The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-12-21

wrinkly skin It is curious to see the difference in these animals. One will be made so lifelike that it startles even a grownup, another from the same shelf will be like wooden doll with creaking joints and unnatural angles.
 Most of these clockwork animals are made by wounded soldiers and it all depends upon the man. Sometimes you get the work of a real genius, some times you do not. Of course this makes Christmas shoping a long and intrigu- ing affair. People rush from shop to shop, trying to find the work of fa- vWite, who soon becomes known ana whose output is carefully distributed so as to give all an equal chance.
 Whole villages, doll houses, wooden dolls, furniture and marionettes made by the Lord Roberts Memorial Work ships, are amazingly beautiful. Sets of doll furniture for sitting rooms, bed rooms, dining rooms and kitchens, with little houses to put them in which cal5 be set up in several ways, have their parts numbered and every joint per feet The miniature furniture is lovely, made from original designs, some of it is stained, some painted and decor ated by hand or in stencil with bright peasant designs.
 From doll furniture it is but a step to nursery and children's room furni- ture, which is almost irresistible. Most of the designs for this are very simple. what we wouldscall mission patterns, most of it is enameled and vanished, so that it can be scrubbed without harm. And it is noticeable that there is no predominance of white. The groundwork is mostly tinted delicately or in some cases painted bright green, blue or yellow. Gay colored flowers or ~ Nh ynr,f 1 fv hric an1 are painted on these backgrounds; and the effect seems exactly what children like, for droves of little boys and girls cling gurgling round these juvenile suites and beg to be allowed to stop right there and live always.
 To go with the furniture one of the shops has provided bedspreads, cur tains, and all the necessary linen worked in the same patterns. The bed spread of one set is particularly at- tractive. It is made of the unbleached government linen and decorated with punches of bright green. red and yellow tomatoes and purple plums done in cushion work of washable colored silk. The whole thing can be sent to the wash without harm, the tomatoes and plums being simply snapped with snap fasteners on to the linen at the places indicated by the flat green leaf em- broidery.
 Sheets and pillow cases of brown linen are a novelty but of course they will soon become bleached, and anyhow with laundry work what it is now in London, it's no use pretending anything is white for it is always drab or frankly gray.
 The old favorite building toys still hold the loyal allegiance of vast num- Der of boys. This year the principal achievements seem to be coal mining machinery, house construction and rail- way bridges and equipment. So do the interests of children follow close on those of the grownups. One shop has a coal pit with shaft and cage, galleries and trolleys electrically work ing complete. A SAe
 War toys are still to be found; few out-o-date tanks, some machine guns and antiaircraft cannons left over from last year, repainted and named Russian; but they do not make much of show and are passed by for the new French whistling toys and the performing animals and clowns. The best dolls are still French, though ex-munition girls and wound cd soldiers are making some wonder fully Interesting rag dolls with nodded bodies and painted faces. But these are what might be called character dolls mostly funny, and their clothes are queer. But they are amusing and English children like them
 For tiny children hot water bottle cuddly dolls are among the most pop ular novelties. Nothing could be bet ter adapted to this climate and it's no wonder they are bought up as fast as they can he turned out. Some are made of washable Teddy bear plush some of canton flannel or eiderdown cloth. The heads are composite or rag and they are dressed like babies or Teddy bears.
 Little shops, built of painted canvas, furnished complete with dry goods, groceries or vegetables are very real- istic and as there is toy money, real counter, and cashiers desk, whole party of children can play at the al- ways fascinating game of buy and sell
 Sail boats still remain the favorite water craft. though there are a few steam yachts and trawlers But the prices of these are so high that they are practically out of reach. A small steam pacht such as used to cost about $650 before the war is now $20 and not we'll made at that