The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-07-23
BY C. U. MCDOWELL.


A little slab of wood, some paint. a
nail or two and toys are produced. A
bunch of plaster. q few deft touches
with brush and dolls are coupled This
In very brief form is the toy industry
! In Memphis. However, IT represents
one of the largest industries of its
kind in the South. Also Memphis made
toys have commanded q reputation all
over the country. dolls and toys being
shipped to everv state in the union and
Every toy sent out carries a Made in
& Memphis" stamp.
toy factory Is an interesting place.
To see how a rough piece OF lumber
is transformed into a toy or novelty to
amuse the children or how a lot Of
shapeless plaster is moulded into grace
full outlines OF dolls head or an en-
tire doll gives a new idea of just now
much attention Is devoted to the n'etts-
tng ing, of Little Precious, as his mother
as the neighbors describe him.
For the holiday season, which, in
Toyland. is already we'll under way,
Memphis has contributed many new
ideas this year.
Wooden Toys Lead.
y Wooden toys. most of them with
wheel bases, are proving most popular
These are made as a rule from ordinary
lumber about an inch in thickness.
Alter DelnB uTeSSeu, the is put
through cutting machines where the
image OF the animal or character is
sketched out. From this ii goes TO
finishing rooms where rough corners
4 are rounded and the whole image gwen
balance.
VI The paint room is next. Here most
of the painting, after the product has
been dipped in colors forming the oase
color. Is done with stencils Lines are
finished by hand; A def girl Trtst
toys by this method in a lay.
Toy wagons with detachable horses.
mounted on rollers, with fIll sets OF
harness and various riding devices for
the little ones make up bulk o. the
toy trend this year
Mother Goose characters, fashioned
from wood, painted in many cD!ors and
mounted on a small base, VII he some
of the newer creations. While char
acters along these general lines have
believed that this is the first tine, t,lst
this form has been turned out The
characters embrace all old faEo,ites
such as Little Boy Blue" "simpple
3 Simon" "Old Mother Hubbard DO
& Peep" and those other things person
used to learn when they had lisp 10
aid enunciation. Some Of the girls
keep the lisp even now, but have for
gotten the rhymes.
. Making dolls involves the plaster
process and in some instances bak-
. Ing of the molds In finishing. the
method followed by the sweet young
things" of today is followed. PWhaps
the system of decoration by The fair
Paint is applied to the faces with On
air brush, which distributes It equally
and without leaving marks of brushes
- OF other devices used in application i
is not known whether the cosmetic
counters of Memphis stores handle all
brushes for facial decoration rr not
but it is an excellent idea. and the
paint won't come off either after q
deluge Of tears.
From the air brush stage, a riw Of
girls take the dolls and carefully pain
on eye lashes and eye brows. The lat
ter, with the possible exception O
applying mole or two for relief. is
about the only work done by hand OF
dolls.
Hair Is Important.
After the face has been set in prope,
shape and plenty of decoration done
attention turns to the hair. This hair
for the higher = priced dolls. comes il
long rolls. These are cut and witt
skillful touches the hair is mlrcelet
and distributed over the head. Glu
is relied on to keep it in place. lea
the finish result Is a pretty creation
Another feature of the doll industr
in Memphis is that many of the large
carnival companies playing Throughout
the country are supplied with Kewpi
dolls from this city. These are mad
from plaster and are used by carnivs
concessions.
Other toy novelties ranging fror
baseball games to all sorts of pocket
book depicting ideas for Christmas ar
made in the city. One of the novelt.
houses manufactures fly swatters Thi
concern hasjrecently shipped $4,000 c
the swatters to Capetown, South Africa
and another large consignment to Can
adian points.
Toys as whole will range from 2
to so per cent higher this year. In