Wednesday, December It, MW The Herald and The Lantern features p« K e31

Toying With Christmas

Smithionian News Service Art courlesy of National Museum of American History

St. Nick's bundle of toys grew ever larger during the 19th century, until it became a bottomless cornucopia of goodies, spilling forth a variety of playthings, from horse-drawn carnages to small military arsenals.

By Mary Combs Sixty-three years ago this season, a committee of bureaucratic Scrooges nearly ruined the spirit of Christmas Day. But in the end, like Scrooge, they were captivated by the charm of that very special holiday. Charged with conserving the nation’s resources during World War I, the U S. Council for National Defense proposed clamping an embargo on the buying and selling of holiday gifts — a plan reminiscent of the spirit of self-denial practiced by the Puritan fathers, who had banned the celebration of Christmas altogether. The hero of the hour was A.C. Gilbert, inventor of the Erector set and president of a year-old trade association. Toy Manufacturers of the U.S.A. Armed with an assortment of their wares, Gilbert and a representative group of manufacturers set out for Washington to convince the Council that most toys would not drain materials or manpower from the war effort. The Boston Post reported that Gilbert and company were at first so intimidated by the dignified atmosphere of the office and the serious mien of council members that they hurriedly stowed the toys behind the couch. (The boxes already had been efficiently and hilariously inspected by the security guards.) Gilbert embarked upon an eloquent defense of the role of toys in molding the patriotic character and skill of American youth. HIS AUDIENCE THUS PRIMED, out came the toys, followed by the council’s swift capitulation. According to the Post account, ‘From the moment he opened them...the secretaries were boys again. Secretary (of the Navy) Daniels was as. pleased with an Ives submarine as he could be with a new destroyer...he kept hold of it...Toys appeal to the heart of ever one of us, no matter how old we are,’ said another cabinet member. And it was because they did,.that the boys and girls of the United States are going to awake this Christmas morning upon a day as merry as Christmas in the past.” The 19th Century saw the industrialization of America and the growth of the United States from a fledgling nation to a world power. The changes were reflected, and sometimes anticipated, by a parallel growth in the toy world. Massproduction techniques and increasing prosperity and sophistication played a role in this surge, but in the end, youngsters wanted—as always— toys that were copies of things in the real world. TOYS ADVANCED FROM BEING generally home creations or imports to the products of large-scale manufacturing enterprises. In 1882 author James Lukin commented: “Talk of the march of the intellect — the march of toydom beats it all hollow: I do not believe a modem baby would look It such rude creations as delighted the babies of SO yeas ago...the really instructive and highly interesting toys of our time, the scientific and mechanical ones (were) a class utterly unknown in olden days." Lukin went on to describe the earliest ”mechanical"toys, powered by fine sand poured over a wheel that animated cut out figures. Like almost all early toys, these "rude creations" were made of cardboard or wood. It was the increased use of metal for toys

that ushered in the new era in the 1830s and 40s. Metal made possible elegant and detailed shapes and, more importantly, added truly durable wheels and gears to the stock of parts By the mid-1840s, the toy business had grown so large that almost every town, no matter Mw far from the beaten track, had a toy store, or at least a store which sold toys. Woodworth’s Fancy Store in New York proudly advertised the arrival of the most popular playthings in December 1844 "by packet from Le Havre—locomotives, mechanical and Automation toys for children." TOYS MANUFACTUifUNG WAS interrrupted during the Civil War, but emerged from the conflict raring to gb. Industry and America were on the move, and soon most toys moved somehow, with the help of wind-up clockwork, friction motors, gravity devices, magnetism and, finally, steam and electricty. There also was a signficant and increasing vogue for realism. Wilkins Toy Works, for example, got its start when one Mr. Wilkins found that his model clothswringer sold better than the real thing. Like other enterprising men of the time, Wilkins knew a good thing when he saw it. He plunged into production of small versions of trains, carts, wagons, fire engines — anything that moved" The second half of the 19th century was the golden age of wind-up toys; steel springs continued to be cheaper and safer than steam or electricity. The period saw the success of such manufacturers as Ives, producer of the realistic submarine the Secretary of the Navy clutched fervently in that meeting room in 1917. From mid-century, the boom in vehicle toys led to copies of every kind of horsedrawn conveyance, eventually moving from horses to horsepower. One of the first wind-up toy automobiles on the American market — if not the first — was produced in the 1890s by H.T. Kingsley, who simply removed the horse from a sporty carriage model and added a steering wheel. THERE WAS SOCIO-POLITICAL commentary as well. One popular item during the Spanish-American War was "Uncle Sam and the Don," depicting a fistfight, with Uncle Sam ultimately sending the foe down for the count with “a solarplexis blow.’” A fe years later, when Russia and Japan were at war, the manufacturer revived the model with a new paint job — “The Cossack and the Jap." Teddy Roosevel and the Rough Riders charging up San Juan Hill was also a huge success. Although electrical motors were sold by themselves and "shocking machines" were somewhat less dangerous, running on small quantities of alcohol, and toy steam trains and locomotives were very popular. The first electric train seems to have been produced in 1896, but the quintessential boy’s toy did not come into its own until the new century. In 1903 Joshua Lionel Cowan issued a catalog chugged into their place in history. Playthings magazine noted in the same year that electricity had entered the toy world to stay. The new century brought an increasingly heavy burden to St. Nichols’ already straining sack: an electrified doll's house equipped with running water, miniature sewing machines, toy telegraph and telephone sets, toy printing presses,

