Toys/Wind-ups/Games
Besides the magic of the decorated Christmas tree, children have always looked
forward to the toys left beneath the tree. For the boys there might be vehicles,
locomotives, soldiers and drums. Besides a doll, a girl might receive a doll house,
tea sets, or a toy kitchen. There were also animals on wheels, Noah's arks, teddy bears,
and wondrous windups which spun and danced, moved and flew when a key was turned!
Boys and girls loved games too and often they were chosen for lessons of history, geography and other nations.
Toys were a reflection of the times in form and manufacture. The early toys
were made of cast iron and tin, the paper goods hand colored, the vehicles horse drawn and
the dolls all prim and proper with their many petticoats. As times changed and manufacturing
improved, printing presses produced the color, and toys were made of painted or paper covered
wood, stamped steel and metal alloys. Trains, autos and planes appeared, also electric and
battery operated toys, construction and other building toys and dolls reflecting the more modern
times. Games became more sophisticated featuring popular culture, celebrities and ideas.
|
|
 |
