A New Christmas Tradition: Toys for Good Little Girls and Boys

A mid-19th c. doll from the Alice’s collection

“‘Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents,’ grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.” The link between Christmas and presents, made in the famous first line of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, seems like an obvious one. But when Alcott published Little Women in 1868, this idea was still relatively new. The practice of giving children presents—and specifically, toys—was, like many of our other Christmas customs, a product of the early 19th century. It came out of shifts in the way Christmas was celebrated, along with changes in how childhood was viewed, in Europe and North America.

This subject first came to my attention through a post on the blog JSTOR Daily, which references a recent article by historian Joseph Wachelder. He examined issues of the London daily newspaper The Morning Chronicle from 1800 to 1827, and found a steady increase in advertisements for presents suitable for giving to children at Christmas. Many of these were toys with educational components, such as chemistry sets, “dissected maps” (geography puzzles), and games based on history and current events.

A scene of Christmas revelry from 1791

So what had happened to cause this development? First, how Christmas was being celebrated was starting to change. As Wachelder describes, in the 18th century, “Christmas was a public feast, characterized by revelry, wassailing, and abundant eating and drinking.” When gifts were given, they went from people of higher status to those lower on the social scale—from masters to servants, for example. December was a period of relative leisure, as the harvest was completed and food was still abundant. Christmas was also a time of sanctioned social inversion, when workers, servants, and peasants could demand special privileges from their superiors.

But gradually, over the course of the 19th century, Christmas became a domestic, family-oriented holiday. Historian Stephen Nissenbaum has argued (in his book The Battle for Christmas) that this change can be traced to the spread of wage labor and capitalist modes of production. For some urban workers, Christmas was just another day of work (think Bob Cratchit). For others, winter might well be a time of unemployment, as water-powered factories shut down until the spring thaw. “December’s leisure thus meant not relatively plenty but forced unemployment and want. The Christmas season, with its carnival traditions of wassail, misrule, and callithumpian ‘street theater,’ could easily become a vehicle of social protest, an instrument to express powerful ethnic or class resentments.”

A child-centered Victorian Christmas

To forestall this possibility, elites adopted new Christmas customs that moved celebrations inside the family circle. It was during this period that many of our current Christmas traditions were introduced: decorated trees, Christmas cards, Santa Claus—and presents for children. As it happened, understandings of childhood and the role of play were also changing during this period. Of course, playthings of various kinds—dolls, tops, marbles, and the like—had existed for centuries, but the idea that playing with toys was an essential part of a child’s development was a product of the late 18th century.

Portrait of the Edgeworth family by Adam Buck, 1787.
As the second oldest of a family of 22(!), Maria
had plenty of experience with children.

Joseph Wachelder points to the book Practical Education by Maria and Richard Lovell Edgeworth, published in 1798, as a key moment in the history of toys and childhood. Edgeworth brought together two strands of thought on the nature of childhood: John Locke’s view of children as “blank slates” who could be shaped and guided by their parents, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s belief that children should be able to develop their natural character through self-directed experiences and play. Maria Edgeworth suggested that toys were the ideal medium through which parents could steer the education of their children. She argued that children “require to have things which exercise their senses of their imagination, their imitative and inventive powers.” Toys should not be expensive or too precious to be used, but should “invite play and discovery,” and if they were broken in the process, at least children would learn something about what was inside and how they worked.

A Chinese Puzzle, one of the toys advertised
in the Morning Chronicle, 1817

Wachelder’s study of the Morning Chronicle suggests that publishers and booksellers were some of the first businesses to jump on the Christmas toy bandwagon. Books, of course, were ideal Christmas presents, being both entertaining and educational, but publishers also soon began producing a variety of games and puzzles. Some of these, like “The Battle of Waterloo,” introduced in 1816, were clearly designed to capitalize on current events, while others tapped into the popular sciences of chemistry and astronomy (“Accum’s Chemical Amusement” promised that its experiments were “easily performed and unattended by danger”). Toys that produced optical illusions, such as kaleidoscopes and thaumatropes, were also very popular.

