Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-08
THE CHRISTMAS TOY SHOPS
MECHANICAL PIECES COME FROM
THE FATHERLAND.
Dolls and Their Lovely buds Come
From Gay Parce-Picture Books
and Dishes.
Written for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening Star.
In hundreds of thousands Of the happy
homes of America the Christmas shopping
| is being done for the little ones. Store
| windows are gay with coors and glittering
metals-the uniforms of the alluring toys
| that later will lind place on the Christ
mas tree or in the Christmas stocking The
imaginative Peter Bell, of whom Words
| worth spoke commseratngly as seeing
| in q primrose by the rivers brink yell
low primrose, and nothing more, was the
prototype of the American woman shopper,
for to most of her kind window full of
| toys is that and nothing more. Still, the
romance of making would fill a vol
| ume
Nearly all the finest toys come from Ger
many. Some are manufactured in America,
| mostly the wooden ones, but American la
Dor apparently cannot compete with the
cheap labor in Germany. There the most
skilled workmen do not receive more than
$25 a month, while much of the work is
| done for 2 cents an hour In Germany 1t is
possible for the poor peasant to live on
| this, because he is willing to merely exist,
| and in the fatherand the cost of every
thing is cheap.
The greater part of the work upon the
holiday toys is done by women. In this
country this is particularly true, because
| the services Of young girls may be secured
for q very small sum.
From PARKWAY Lands.
1t Is amazing to know that German and
not Yankee workmen construct the fine
mechanical toys. The American buyers go
to the German towns, like Nuremberg and
Sonneberg, where for years the majority Of
the population have devoted themselves to
the making Of toys. There they go from
manufacturer to manufacturer, looking
over his stock and Suhmitfipp
models for toys which they wish for the
coming season. The buyer orders for the
following Christmas about February, and
the toys are received about October
The most beautiful dolls come from
France. Some OF them are arrayed by
regular doll dressmakers. who make them
tiny fashion models. They are clothed as
completely as Partisan belle, even to the
tiny jeweled pins in the hair. The dolls
sell a wholesale from a penny to $50 each.
Very few people know why dolls are near
ly always blue-eyed. When Queen Victoria
was little girl she was very fond Of dolls.
and many OF them were ordered for her
amusement Out Of compliment to the lit
tie princess the manufacturers tried to
make their dolls look like her, because 1t
pleased the English children. who are great
lovers Of these toys. When the little Prin-
cess Victoria became queen the makers con-
tdnued to have their dolls look like her, and
to this day the custom prevails.
Battle Scenes Wanted.
This season the StorekeeperS will tell
the inQuiring shopper that the demand for
toy soldiers Is very great, and If he hap
pens to be an intelligent salesman he will
add that all of the toy warriors have been
imported from Nuremberg where one man.
ufactureT has made a fortune and won
worldwide fame through the perfection OF
his p!gmy images. Indeed. a box of these
toys Is equal to lesson in history for all
tho great armies of the world, in uniforms
q, nj he orn
made by the manufacturer, and all the
great battles Of the world may be fought
over by the fortunate owner of the great
battle series. for the manufacturer. who is