Los Angeles herald., 1906-12-16
ARRAY OF CHRISTMAS
GOODS IN SHOPPING
DISTRICT BEWILDERS
HOLIDAY STOCKS FASCINATE BUYERS
Toy Departments Show Marvels of Mechanical
Skill at Prices That Are Within the Reach
of ALL While Complete Lines of Gifts
for Older Persons Are Displayed

morning robe de chambre to hail
gown, resplendent with jewels and
spangles, not to mention its perfect
ut and cut, which might have been
done, and perhaps was, by a Fifth
avenue modiste
For the artistically inclined there Is
new diversion. Small boxes similar.
to boxes of water colors are found to
contain five sticks-green, mauve.
white, blue and pink-of what appears
to be sealing wax, but which really is
plasticene, a combination substance
resembling clay, but without its hard
ening properties which permits of its
being used again and again for model
ing purposes. Accompanying 1t are
outline patterns, and in the primary
boxes. tin molds of simple design.
The Mechanical Toys
But the real triumph in Toyland is
its mechanical inhabitants. The sight
and sound that greet one in this de-
partment are well worth knowing.
First, that drum corps. You wish to
see as well as hear, and you move
toward 1t, peer through the crowd,
and discover that the corps is COM
posed of a drum and one small boy
who does it all with a string attached
to some apparatus inside the drum.
The effect produced is exactly like
that of any well-regulated drum corps
and is, on the whole, preferable to the
efforts OF the average youngster with
the ordinary Christmas drum. The
miniature piano player is yet to come.
Then there is the band wagon, for
all the world like the one in the circus
parade-six little red-coated men
mounted on a high wagon each with
a miniature instrument. A few twists
to a key and off go the four white
horses, and up starts the music. Since
we are speaking of this important adj
junct of the circus we may as well
mention that any child who is lucky
enough may have complete circus
outfit of which this band wagon is
only one of many equally interesting
pieces. There are large canvas tent
for the main show and smaller ones
for side shows; gorgeous gilded cages
with rare birds and wild looking beasts
in them. There are a calliope that
"goes,' wonderful bareback riders,
tight-rope walkers. jugglers and an
infinite number of specialists" of
which the clowns are not the least
amusing.
After the circus the railroad attracts
most attention, and it must be a
strange youngster indeed who would
not be interested in a real railroad
A railroad set consists Of a sufficient
number of rails to form a double track
around a billiard table, two passenger
coaches and an engine. There is a
S1gnal station, Wlun the ldnIern TO ndnB
out, a covered bridge, a trolley, a
freight station and a passenger sta
tion, and the passenger station is thor
oughly equipped for business. The
ticket man is at the window, the turn
stile is properly labeled This way
| in,' "This way OUT so that he who
runs may read, and not get caught
| in the spikes; the waiting room looks
comfortable and the whole thing may
be set in motion like the circus ap-
paratus with a turn of a key.
Punch and Judy Revived
Punch and Judy shows are rampant
this season and constructed on far
more magnificent proportions than
ever before. In some of them the box
or staging is four or five feet high,
with Punch and Judy almost -1ife-size,
and worked by springs instead of
strings.
Toyville even boasts of Luna park
with all it's attractions reproduced in
the most realistic manner, and that it
is success is proved by the obs and
abs with which the crowds greet the
demonstration. Also, many of the
features are to be had separately,
greatly enlarged. For example, a
couple of inclined rails with horses for
propping them up, a car and a couple
of doll passengers, and there you have
a "shoot the chutes." In another part
of the same shop is a Ferris wheel.
with cars large enough for two little
people to ride In them, yet the whole
thing small enough to be easily set up
in good-sized nursery.