Before Plastic - The Toys

JPK Huson 1863

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Location
Central Pennsylvania
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Yes, frivolous kind of thread. Amidst the shattering upheaval experienced through almost all of society during the Civil War, children struggled to maintain an untrammeled childhood. Their parents struggled to provide it but depending on where they live plus economic resources children suffered variously. Through it all- toys, large and small, expensive and notsomuch allowed them the pretend world all children are capable to escaping to. How much more valuable were these to a child of the era, source of fantasy and escape?

Please note there are no toys in this collection relating to African American enslaved children. Are they not easily found or were they non existent or used so hard they're not around any more? Sites as massive as Pinterest showed me none. I apologize for the dirth.

AND a few are post-war, couldn't help it. TOO dear not to include please nobody yell at me.
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Looks like an episode of Antiques Roadshow. :wink: I think my favorite would be the miniature furniture. Always loved a good dollhouse.

I found this basket of toys on the front porch of of the 1850 American Farmhouse at the Museum of Frontier Culture in Staunton VA. They aren't vintage obviously but are recreations of some things the farm kids might have played with. I see the old favorite stick and ball game, a paddle and ball game and a wooden noisemaker. Not really sure what the hoops are for.

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The hoops look like they are embroidery hoops with a wrap of ribbon. Can't see if they are tied together or single. Yesteryear's kids didn't need to be as entertained as today's kids. When we were young, we would make a game from almost anything. I remember drawing a tic-tac-toe grid in the dirt. We would each find a different color or shape small items to use as our markers and play dozens of rounds with these found materials. No batteries or electricity required!
 
JPK,
The Studebaker wagon is modeled after the full size wagons built by Studebaker here in Pennsylvania.
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Studebaker had a shop off Old Route 15 in Huntington Township, Adams County (then York County), Pennsylvania, in 1798, 1799. It was located a short distance from York Springs (Petersburg) Pennsylvania.
Peter Studebaker, Sr., and Peter Studebaker, Jr., wagon-makers, which trade later became the foundation of the family fortune and the corporation which now bears the name. John Studebaker, father of the five brothers, born in Adams County, Pennsylvania, was the son of Peter Studebaker who founded the operation. Later the operation relocated to Ohio. Below right is a photo showing the famous Budweiser Clydesdale Team pulling a Studebaker wagon.
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Studebaker was also awarded a Government contract to build wagons for the Union Army. His company produced wagons that were sold across the country before the manufacture of the Studebaker automobile.
 
Nice thread, but it makes me wonder how many CW families could afford these types of toys. I always thought they'd be home-made and there aren't too many of those, with the exception of the dolls.


You're probably correct, some would have been out of the reach for the poor. I'm guessing the doll furniture was made- so many are unique, no 2 alike, you'd have to guess these were created by fathers ho wished their little girls something quite special for Christmas one year. Maybe the pull along toys too, may not have terrible pricey.

Rag dolls seem to have had a universal appeal- I see an awful lot of charming African American rag dolls which would fit a certain socioeconomic status held for some time, by most anyway. Newly freed black people were still scrambling for a foothold in a society which may have ensure they were no longer in bondage but seemed quite happy to keep them in the bondage of poverty. You can't keep ' Play' from a small girl and her doll- not sure any of the former owners of these was anything but delighted when presented with her new friend and companion.
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Oh my gosh, remember some of the toys we had? Creepy Crawlers! We baked rubber toys! The little baking hotplate was so, so hot that when you put the metal mold on it you have to use special handles to remove it. Hot? Again- we cooked liquid rubber until it was solid, right in our bedrooms, it was hysterical.

OH and Clackers? Those hard. acrylic balls, 2, one on each end of 2 long strings? You got to be really good at smacking them up an down against each other? Concussions, black eyes and broken wrists not to mention splintering balls and lacerations waiting to happen.
 
Those are some lovely cloth dolls. There were black porcelain dolls made by Jumeau and Bru (after the war era) but they are very rare - because they're so rare and desirable today, they are often faked. This lady looks original, but look at the edge of her neck - it looks as if she is painted dark rather than cast.

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