Alphabet Blocks

Old-fashioned alphabet blocks from Lindenwood

Although I must have been knee high to a grasshopper as an infant on the living-room floor, I can still faintly remember playing with wooden alphabet blocks as a very young child - particularly the texture and feel, which returns to me more as a sensation than a visual recall. Did this early positive experience foster a life-long love of letters and words? Oh probably not but I do think alphabet blocks are a good, constructive toy for toddlers.

The 28 piece set above is modelled after a turn-of-the-century design and features some very charming vintage pictures of animals, as well as embossed lettering and  maths/number symbols. Educational and beautiful. Such blocks are often the first hands-on educational toy a child receives and have been a mainstay for generations. So much so that in 2003, ABC blocks were inducted into US National Toy Hall of Fame. 

The Young Mad Scientist's set below is impressively detailed with some fascinating engraved images depicting 'mad science' concepts- this is art and just the thing for the budding Dr. Frankenstein. I'd like these myself but yes, they are for kids too.

Young Mad Scientist's Alphabet Blocks Available at xylocopa

Raggedy Ann

Modern Raggedy Anne doll by Russ Berrie

Before Bratz dolls and  before Barbie and friends, there was Raggedy Ann-an old-fashioned gal who wore bloomers, button boots and a pinafore. A little behind the times fashion-wise, yes...yet the doll has a kind of timeless appeal and for very young children, she still presents as a simple, friendly face with a cosy, huggable body.

Bubble Pipes

Bubbles are still fun for kids. Source

Bubble pipes have been around for gosh knows how long and they're still good for some inexpensive, old-fashioned fun. I say pipe but most bubble blowers these days have dispensed with the pipe shape due to the smoking connotations - no-one wants to encourage children to emulate a smoker, so they've gone the way of chocolate cigarettes and candied cigars. The original  idea for the pipes could well have been inspired by the exotic hookah - a traditional pipe where the smoke is cooled by water, making a characteristic bubbling sound when sucked on.

Sindy and Tammy Dolls

Barbie's Competition 
Mattel's early success with fashion doll Barbie did not go unnoticed across the Atlantic and in 1963 a rival doll was produced by British manufacturer Pedigree Dolls & Toys. "Sindy" was less voluptuous and more wholesome looking than the well stacked Barbie - she had a round, plump face. a 60s bubble cut, an understated figure and an innocent, childlike expression.

 Collette Mansel's  History of Cindy. Amazon

Although Mattel had already offered Pedigree the licence for Barbie, the company had declined due to Barbie's poor performance in market research. It seemed British children found Barbie's very adult appearance hard to identify with.

However, Sindy was not wholly dreamt up by Pedigree; rather she was modelled on a 12 " sweet-faced US doll called Tammy, made by Ideal toys. Tammy was more insouciant teenager than fashion-obsessed babe and her clothes less grown up, though she was marketed as "the doll you love to dress", a tag line that would also be applied to Sindy.

Alas, Tammy's  existence and period of popularity was brief. In the US, the  Barbie machine was a powerful competitor and the Tammy doll folded in 1966. In recent times however, her collectability has risen markedly, particularly in Japan, where she has a cult following.

Ballerina Music Box

Lenox ballerina jewellry box

Typical mid-century ballerina jewel box

The  ballerina music box is almost an obligatory feature of every little girl's childhood...or rather, it used to be. In the id 20th century, there was a fashion for black lacquered jewellery boxes, decorated in oriental designs.The tiny twirling  ballerina was usually set on a small ledge (stage) in front of a miniature corridor of mirrors. As music boxes go, she's a tradition, the ballerina being among the first figures to be used in music boxes . Sometimes the figure was on her own and sometimes with a male partner in a tuxedo.  With or without a partner, the ballerina danced to the tinkling music every time a child opens the lid and the box itself is a perfect place to put the small treasures of childhood.

Oriental design, typical of music boxes in the 50s/60s.

From a child's perspective, there is something magical and fascinating about ballerina boxes still and they still make an entrancing gift for little girls. Unfortunately, some of the contemporary ones are a little cheap and nasty, with only a triangle mirror and a rough-cast ballerina who looks as though she might  buckle under the pressure of multiple opening and closing.

Origin of the Music Box
Music jewel boxes actually have their origins in 18th century musical snuff boxes, which were small enough to fit into a waistcoat pocket. In the 19th century, Swiss manufacturers developed the mechanics and music boxes were made in all shapes and sizes - from the very small to as big as a chest of drawers. It's interesting to consider that at that time, musical boxes were the main form of 'home music' that wasn't played by a human, since there was no such thing as radios or gramophones.

