Antique Schoenhut Alphies Blocks

One of my most longed-for antique toys arrived under the Christmas tree this year: a beautiful set of lithographed wooden Alphies blocks made by the Schoenhut Company.

 

Schoenhut was an American toy company based in Philadelphia which began production in 1872. They are famed for their toy pianos, Humpty Dumpty Circus playset and figures, and many other fine toys.

The Alphies, first patented in 1916, are five inch tall wooden blocks with lithographed paper characters on both sides. One side depicts "Alphie Dollies," the other an "Alphie Zoo." Each character bears a letter of the alphabet on its front.

The Alphies were intended as multi-purpose playthings, as depicted in the possibilities shown on the box cover. They could be used to practice the alphabet and spelling; for stacking and building; and could even be set up as a bowling game, using the included wooden balls.

The lithography on the character blocks is gorgeous; here are some of my favorite pieces.

A tiger sipping soda.
 

"O" ogles "P."




A frantic looking frog.



"D" is for dolly.
 

An alligator in an apron.

 

Antique Show Find: Lithographed Toy Blocks

I found the most beautiful set of toy blocks at an antique show this summer, and I've never seen another like them. Made of lithographed paper over wood, they are most likely from the McLaughlin Bros. company, and date circa 1890.

Each block is 4 inches tall, and each side is different, making the blocks many toys instead of one. One broad side has Fairy Land Railroad cars while the other has a Punch and Judy show, and the narrow edges have either numbers or soldiers. The alphabet runs along one side too, like a frame.

We'll start with a few of the Fairy Land R. R. cars, which depict characters from famous fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and classic children's stories. Turned horizontally, they can be lined up to make a train.

There's even a mail car, and a candy hauler:

The character sneaking a peek into the candy car is Mr. Punch, the famous maniacal puppet. By turning the blocks around and standing them vertically, they make a complete Punch and Judy show.

Oh no: Mr. Punch shakes the baby!

Then, he and Judy smack each other with sticks.

Punch is in serious trouble...

  ...but somehow he gets out of it.

(I'm missing a block here, 

so I'm not sure how he managed it.)

Finally, turning the blocks sideways gives you a little army all your own, complete with a drummer:

What a fantastically versatile toy: can't you just picture a little Victorian child playing with this by the hour on the floor of the nursery?

Changeable Charlie

One of my favorite vintage toys is Changeable Charlie, a classic American toy made from the 1940s through the 1960s. Charlie is a man of many personalities: colorful printed features applied to the sides of multiple wooden blocks can be flipped and repositioned, creating lots of characters.

The package claims an astounding 4,194,304 different combinations are possible:  

"It's a mathematical fact that you can play with 'Changeable Charlie' eight hours a day, five days a week, fifty-two weeks a year, making one change a minute, and not repeat yourself in over thirty-three years! If you want to know how mathematicians figured this out, send us a postal card with your name and address. We'll be delighted to show you how it's done."

Alas, I have to go to work each day, and so have been unable to test this claim. 

This 1948 set features fantastic caricatures.

Changeable Charlie was so popular, it spawned a sequel called Changeable Charlie's Aunt. This set dates from 1960.

Victorian Alphabet Tiles

Found at an antique store last weekend was this great set of Victorian alphabet tiles, in their original box with sliding cover. The wooden box is 9 inches long, and each lithographed tile is 2 1/4 inches wide by 1/8 of an inch thick.

 A lovely old typeface on these...

Here are a few close-ups of some of the tiles:

"G" is for "girl", with a dolly, of course!

"Z" was a surprise: I expected it to be the typical zebra, but no:

it's actually, and unusually, an adjective!

"U" and "V" are a combined tile, with very sober subject matter 

(a funeral carriage).

My favorite tile was this one, "H" is for "horse". Look closely: "horse" is misspelled, which is rather ironic, considering these tiles were intended to teach children to read...

1871 Bliss Building Blocks

The name "Bliss," when speaking of antique toys, usually brings to mind their famed lithographed paper dollhouses. But the American company made other toys as well, including this set of small wooden blocks, still in their original 7 1/2 tall box with its paper label intact. I spotted these on a birthday antiquing trip last weekend, and was thrilled to find them.They were only $20, which seemed like a steal for such a lovely, and old, toy.

The label dates the set to 1871, and the text features one of the earliest toy safety endorsements I've ever read:

"No. 248.

Improved Architectural Building

BLOCKS

Free from PAINT or other POISONOUS colorings.

Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1871,

by R. Bliss Manf'G. Co., in the Office of the Commissioner 

of Patents at Washington."

Antique Building Blocks

Found a beautiful set of 1920s wooden building blocks at a garage sale over the weekend. They're still in their original box, and feature lovely pressed designs of bricks, stones, doors, and railings. Also included are windows with fragile cellophane panes. The whole set appears to be here, which seems amazing, although it only has half the lid...