Sunday, August 11, 2013
American History
Preserved Through Photos
About 15 years ago,I had a great experience of visiting the U.S. capital of Washington. Their many different museums under the name of the Smithsonian was unbelievable. There you can discover all of the good and and sometimes bad throughout most of American history. Another of the exceptional museums in Washington is the Library of Congress. There are collected much of the USA's famous documents, newspapers, photographs of what America was and is in all of her greatness and in all of his weaknesses. All of her good and all of her bad. I remember walking in to a majestic vestibule that showed an old decor of fine stone and echoed the sounds of people whispering in its massive chamber. There encased in glass was the original handwritten score of Leonard Bernstein from the Broadway play - West Side Story. That showcase is periodically changed to present just some of the many illustrious documents and other material from America's history.
Yesterday,I had decided to visit the Library of Congress on the Net, as I wanted to get some photos of goat carts. I had asked an E-Bay seller for his (Her) permission, but still am waiting. I found plenty of goat cart or goat wagon photos, but then decided to veer off for today's post.
I've only presented a few toys that were in fact made by parents for their children. The name of our (Canada) native northernmost people now is Inuit. The old name of "Eskimo" was old and a bit derisive. AS such , the new name has been used for the last 20-35 years.
December 3, 1903 was the date on which the Wright Brothers made the first "heavier" than air flight at Kitty Hawk,North Carolina.In the photo above, you can see some examples of toys that resemble that famous airplane. What's also interesting is to see how "small" Madison Sqare Gardens looks.
A fabulous old pedal car. What's also of interest is the old radio and the table with those iron feet.
THis young boy certainly was fortunate to have such a nice toy way back in those days!
Being a photograph taken in the USA, I would say that he was most likely playing with the American erector set made by A.C.Gilbert (USA).
Not all toys have always been metallic or mechanical. In the photo above, the 3 men are working on wooden and hand-painted or lacquered toys.
I'm sure every large department store in North America at one time had a display window such as the one above at Christmas Time. In Montreal, Quebec, Canada ours is at Ogilvy's. THere the annual window exhibit consists of many mechanically-operated puppets and figures related to that festive season.
In the centre of Montreal and at the top of a small mountain is a lake called "Beaver Lake".
I've never seen anyone play with sailboats there, but I'm sure 100 years ago this happened, as in New YOrk City's Central park (Above).
A very old and interesting photo of a salesman and lots of toys.
Lots of nice toys for this young boy. Notice the sailor suit that he's wearing. The boy in the top second photograph is also wearing one as well. That outfit was very popular at the time. I'll be visiting the Library of Congress to write future posts using many of the most-interesting photos that are loaded on their vast database. Their is lots to learn from looking at these fascinating old photos, and I hope you'll enjoy them as much as me.
Thnaks for dropping by,
and always,
have a great part of the day or night,
wherever you may be.
Stacey
toysearcher@gmail.com
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