Old-Time Toys

Old-Time Toys shows young readers the wonders of 19th century playthings. Until the mid-1800s, most children's toys were homemade, often whittled from a chunk of wood on a winter's night. Later, toymakers in North America began to create a wide variety of toys, from rocking horses and porcelain dolls to automated coin banks. Full-color illustrations and photos.
Bobbie Kalman's acclaimed Historic Communities Series provides a close-up view of how people lived more than two hundred years ago. Colorful photos, many taken by Bobbie Kalman herself at restored historic villages across the country, help support the fascinating information. Children will have fun learning about:
-- early homes and the settler community
-- what people wore and the crafts they made
-- how settlers made their living
-- how they spent their leisure time
-- the values, customs, and traditions of the early settlers.


Old-Time Toys shows young readers the wonders of 19th century playthings using fascinating photographs from leading toy museums around the country. A history of toymakers in North America is featured along with such unusual and familiar toys as:
-- automata, toys with moving parts
-- marbles, dolls, kaleidoscopes, and pop-up books
-- toys with a religious theme, such as the Noah's Ark figurine set
-- how to make a thaumatrope, a spinning disk that created a design.
Crabtree Publishing. 1995. Softcover. 32 Pages.