do-it-yourself electric toy kits and endless varieties of wind-up automobiles. THE LOVE AFFAIR WITH motion and speed swiftly moved inot a new realmand model planes appeared hard on the heels of the Wright Brothers' flight. Here the toy world began in earnest to anticipate and outstrip the adult reality, as eventually it anticipated man's move into space. Early mechanical planes were propelled by wind-up spring motors, but by 1921 Sears was carrying one with an electric motor which flew around a pole. As always, manufacturers were at the mercy of the whims of the market. In the early ’20s, Kingsbury produced a monoplane which sat on the shelves unnoticed by kids whose heroes were World War I aces in their biplanes. Then Lindbergh flew the Atlantic, and a quick paint job produced the "Spirit of St.Louis." An eventual lull in sales of this item was reversed when Wrongway Corrigan flew to Ireland; the planes were painted green and sold like hotcakes. The Great Depression and the second World War meant the disappearance of

many old, established firms and the toys they made But a new generation swiftly filled the gap. The post war baby boom brought unprecedented focus on family life and children. Nowadays, a major new toy emerges with a pedigree of psychological and education testing and marketing analysis. Not so long ago. computers and calculators were sophisticated and expensive scientific equipment This year, stockings will be filled with electronic games and devices, and some children will have more up-to-date equipment in their toy boxes than their parents have in their offices. Whatever developments the future may bring, whatever unimaginable dreams our grandchildren may confide in their letters to Santa Claus, parents will greet them with the mixture of dismay, wonder and nostalgia that has always been the lot of Santa's helpers, and. like the boys and girls of 1917, they will awake to a merry Christmas morning.

Mary Combs is- with Smithsonian News Service

WALTER R. BOBINSKY ^ycmxal cHaniuman J CABPrNTRV „ Masonry Paintino Small Repair* No Job Too Small 2761 DUNE 081VE. AVALON. N.J. 08202 TELEPHONE 609-967-4029 or 967-4519

•Ham«i # Renfol\ •OMicet , •ChaAgso^M AVALON HOME 1 CLEANING SERVICE. INC. DAVID t REED P O BOX267 967 5446 AVALON N ) 0820?

Authorized Dealer for Whirlpool & Zenith Appliances Watch th« 0«m#t On A TV Prom: nirF Wiii'ari'i i ntri~ 3200 Block, Now Jonty ftvo., Wildwood 522 1437

CAPE NURSES 886REGISTRY 3473 • NURSES AIDES PRIVATE DUTY NURSES • L p * > FOR HOME or HOSPITAL CARE • RN'S NJ ST liteoied S Bonded A NURSING CARL PLAN 104MAVERFORD AVE TO SUIT YOUR NEEDS NORTH CAPL MAY HRLY DAILY WKLY

PAINTING t ARPL NFRY It ^ Spjf WALTER H. KRUSE AHV' IHI OHSHOKI t K M INMAN" & HI 1 HOX 440N \J CAPE MAY C OURT HOUSE. N| W JERSEY 0«2l« PHONE H#9| R6I-JJ4I

E. THOMAS ENSTICE .Account Executive Tax Free Bonds Government Bonds Stocks DEAN WITTER REYNOt.DS INC 1726 Pacific Avenue. Atlantic City. NJ 08401 (609) 345 4181