In the technological whirlwind of the 20th century, music boxes remained a popular mainly as a novelty item. The sweet, tinkling tune of a popular 18 note music box has a unique and delicate sound that evokes a kind of wistful nostalgia....

Robot Dogs

Adorable wind-up robot dog

Although they may lack the warmth and character of the real thing, robot pets have a few charms of their own and usually require less feeding, watering, walking and vet visits. Plus, robot pets are for Christmas. If you get sick of them, you can let them rot at the back of a cupboard without too much guilt.

There are various "breeds" of robot dog available, from the the old mechanical, wind-up kind to sophisticated, high-tech versions that can walk, jump, bark and roll over on command.

Sony's interactive robot dog, Aibo

Take Sony's Aibo for example, the toy robot dog who offered its owners  a pretty good illusion of spontaneity and personality. Aibo (now discontinued) was the first commercially available product to use  Evolution Robotics' Visual Pattern Recognition technology, which is basically the ability of a robot to "see".

Currently on the market is  WowWee Wrex, the "Frankenstein pooch" and mongrel of the robot dog pack,  made from discarded mechanical and electrical parts. Wrex has three moods - happy, angry and half insane and three desires - hunger, a desire for exercise and call of nature. Apparently, by accessing his back panel, he can also be programmed to act like a cat. No wonder he has moments of insanity.

Wrex, made byWowWee robotics

Megabyte and Tekno
Another couple of relatively inexpensive pups  on the block are the digitally named named Megabyte and Tekno , perfect companions for the tech-head. They can walk talk bark and 'perform amazing tricks'...apparently.

Megabyte...cuter than a kitten in a flowerpot.

Tekno, with his own biscuit.

As Good as the real thing..?

Source

The benefits of pet ownership, particularly for the elderly,  are well documented but I have my doubts a robotic dog could really be a substitute for the living, breathing kind. However, a few years ago, researchers at  Purdue University's Center for the Human-Animal Bond tried to discern just that....ie; whether or not a robotic substitute (they used Aibo) could provide the same benefits for  elderly people, who may not be up to the demands and  responsibilities of  real pet dog ownership, that a real dog could.

A study was also conducted on a group of 72 children, who were given both a real Australian collie and Aibo to play with. Not surprisingly, the children were more engaged with the real dog, yet the study revealed that a significant number of children interacted with the robot dog as they would a real one.  Two questions were raised by the research:

First, is it possible that a new technological genre is emerging in HCI that challenges traditional ontological categories (e.g., between animate and inanimate)? Second, are pervasive interactions with a wide array of "robotic others" -- increasingly sophisticated personified computational artifacts that mimic biological forms and pull psychologically in mental, social, and moral ways -- a good thing for human beings.

From Robots as dogs?

It's all a bit reminiscent of that eerie old 70s film Zero Population Growth, where humans in a futuristic world are unable to legally procreate because of massive overpopulation and are given robotic "doll children" to satisfy their nurturing needs. In the film at least...it didn't work.

A Child's Tea Set

Perfectly Princess 8 piece tea set

One lump or two Mrs. Nesbit..?
Few things are as evocative of a female childhood as a children's tea set. It conjures up images of summery days under shady trees and old-fashioned tea parties with dolls and teddies. Children of course, love to emulate the adult world and imitative play is an important part of the learning process. What a pity that when we grow up the innocent pleasure of pouring out cups of tea and coffee has to wear off...especially if we work in a cafe.

Summer Bugs tin tea set

Delicious desert toys

Strangely, in the post-feminine world, adult tea parties have made a comeback. Perhaps it's a recognition of the civilizing influence of a cup of tea in a decorative china cup, a cake and polite conversation. There's something to be said for it.

For very young kids of course, the appeal of tea sets never went away. Little girls (and boys too occasionally) have been playing with miniature porcelain tea sets since the 1700s. Perhaps in the ancient world, little Mesopotamian and Egyptian children  enacted a similar ritual with tiny clay drinking goblets. I wouldn't be at all surprised.

Tea party board book

Amazon Tea Sets...

Tin Toys

Tin wind up monkey xylophone player, available at Tin Toys and Collectibles

A thing of beauty is a joy forever~John Keats
Whether it has a mechanical action or not, a tin toy is a beautiful object to look at and lovely to hold -it's that smooth, shiny surface, the rich colours, the quirky patterns and for many, the nostalgic image of childhood it conjures. A tin toy has charm.

A Little History

Tin merry-go round from Litily Maha

When manufacturers began to use tin plate to make toys back in the mid 19th century, it was considered a cheap substitute for wood. The toys were made from sheet metal and painstakingly hand-painted. However, in the late 1800s a process called offset lithography was invented, which meant designs could now be printed directly onto the tin, making production a simpler process.

