The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1907-12-13

skin heads, which arrive In America In
barrels. But they are not drumheads on
arrival. They are just plain ordinary
sheepskins. After they are dried and
cut in the Winehendon factory they so
on the drums,
For some drumheads, stout quality
OF paper Is now being used extensively.
II cannot be punctured, l. much cheaper
and has quite as much sounding eapac-
ity. But the latest thing in drums Is .
small one with a metal head. This head
Is made from a thin sheet, very light,
and il gives not only peculiarly full
and penetrating sound, but offers the
best resistance 10 the efforts OF the juve-
nile beaten to hammer the insldes out
OF the toy.
Machinery does everything in the max
ing OF the toys. So adroit are these ma
chimes and 30 rapid, that the only thing
which separates a complete washboad
outfit from raw plank is a matter Of q
couple OF hours. II Is the ability to do
everything with machinery that has made
this place the capital OF Toyland.
Even the machinery with which the
toys are made is turned out in the toy
shops. II is special kind Of machinery,
designed for only one kind of work, and
the secret of its makeup is never di.
yulged outside the place OF manufacture.
Also, everything is patented, as is every
new feature of toy, however small.
Where do all the quaint designs for
the drums and the blocks and the plack-
boards come froms There is an artist
who is working day in and day out at
this. lie also gets tips from proprietor
quick to see the opportunities for adorn-
ment for toys in any illustration in
newspaper, magazine or bulletin and who
adapts the ideas 10 his own special needs.
Making toys is like no other business
in the world. Its whole success depends
on a within of few months duration, on
guessing what public taste will turn TO
at a given time, on getting first into the
field, Take, for instance, the game Of
diabolo.
At the first suggestion that the craze
which had swept over England and
France had hit America, the Winchendon
company started in to turn out the game.
In hours a quantity Of sets OF diabolo,
but under another name and vastly
cheaper article, were made in the fac
tory. In 4S hours they were put on the
market.
You've got to take things right of
the bat in this business" says the Win
man. 'What may be called our
staple toys for which there is always
a steady demand, are horses. drums and
trunks, but of course we make hundreds
of new things yearly"
So all over America and in Great Brit
ain, France and Germany and other
European countries there are persons en-
ployed who will send the Tip" at once
to the American capital of Toyland
should any new toy that promises well
appear on the market. Then the Win
rhendon factory gets to work to turn it
out at once and cheaper.
Who invents all the new toys and
games? That would be hard TO say, for
many of those that have been most popu-
lar are, after all, but adaptations of old
games. Some of them were played even
by the ancient Egyptians. At Winchen-
Ion there are several experts in the fac
.ory who offer new ideas from time to
lime, and they are obtained frequently
by watching children at play. For very
Iften a child will do something on his
)wn initiative for his own amusement
which gives the basis of a new toy that
With elaboration will charm the child
world.
There are employed at Winchendon
;ome exceptionally skilled girl workers.
The way they can hammer nails or paste
he imitation leather on the toy trunks
completely refutes all accepted theories
If womankind's ability in this respect.
But expert as they are, the machines are
till more wonderful workmen, and they
10 practically everything in the making
# the toys, under guidance of human
lands.
Some of the toymakers have been at it
practically all their lives. There are
ew who have been with the head of the
ompany since he started, 20 years ago.
Boston Herald.