Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1899-03-06
THE GERMAN TOY INDUSTRY.
Over $10,0oO,OOO Worth of Toys Ex-
ported Yearly.


of Sonneberg, the center of the mod
ern toy industry, says Uhlands Wo-
chenschrift, is commonly considered
as the birthplace Of toy-making, it
cannot be denied that the first at
tempts in the art were made by me
village of Judenbach, situated further
to the northeast. By reason of its
favorable situation near the Nurn-
-Sachsische Geleitsstrasse, road
much frequented ever since the 18th
century, and the only means of com
municating with Leipsic and Nurem-
| berg, the village could always readily
dispose of it's crude wooden house and
kitchen utensils, and later, of it's lit
tie chairs, tables, animals, crossbows,
swords, gun and musical intruments.
Even long after the art of making
woOden-ware had been introduced in
| Sonneberg, Neuremberg was still the
market for these peasant products,
and continued to make the most by
the transaction. Not without reason
did the city call Sonneberg It's Gold
tochterlein (little gold-daughter) Not
until the Thirty Year war had de-
stroyed all the regular trade COM
munications did the Sonneberg trades
men themselves begin to travel about
with their wares. The inhabitants
of Judenbach, on the other land,
could never conclude to leave their
native village in order to sell their
products. While in Judenbach the
toy industry did not attain great pro-
portions, in Sonneberg the trade, as
early as the 18th century, had grown
to such an extent that when public
markets were established in Frank
fort-on-the-Main the merchants of
Sonneberg were granted equal exemp-
ton from taxes and duties with the
merchants of Nuremberg.
Till the 18th century, toys were
colored with poisonous bismuth
paints An important step in the de-
velopment of the industry was the
endeavor to make those parts which
were with difficulty carved of some
doughty substance (rye flour mixed
with lime water). But this substance
softened and mildewed when moist
ened. A decided advance can there
fore be recorded only when Friedrich
Muller, citizen of Sonneberg, began
to use papier mache, substance of
which he had heard from a French
soldier. The figures were no longer
modelled as before, but the plastic
mass was now pressed into shape by
moIds. By means of this new sub
lance Sonneberg produced it's wares
with almost mechanical rapidity. Toys
we're no longer made in the houses of
peasants, but in factories The cost
of these new wares, was, moreover,
considerably reduced-a most sig
nificant factor in the manufacture of
toys.
Strange to say, in the making of
dolls but little progress was made.
Not until a new method was intro
duced into Sonneberg, which came
from China, by way of England, can
any great improvement be recorded.
England, can any great improvement
From the first Chinese dolls Of 1oo2,
with their movable limbs strung to-
gether by cords drawn through the
joints, coloring the faces of these
dolls, white lead, a poisonous paint,
was long employed, until, by legisla-
tive action, it's use was prohibited.
Nowadays the innocuous zinc oxide
and similar harmless colors are used.
The hair dolls, after many failures
with other material, is now made of
mohair and the fur of Angora goats.
In this manner the toy industry
slowly developed to it's present state.
How numerous are the varieties of
toys now made may be inferred when
it is considered that the design room
of a Sonneberg factory contains from
10000 to $4,000 designs. In order to
maintain the position which they
have reached, toy-makers are COM
PEELED constantly to bring forth new
models and to adapt their products
foreign purchasers. Years ago, the
chairman of the Sonneberg chamOer
of commerce and industry proposed
the collection of toys made by foreign
manufacturers, in order that Some
berg toy-makers might thus be able
to acquaint themselves with the
wants and peculiarities of foreign
markets. Such collection of models
has now been made and does good
service for the manufacturers, as we'll
as for the students at the various in
dustrial schools of Thuringia.
The toys at present made may be
divided into the following groups: 1.
Wares made entirely of wood, such as
cross-bows, guns, violins, flutes, chess
and draught board, rattles, jumping
manikins, nut-crackers, soldiers, nine
pins, rocking horses. 2. Articles made
mostly of wood such as doI4-nouses
kitchens, shops, furniture, Punch and
Judy shows. 8. Mechanical toys. f.
Papier-mache articles, such as har1e-
quins, riders, caricatures Of national
types, animals covered with felt or
leather, shepherds houses menageries,
figures of Santa Claus. 5. Animals
covered with fur. 6. Metal toys,
such as tin figures TOW trumDets