New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-01-01
THE PARIS TOY FAIR.
Streets of French Capital in Festi-
uoI Attire.

thousand little stalls. covered with fancy goods /
Of exclusively Paris manufacture. have taken up I
their position on both sides Of the long street. /
and all the way from the Madeleine to the Place /
de la Republ e Joyous carnival is being held, /
a carnival .ch will last TIL over New Years I
Day The preparations for this grand nni6winter 4
carnival of pIaythings the origin of which is far
older than the boulevards themselves. have oc- !
oupied hundreds of humble workers for months !
past Great hopes are founded the fair. for
a trifing toy which is fortunate enough to take /
the popular fancy may make It's inventors fort
une before the new year is out. world OF
imagination and extraordinary fertility OF In /
vention are brought to bear on the toys launched /
every Christmas the boulevards.
Accordingly. no sooner the little booths IN !
position than all Paris turns out in force to in
spect and to discover the latest novelty. What |
will be the success of the year? Every one re-
members the mechanical monkey which few
years ago made the Christmas sensation and
which produced half a million francs for Its
lucky inventor before the year out That
a phenomenal success. but-who knows2-it
may be repeated this year. Walking slowly past
the stalls, some old favortes meet the eye. The
hawker of last year with his cry, 1.-THE cat the
dog and my Inother-in-law,' still raises a laugh
and finds purchasers; does the Last VIII
and Testament of q Minister" Monsieur Lou
bet Is Off," only two cents, is new, however. and
every one invests in copy. "The Last Sigh"
of a fat pig) has turned up again, too. But
where is the novelty7
It will probably be found among the mechani-
cal toys, IN which the Partisan particularly ex-
cells. Made out OF the cheapest and commonest
materials (old sardine tins the staple article
Of their manufacture. they marvels Of
dainty skill. and express in the happiest fashion
the latest craze. the last startling event which
has gone the round of the capital. Here is one
In the latest note. 1t Is only a few weeks since
Paris taken by storm by japanese expo
nents Of the art Of wrestling; every music hall
is giving nightly exhibitions Of the Ju-Jitsu.
Here at the bazaar you have them in miniature.
Every few yards you may see the little tin fig
ures their arms rigidIy locked together In the
stereotyped posture, wrestling their pygmy way
across the footway. You can have them worked
by long double thread. or. If you prefer
clockwork pair. here they A few turns Of
a key, and the match takes place forthwith.
| The large. bald and perfectly impressive faces Of
the little figures have an indescrfbably comic
effect down the pavement Jtu-Jttsu looks
| like being first favorite.
Only less new than the wrestIers is the swim
ming doll She represents Miss Kellerman, as
she appeared when swimming through Paris.
| In a marvellous bathing dress and smart hat.
| the woman syvirns tiny cardboard river her in
genfously followed hands and her less-in a
realistically initiated series Of movements-rnak-
ing NEST eHectual strokes. The author Of her
i being Is a young medical student, who is so de-
lighted with the reception awarded his first
| effort that he is abandoning medicine and de-
voting himself to developing his inventive talent
Miss Kellerman will probably come in q good
| second to jiu-1itsu.
third stall offers fascinating novelty Of
a..fN H-an~
| ungs which by some hidden spring all open
| their yellow bills simultaneously and utter a
plaintiff suuawk an appeal to an invisible parent
| for breakfast This charms the children A
| little further on Is yet fourth article. which
| creates roars Of laughter. 1t is called "The I'm
! fortunate Burglar" and shows an individual
| busily engaged with felonious intent on the
| lock of door But a tiny bomb is attached to
| the lock and at the right moment 1t explodes,
! killing the burglar on the spot. Here is an
| other little jaunty figure which makes no less
| than thirty-two different jerky movements with
its arms and legs. It has taken it's inventor six
years to produce at the low price which is alone
! admissible at the Toy Fair. It sells now at
! forty cents The Automobile Show has Of
! course suggested numbers Of toys and chauheurs
! and cars motor cycles and omnibuses abound.
| Altogether it is a brave show, and the dense
! crowds. moving along at a snaiPs pace. admir-
| ing laughing and also purchasing, promise
| successful fortnight to the little merchants
| The privilege of putting up one Of these little
| booths Is eagerly coveted. They all free.
| and are In the gift of the police commissioner
! Of the different districts. AS matter Of fact.
! they are awarded to the same persons year after
| wear There are only two stipulations attached
| to the gift, one that the person to whom stall
! is allotted shall himself preside at 1t. and the
other that no booth shall sell the same wares
| are displayed in the nearest shop window. Most
! Of the holders build their stalls; few
! are hired.
| But. besides the stalls, there are more than
| two thousand venders licensed for fifteen days
| to display their wares under umbrella or on
| small table. Among these one finds the
| hawker of the 'Ithogra phic stone" warranted
| to reproduce any picture; the magic soap"
which will take the spots out Of any kind Of
material and printers Of visiting cards for
New Years Day calls" for It is a law OF the
| Me6es and Persians In Paris to leave post
your card on that day to every one you know.
Not to mention about fifty shooting booths and
| es many confectioners In white cap and apron.
selling the debris from the great shops-broken
marrons glaces nougat and what not Sprinkled
up and down. just on the edge of the roadway
are about four hundred hand barrows, piled high
with oranges, bananas and apples. whose virtues
and prices are being shouted In stentorian tones
to say nothing OF scores of irresponsible hawk
ers of popular songs postcards and the like
Imagine two miles of this variety show. and one
will have an idea of what the Toy Fair is like
But Il is impossible to describe the Toy Fair
and mako no mention of the great candy stores
along the lire Of route Christmas and New
Years are for them, too. great festival and
their windows worth visit. Here in
genuity is directed to inventing original caskets