German Wooden Toy Village

This little playset, a carved wooden village with a man and some animals, represents 400 years of toymaking history. Little villages like this one have been made in Germany for centuries, turned out originally in the cottage industries that flourished during the long cold winters in regions like the Erzgebirge and Groden Valley.
Wonderfully naive and delightfully out of scale with itself, this particular village was probably made in the 1920s. I like to pretend the giant animals have left Toyko after a radioactive accident and are on their way to terrorize the little Tyrolean village...

Seriously though, if you'd like to learn more about the history of these toys, there's a great account in one of my favorite toy books, Toys Through the Ages, by Dan Foley.

Antique "Coats & Clark Company" Paper Dolls

I'm always amazed when I find a fragile paper toy that has survived through long years of play, and this just may be the most amazing such toy I have. Made from the late 1800s through the early 1900s as an advertising premium by the J P Coats Company (now the Coats & Clark Company), this 6 inch  paper doll is really 12 toys in one.There's a different doll printed on each side of the figure, with 3 different heads for each doll concealed on a rotating wheel within its body. Beautifully lithographed, it's a charming toy as well as a very clever one.

Here is the first doll with her three different heads:

The picture below shows the changeable head mechanism.

Here is the doll on the flip side:

 

 

Barbie's Dream House

I got my first vintage Barbie doll this past year, in honor of her 50th birthday. I thought it would be enough to just have one doll, or a few, but I found it hard to resist adding a house. After all, I reasoned, they can't be very comfortable piled on top of each other in their carrying cases. So, after much deliberation, we took out a mortgage on a 1962 Barbie's Dream House, the first of many domiciles made for the iconic fashion doll and her friends.

 

Constructed entirely of cardboard, the Dream House is huge, measuring 26 inches wide when closed. It unfolds into a classic mid-century home, complete with fold-up cardboard furniture of surprising sturdiness, and lots of accessories, including records, an incredibly cool floor lamp, a big ol' TV and hi fi, and a framed picture of Ken.

 Speaking of Ken...my house came with the closet entirely filled with Ken clothes. Maybe he shacked up here for awhile back in the swingin' 60s...

Mod Barbies

In December, I wrote about getting my first ever Barbies for Christmas this past year. I never liked Barbie as a child, but became interested in her during her 50th birthday hoopla last year. I decided I needed "just one" for my toy collection, reasoning that no generalist toy collection could be complete without a representative Barbie.

Well...it turns out Barbie is quite addictive! I now had one of the early ponytail Barbies, yes, but what about the Bubblecut, or the Twist n Turn, or the Mod dolls, or the houses, or cars, or Ken?! Gah!!!

"Just one" Barbie has now turned into seven so far, with the addition of these mid 1960s Mod period dolls. The long haired girls are Twist n Turns  with the "new, youthful face" and "real eyelashes" that replaced the molded eyelash, vampy-looking early Barbie. The two short haired dolls have Hair Fair heads, disembodied craniums that were sold separately with wigs and wiglets, to swap out on your existing Barbies. I love their cute bobbed hairdos.

Pooped Postcard

I haven't been able to post much so far this month: been too busy (undecorating from Christmas) and sick (a wicked cold) and tired (from both). On my first antiquing foray of the new year, I found this vintage postcard titled "BOY! AM I POOPED!" that seemed a fortuitous find. Dating from 1957, it was sent by a couple of soldiers to a friend back home.

The message reads: "Hi Kilo. Curly + I went to the races Sunday. Had a big time. Got loaded as usual. Hope you are O.K. Will be down to see you one of these days. Your old pals (illegible name) + Curly."

I've said it before in my old postcard posts, but I have to say it again: everyone seems to have had such colorful names back in "the old days." I wonder what Kilo, Curly, and their illegibly named friend are up to these days...