Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1901-03-08
FADS OF CHILDHOOD.
CRAZES THAT HAVE At TIMES
BESET CHILDHOOD.


CRAZES THAT HAVE At TIMES
BESET CHILDHOOD.
The Button and Picture Card Manas The
Postage Stamp and Cigarette Pictures. Bugs.
Butterflies, Shells and Rocks Follow as Sc.
quence-honors for Certain Games-Jarson
Jinsles for "Countins Out" in Play that
Everybody Has Used.
Where is the man or woman who
has not in his or her childhood days
made a collection of some sort?
There is something radically wrong
with the child who does not do this,
writes Harvey Peake in the Louisville
| COurier-Journdl The collection may
be OF no value whatever, yet it is the
nature OF the child to collect, and this
it will do under all circumstances.
With boys, it may begin with tad
poles, reach climax at marbles, taper
off at manhood with books, prints,
posters, coins, stamps or autographs.
With girls, it begins with button
strings, reaches a climax at picture
cards, and ends-with husbands.
We can all remember the enthusi-
asm with which we as small children
filled bottles with fireflys, and with
what anxiety and impatience we wait
ed until dark, in order that we might
see whether the vast number of i'm.
prisoned captives would be able to
light the room.
We can also remember the bird
nest craze, when we imperiled our
necks and limbs in mad effort to get
at varieties that we're rare, and that
would give us chances to crow over
less fortunate collectors.
The button craze was we'll nigh
maddening. Quantity and not quail
ity" was the battle cry. A bitter RI
valry existed between collectors, and
the girl with the longest string Of the
glittering baubles was the envy, and,
at the same time, the enemy Of all the
other children, because her good for
tune rendered her "stuck up" and
overbearing. And yet every girl tried
to obtain this coveted position.
Every possible device was resorted
to in order to obtain these prizes.
Many choice specimens were surrepti-
tiously cut from garments temporarily
unused by their owners. The lives OF
the button collectors friends were
made hideous by the constant de.
mands for tribute, and the fear that
such would be obtained by foul means
if not by fair.
At later period came the advertis-
ing picture card craze. Aud woe to
the merchant that had the misfortune
to get out a set of beautiful speci-
mems! Children with never-varying
cry: "Mister, won't you please give
me picture card?" besieged his door
throughout the day, and filled good
part of his night with unhappy
dreams. They, like the poor, were al
ways with him.
The fad is supposed to have origi.
mated in Boston. But, wherever it
started, it swept over the country like
sunshine, and in an incredibly short
space of time every city, town and
hamlet had its collectors of picture
cards. Even men and women, spurred
on by the Unsuitable demands of
their offspring, would make de-
mands for the coveted cardboards at
such places as were inaccessible to
children. Systems Of exchange came
into existence, and it was considered
almost as great feat to make q prof
liable and fair exchange of duplicates
as it was to obtain q new Get merely
for the asking.
The fad grew to such proportions
that dealers began to offer them for
sale in small lots, but this was fail.
ure, because they were not printed,
and were, therefore, not to be consid-
cred. They must be advertising cards;
that was imperative.
While the collection of cards is to
some extent carried ON at the present
time, it is by no means the all-prevail-
ing craze it was several years ago.
Then there are stamps and post
marks, a field of such breadth as to be
almost endless, and one that is taken
advantage of by adults as we'll rs
children. Cigarette pictures and but
tons were another temptation for the
juvenile collector, but have fortunately
been discontinued by the manufactu-
rers. No doubt many youth was
started on his downward career as
cigarette smoker by the inducements
offered for adding to his collection of
pictures and buttons by the purchase
of cigarettes.
The getting together of bugs, but
terflies, rocks and shells has always
found favor with children, and fur
nishes instruction as we'll as pleasure,
many of our most noted naturalists
and geologists having developed an
early love for this method of combin.
ing instruction with play. In fact,
the future bent of many boys and
girls has been determined by these
collective fads of children.
There was time, not 30 many
years ago, when a child's inclination
to collect and hoard treasures of this