By the early 20th century, Germany, which had developed the spring activated tin toy, had pretty much cornered the tin toy market and was the largest producer. During this period the most famous and innovative  tin toy maker was Ernst Paul Lehmann who exported almost 90 % of his stock to the rest of the world.

Classic spinning tops from Tin Toys and Collectables

In time however, other countries, - including France, England and the United States, began manufacturing their own tin toys. In the US, tin ore mines were opened in Illinois, facilitating the production of large numbers of tin toys. Unfortunately for the German manufacturers, post WWI, anti-German sentiment was at an all time high and this, together with the ramping up of US production, meant that the US became the new world leader in tin toy manufacturing.

1966 Tin Robotank-Z Robot

Alas, it was a relatively short-lived triumph.  A lull in production during WWII and the rise of cheap post war Japanese manufacturing, saw the end of the US tin toy ascendance. Tin toys remained popular until the end of the 1950s, when new, cheaper, safer and easy to manufacture  plastic toys swamped the toy market. Tin toys are still being produced today and not surprisingly,  China has become the leading producer.

In the heydays of tin toy manufacturing, there were literally hundreds of products made from  tin - anything from simple hand clickers and buckets and spades to mechanical robots and pedal cars. The world's first toy robot was made from tin. Of course, many of these early pieces are now quite collectible and as is the case with most collectibles, condition and original packaging go a long way toward premium prices- although, the 1966 Japanese Tin Robotank at right, sans box, sold for auction in 2007 for $557.Included below are a few resources for those with a deeper interest in tin toys.

Robot timer from TinToyArcade

Links
The Art of the Tin Toy - David Pressland has been collecting tin toys since the 1950s and he now advises and sources for serious tin toy collectors. The website includes some terrific pictures of vintage toys.
Tin Toy Arcade  - this website has a vast selection of contemporary tin toys, many of which are reproductions of older styles.
ebay, Antique Tin Toys - there's some real beauties among this lot. Vintage toys from sellers all over the world.
My Tin Toys - includes a lovely selection of tin toys for sale and a resource page for collectors.

G.I. Joe

Action Classic
Hasbro's popular 12 inch G.I. Joe was introduced in 1964 and was the molded plastic front man for the toy company's Action series, G.I. being a generic term for an American serviceman. The series incorporated the four sections of the US military -Action Pilot, Action Soldier, Action Sailor and Action Marine and upon its release, the movable man was a huge success.

Given the relatively macho climate of the early 60s, Hasbro were careful never to call G.I. Joe a 'doll', since boys playing with dolls was considered not very masculine. Instead Joe was referred to as an 'action figure' - a fine distinction but evidently a significant one, as the term has become the default name for dolls for boys.

A G.I. Joe for every branch of the armed forces.

It's certainly true that G.I. Joe was all man and probably would have kicked sand in  Ken's (Barbie's metro boyfriend) face at the beach. Joe had a firm, square jaw, a steely gaze and just to seal his rugged credentials, a scar on one cheek. As the 70's approached however, the effects of Vietnam war and the protesting flower-power generation began to have a negative effect on G.I. Joe's hardcore image. Hasbro changed tack, giving him flocked hair (sissy!) and reinventing him via the less warlike concept of "The Adventures of G.I Joe".

The early G.I.Joes were individualists, however, from the 70s other "Adventure" team players came on the scene - Mike Power, Atomic Man and super-hero Bullet man. In addition there was a Kung Fu Grip action figure introduced, which had soft malleable hands that could grip with greater dexterity. When G.I. Joe was given his moving eye mechanism in 1976, Mike, Bullet Man and Eagle-Eye Joe became a team, fighting the forces of evil in the form of The Intruders--Strongmen From Another World. The 'eagle-eyes' however, were to be Joe's last evolutionary development, as the original 12 " G.I. Joe toy was retired with his military pension in 1976 .

G.I. Joe Official Site

Action Man 

In England Hasbro had sold the G.I. Joe licensing rights to Palitoy Ltd., which held them from 1966 to 1984. There he was copied and marketed with a similar military theme, under the name Action Man but over the years the company expanded the line to include other action men, such as footballers and cricketers.

The English version also got the gripping rubber hands, eagle eyes and even a special version, "Talking Military Commander", where a string was pulled and commands were barked out. These dolls too,  were eventually discontinued, in 1984...but relaunched as a smaller scale version in the early 1990s.

Old soldiers never die, they just quietly fade away...


Action Man HQ