Figure 1.--Here we see two children playing dominomes in a studio set up to look like the parlor of a Victorian home. Notice the little girl's beautiful bisque doll prominently displayed in the front. The boy wears a tunic suit with striped long stocks. The girl wears a dresswith a full skirt and big back bow. The back of this stereoview card photo has the Lofland Books and Stationery stamp, located in Los Angeles, California. The stereoview was published by Webster & Albee -- Rochester, New York. It was part of their "young folks series". The card is undated, but looks like it was taken in the late-1870s.

Toys were not a 19th century innovation. Never before in history, however, wereso mny wonderful toys available to childrten than the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution gave companies the ability to manufacture high quality toys at low cost. At the same time, more and morepeople were earning wages that allowed them to buy toys for their children. A major factor was the industrial revolution, driving both urbanization and the creation of wealth. With affluence came the modern childhood with more time to play. And at the same time, aditudes toward play began to change. Many parents in the 18th century saw play even for younger children as both a bad habit and wasteful. Parents un the Victorian period began to see play as a valuavle activity for children, if properly oriented, helping to build important life skills and abilities. Toy guns appeared for boys in tghe 19th century, but we are not yet sure just how common they were. The concept of toy gun was not full devrloped in the 19th century. The know the Lincoln boys had a toy cannon, but it was actually a minature cannon and the boys let off a volley at the cabinet. Toy soldiers were another popular item for boys. Toy soldiers were extremely popular and many children had them by the late-19th century. Dime novels and boy's magazines fired youthful imaginations. There were board games like chess, checkers, backgammon, and others. The range of toys steadily incrased throughout the 19th century. As the decade progressed we see more and more great toys. Wonderful dolls began to appear for girls. Balls, puppets, blocks, tops, were widely available. Toy stores appeared for the first time. Outdoors ball games and sports were still limited, but one of the mosy popular activity was rolling hoops. Barrels were everwhere abnd hoops fairly easy to come by. American cities along with industrialization grew steadily. Ring games were popular with younger children. Famous rhymes were associated with some of these games. As more and more children lived in cities, the outdoor play enviroment available to them changed considerably.

Created: 3:11 AM 8/23/2010
Last updated: 3:12 AM 8/23/2010