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.

 

What Did We Get For Christmas?

 

 For the holidays, I  got a respiratory infection, an asthma flareup, and the flu...but I also got:

 

-an 1870s children's sleigh

-an antique German wooden toy village

-a 1906-1908 teddy bear with photographs of its original owners

-a set of 1916 Schoenhut Alphies blocks

-some antique photographs of children with their toys

-some beautiful Victorian scraps

-and a new Peng Peng bear

 

Pictures to come soon...

 

What did you get? Tell us in the comments!

 

 

Vintage Snowmen

From my collection of vintage Christmas, these two little snowmen, just a couple of inches tall, are some of my favorite pieces. The smaller snowman has a peel off sticky label on the back: he was meant to be attached to a package as decoration. The larger snowman is made of mica-covered cardboard with a spun cotton head, and carries a pipe cleaner candy cane.

Vintage Santa Claus

This tiny Santa, about 3 inches tall, has the same molded plastic face as the Christmas elves posted yesterday, and dates from the same time period. I believe those are supposed to be candles he's holding.

Pine Cone Elves

These little Christmas elves sitting on pine cones were made by the millions from the 1940s-60s, and can be found today in lots of variations.  Some are singing carols, some are working on toys, some are reading books...these are two of my favorites. Made from cotton batting, chenille sticks, felt, paper, cardboard, and plastic, the elves measure about 3 1/2 inches tall.