Evening star., 1944-04-30
Children's Museum Gets Drama Material
From Century Old London Toy Shop
BY Gretchen Smith.

don of pre-blitz days and who enjoyed
the thrill of brousing through quaint
shops tucked away on cobblestoned
streets, is glad to hear of old landmarks
still standing after nearly four years Of
bombings and fires.
One never fails to feel there is some
thing miraculous in the way certain
places are left standing in the midst of
ruined buildings. Word has recently
come to Washington that a little toy
shop on Hoxton street in London's East
End, known q hundred years ago as
Redington's and later as Pollacks. still
remains exactly as it was century ago.
Almost as remarkable as the survival
OF Pollacks Is the fact that it's early
history was publicized and its sale in
the past few weeks to a we'll known
London bookseller was brought about
indirectly through the interest of a
Washington woman.
For many years, Miss Matilda Young
director of the Children's Museum of
Washington, has concentrated her in
terests and studies upon subjects which
have educational as well as entertain
ment value for children.
Received News From Friend.
In 1889, friend sent Miss Young a
clipping from the London Observer tell
ing that the little shop on Hoxton street
which specialized in producing Juvenile
dramas" still sold the hand -colored
photographic prints which had enter
tanned English children when Queen
Victoria was child. These prints pro-
vided double entertainment to English
children, serving as delightful cut
outs" which later, when backed and
pasted, were the characters and scenery
Tor miniature puppet shows =,
Miss Young tucked the clipping away
for future reference, too busy at that
time with her comparatively new ven-
ture, the Childrens Museum, to give it
more attention.
With the Museum established on
solid basis and with increasing numbers
OF children attending classes in drama,
Miss Young decided to give more
thought to theatricals and while going
through her clippings for ideas earlier
this year, she was delighted to find the
one on Pollsck's Juvenile Drama"
stevenson Wrote About IT.
student of Robert Louis Stevenson
and well acquainted with his writings of
interest to children, Miss Young had
enjoyed his essay, "A Penny Plain and
Twopence Colored," which told of the
shop on Hoxton street where plain lith-
ographs sold for penny and colored
ones for twopence. 1t was with hope
mixed with certain trepidation, that she
wrote the editor Of the London OBJ
server in January to ask If Ppllacks. de-
scribed by his papers article in 1899,
had survived the blitz and whether it
were still possible to purchase any of the
Juvenile dramas"
The reply to her letter was almost i'm
mediate and gratifying beyond expecta-
tlons. Ivor Brown, the editor of the
paper, had assigned one of his staff,
Mrs. Alison Settle, to investigate Pol
lacks for Miss Young and Mrs. Settle
was able to purchase three complete
plays and two broken ones for Miss
Young which were sent with a letter
which bears quoting.
II went down to Hoxton, finding nv
bearings by remembering that the little
old shop was close to Shoreditch old
parish church." Mrs. Settle wrote.
There 1t still was with its lovely old
square window panes put in some $50
years ago, though much of the street
was down and in ruins. Miss Pollack
was there and though believe she is
only so, she looked incredibly older.
There was big toy theater in the
window, set for a transformation scene
of the pantomime and inside two other
theaters set with scenes, but she says
those are all that now remain. For