Figure 1.--Here we see an unidentifoed boy on a great hobby horse, we think in the 1920s. His nig sister is steadying him. They look to be playing while their father practices his putting. They look to be in some kind of atrium, meaning a well-to-do family. The photograph came from Britain, but we think it may be German. We don't see many British boys wearing long stockings in the 20th century.

We note fewer hobby horses in the 20th century. A good example is American children from New York, the Fitzroy-Carringtons, in 1906 playing with their toy horse. The hobby horse begins to decline after World War I. The replacement of horses with cara and trucks may have been a factor. The popularity of the tricycle may have been another factor. The hobby horse, however, never really disappeared. They never really disappeared. There is a certain charm with the hobby horse. It is, however, no longer a common toy in European and American homes. We continue to see some, but not very many. We see far fewer in the photographic record. Of course this is a little complicated to assess because almost all of the 19th century images are studio not home portraits. We rarely see studio portraits with hobby horses after World war I, but we do see some family snapshots. Here we see an example from wht looks like the 1920s (figure 1). I vaguely remember one at home in the 1940s.

Created: 3:43 AM 4/2/2018
Last updated: 3:43 AM 4/2/2018