Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 January 1887 — Something About Dolls. [ARTICLE]

Something About Dolls.

Dolls are by no means a modern invention. Dolls of baked clay, of wood, and of other things, have been found in Egypt, in tombs, where they have lain buried since before the time of Christ. Dolls are now much more carefully made than they were in former times, and a great deal of skill is needed in their manufacture. In the little town of Sonneberg, in Germany, hundreds of thousands of dolls are manufactured every year. Most of the dolls are made out of papier mache, hut many tine 6nes are made with wax or china heads. All dolls of the same size which have like faces are made in one mold, and there have to be as many molds as there are different kinds of faces. It takes thirty or forty persons to make a single doll, as each workman does only one thing. In Japan, children have every year what is called a “feast of dolls.” This is held only on one day of the year, at which time all the dolls that have belonged to the family are brought out from the safe places where they are usually kept, and put upon tables with many k'iida of playthings. Sometimes there are more than a hundred dolls, some of which are dark with age, for often dolls two hundred years old are shown at this feast. They are dressed in all sorts of ways, some like court ladies and gentlemen, and some like common ladies and gentlemen.- Some of .these dolls are very small, and some are as large as a little girl. The feast of dolls lasts only one day, yet the toys are shown lor many days. Dolls used by East Indian children are very different from any in this country. They are made of wood painted with different colors. Each doll has a baby in its arms, and is fixed to a wooden block so that it can stand . up. The clothes are only painted ones, its arms are not jointed, and the only thing that can be taken off is the head, which is fastened into the body with a peg. Common wooden jointed dolls are made mostly in Germany by poor people, who whittle them out by hand. —Young Folks’ Cyclopedia. A Tour of Inspection. First railroad official—Don’t you think it’s about time to inspect the road again? Second railroad official—That’s not a bad idea. Shall we take the ladies along? “Oh, no. We’d better not. They—ah—well, only practical railroaders should make such a trip, you know.” “What preparations are necessary for the trip ?” “Oh, just leave that to the porter. He knows where to get the liquor and cigars. ” —Pitts burg h Dispatch.