Figure 1.-- Here we see David Westall who appars to be a James Bond fan. With a rifle and spy attache case. The press captin read, "David Westall 12 yrs son of Mr. and Mrs. James R. Westall of Williamstown Mass. trying out the Secret Sam outfit whch has a camera hidden in the attache case. ,,, this is just like the 007 gun." The photograph as taken December 9, 1965. Te family was apparently vacationing in Miami. +/i>

We are not sure when toy guns first appeared. Effective guns only appeared in Europe during the 16th century. Boys at the time would have loved to have had replica guns to playwith. At the time, however, childhood play was much less common than is the case today. The productivity of economies of the day meant that children had to work work as soon as they were able to do so. And at the time, play was not only seen as a valuable activity for children, but parents had the money to purchase toys. This did not begin to change until the Enlightenment and the onset of the Indutrial Revolution (18th century). As a result, we finally see modern childhood emerging and with it a widerange of mass produced toys (19th century). The toy guns basically produced basically followed the types of real guns that were produced at the time. Hollywood at the turn-of-the 20th century had an impact on what boys wanted. Thus six shhoter pistols were popular long after cwboys wree no longer fighting Indians on the Western frontier. Boys into the 1960s wanted six shooters. World War I and II style weapons were not nearly as popular. Like other toys, boys craved toys that actually worked. This simulating the sound of a gunshot and a puff of smoke. Cap guns appeared aftr the Civil War (1860s) when firearms companies experimented with toy guns to stay in business. It was after World War that we have the Goldren Age of cap guns (1945-65). Guns did not change much in the early-20th century, alhoufgh as America begame more and more prosperous, more children had tem to play with. There were major changes in the post-War era, especially by the 1970s. e begin to see mor fanciful guns as a result of the Cold War and the increasing interest in space. We also begin to see mothers resisting buying toy guns, believing that they inspired violence. Boys still wanted them, but mothers didn't. This was also a time where parents began superbising children more closely than ever before.

Created: 2:19 AM 2/14/2019
Last updated: 7:30 AM 2/14/2019