The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1921-11-17
AMERICAN MADE TOYS
From Which Children Will Learn
Something of Value.

Something of Value.
The Popular Mechanics Magazine
says: The fathers of some millions
of sons in this country are going to
have a lot of fun with the toys they
will open on next Christmas Eve
such toys as never before have been
seen in th0 or any other country.
These new toys are American-made
and behind nearly every one of them
is the fundamental thought that a
child learns something from every
toy-even though the lessons may
be one in destructiveness. Into the
toys which are soon to appear on the
market have gone all the ingenuity
and skill which American makers
could put into them, because this is
crucial year. Upon the results CT
this year derend largely the future of
this new American giant-the toy in
G#stry.
Toys naturally fall into several
groups, the largest of which is the
dolls. Doll making is something of
al art, and it mas been hardest of
all to adapt tc American manufacture
ing methods. But suffice to say it
has been successfully done, and there
are appearing this year a lumber Of
walking, talking, and sleeping dolls.
There are o number Of new games
ii which skill is an clement. One Of
these makes use cf q mechanical foot
ball player.
The newest idea in books for chill
dren is a Mother Goose" in which
The characters arc made of wood and
fit in pockets in the pages. Each
character has one Or more movable
Parts to add interest, and there are
provided metal stands so that the
child can take them out of their
faces and play with them.
Outdoor toys deserve a separate
classification, for they are almost ex-
ciusively an American creation.
These include wheel toys of the kid
die-car type, of which there is al
most an endless variety. Another
toy consists of kit of parts from
which 20 different wheel toys can be
made, every one of which IS an eX-
ceptionally well designed and study
toy.
The newest thing in railroad equip
ment is not meant for use on the
nursery floor, but for actual trans
pertation out-of-doors, over track
having curves, and laid with ties,
bolts, and fshplates. The !ocomotiv"
is run by a battery, and the equipment
includes charger.
The field in which there is keenest
competition, both from abroad and
among domestic manufacturers, is
mechanical toys, and here American
toy makers have made a supreme
effort. Again a wide departure from
precedent has been made, and the
term mechanical" can barely be
stretched to cover the wide variety
Of toys usually classed under it.
But the marked tendency to make
even this sort of toy instructive as
we'll as entertaining is shown in the
creation of a complete line Of toy
tractors, automobiles, and trucks Of
knockd0wn construction, which are as
sembled by the purchaser.
A famous maker of toy trains is
introducing a line of toy steel boats,
driven by spring motors. Included
are every type of battleship, passen-
ger steamer, and merchant ship. The
maker has conceived and executed the
idea of making the spring motors de-
tachable so that by the removal Of a
thumbscrew they may be taken out
fer cleaning and oiling.
Not all of the mechanical toys are
for the boys, however; an electric
washing machine which can be con-
rected to any lamp socket, and which
works up the foamiest suds imagin-
able, is designed to delight any little
girl.
Probably the most fascinating Of all
the toys, however, are the Scientific"
and "structural toys which have
hcen purely American development.
Not only do these toys provide absorb
ing amusement for The average boy
(and his father), but they satisfy a
natural curiosity. A boys play hours
mean most in his mental development
when he has reached that age where
he is likely t. dissect the family alarm
clock to see what it is made of, and
when his inquiries into the natural
phenomena about him begin to