi inster street stores, hut not so
ever, the old ones shine more lustrously
than ever and many OF them have been
improved until they appear like new
acquaintsnees. Take mechanical toys,
for instance. Everybody has seen them
has bad them, hut take q walk up
street and look at the varied assortment
of old time friends IN their new garbs. Ii
was not 30 very long ago that a keyless
mechanical toy, or, rather, one with the
key attached, was q rare novelty, and this
year everything has key attached, while
the machinery IL not nearly as cum ber-
some ms formerly. Even the street fakir
has some..clever toys OF this sort, although
the material is flimsy and cheap. lie
has tin locomotive that will choo-choo
ahead for q certain distance, and just as
you think you had better run after il, IT
backs o. its own accord, and then starts
forward again just in time TO avoid hit
ting the wall and dashing its tender parts
| TO pieces. Then there is the bareback
rider galloping around the circus ring and
the ring master cracks his whip.
Up in the large stores there are steam
| fire engines, water towers, hook and
| ladder trucks, trains OF cars, stea m boats,
| tslly-bos and every kind of attractive
toy, as big as life and all worked on
! life-like principles These may also be
| said not to be novelties, but they
| strike the small boy as such as much to-
| day as they ever did. The little girls ara
in 1t, too. They can buy three headed
| dolls; that is, dolls with heaos that can
be taken off and put on SO that when
| company is coming who prefer bru-
nettes, dolly can have just as pretty dark
hair as desired, and vice versa. Then
| the cook stoves, or ranges, they have this
year! My, they're just like mammals.
Great polished plates with the name on
| sdorn the doors, while the ranges, in
which a real fire may be bailt, are.
equipped with every kind OF stove furnish
ipgs. These really are novelties, because
| OF their usefulness. With them, the lit
| tie daughters can take their first lessons
| from Mrs. Lincoln, the recipes being
proportionstely reduced, OF course
sleds for both boys and girls seem to
| have undergone a transformation, too.
| There is q "Black Beauty" In one win
| dow that Is destined to make some boy
supremely. happy. Its shape, the handle
holes and decorations ere superior 20 the
| ordinary.
In one store there are some China
plaques, for decorating. They are she'll
shaped, and very pretty, but the novelty
about them lies In the fact that they,
nor any similar. cannot he purchased any
where else in New England.
| Ladies slippers are novel enough with
| their fancy shapes, Innings, trimmings
and other materials, while the poor men
have to put up with the same old styles
In jewelry there 10 not much that is
really new, 1t being said that the manu-
facturers mad so many novelties left over
last year that they ere trying to worx
them of this year. still, fer those who
have the money there are plenty Of novel.
ties obtn Unable in this line. Some Of the
latest designs in watches would put to
blush anything ever teiore sem in this
or any other country or age snd as for
brooches, neckwesr, rings. etc. thsy must
he seen to be appreciated, and they are to
he seen up or down street every day.
As Tor silver goods there are some de-
cidedly pretty articles exhibited. silver