Over time, more and more toys would be available for purchase, thanks to technological developments and the continuing sentimentalization of childhood. By the second half of the 19th century, it was difficult for many people to imagine a Christmas that didn’t include toys. So as you’re out searching for Hatchimals this holiday season, remember that you are participating in a tradition that stretches back 200 years!

Sources:

Joseph Wachelder, “Toys, Christmas Gifts, and Consumption Culture in London’s Morning Chronicle, 1800-1827,” Icon Vol. 19, Special Issue Playing with Technology: Sports and Leisure (2013), pp. 13-32

Stephen Nissenbaum, The Battle for Christmas: A Social and Cultural History of Our Most Cherished Holiday (Vintage, 1997)

Maria Edgeworth and Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Practical Education (First American edition, 1801)

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It's the Little Things...

A few recent additions at the museum have made it possible to exhibit for the first time in many years some objects Alice Miner collected. We now have a dress that probably belonged to Mrs. Miner exhibited on a simple mannequin in the Miner Room on the third floor. 

Another display addition is a glass case for jewelry and small objects. This lighted case is on display in the Sheraton Room on the second floor of The Alice. In it you will see many pieces of jewelry, small objects from the children's room - including miniature books and tiny dolls, bakelite jewelry, lockets, eyeglasses and more.

These shoe buckles are said to have belonged to the third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson.

One of the few necklaces in The Alice collection this is an Egyptian scarab piece made of gold, turquoise and other carved stones. It has a matching scarab bracelet. Although Alice Miner and her sisters traveled in Egypt we do not know where she purchased these lovely adornments.

Two pair of 19th century eyeglasses. One was worn by Mrs. Betsey Persons of Rochester, Vermont. The other pair (forefront) belonged to Judge Chew of Richland County, Ohio. The leather glasses case in back also belonged to Mrs. Persons.

A 19th century amethyst and gold pin. There are two sets of earrings to match this bright pin. In back is a french carved ivory pen point holder from the mid-19th century.

Brown and black bakelite earring and pin set. Bakelite was one of the first synthetic plastics - this set likely dates to the early 20th century. Along with these wonderful objects are many more small things to catch your imagination. Come for a tour sometime and see them for yourself. The Alice is open Tuesday - Saturday with tours at 10am, noon and 2pm.

American Indian Objects in The Alice Collection

As we finish renovation of a third floor room this month we are adjusting to the closure of the Lincoln Library and the four rooms adjacent to the library while paint dries. Because of the closure of these spaces I have placed some collections in other areas of the museum. One of these temporary exhibits is of select items from the American Indian collection. I simply could not allow tour participants to miss this wonderful group of objects while the room is off limits.

Alice T. Miner collected a wide variety of wonderful American Indian objects between 1910 to her death in 1950. Unfortunately, the museum does not know the provenance of most of these objects. We do hold a large number of stone implements donated to Alice for her museum by Lynn, Massachusetts mayor Ralph S. Bauer in the 1920s. It is likely that Alice Miner already possessed the wonderful baskets, pottery pieces, dolls and beaded works by the time she received the Bauer Collection.

This new exhibit offers a sampling of pieces for visitors to learn about and enjoy, including; a group of spear and arrow points, four baskets, a basketry women's cap, a beaded Plains Indian doll, a clay pipe stem, two southwestern pottery pieces, a northwest coast Indian dance rattle (written about previously in this post - The Rattle Connection), a beaded tobacco bag, a small bow with eight arrows, and a Nez Perce woven bag.

The Plains Indian doll is sixteen inches tall and comprised of a leather body, head and clothing with beaded decoration and bead & metal jewelry. The face has some application of red pigment on the cheeks with eyes created from beads. 

The baskets in the exhibit are Klickitat, Hupa and Yurok-Karok in origin, therefore all were made in California, Oregon and Washington states. The Yurok-Karok and Hupa baskets are similar to each other and were likely made by related peoples in California. They are made of woven willow, pine root, bear grass and maiden hair fern - with a weave so tight and fine they are said to hold water. The Yurok-Karok cap is made in a similar way with the addition of a fabric lining. 

Yurok-Karok woman's cap

Hupa cooking basket, ca. 10" tall - food was boiled in the basket using hot stones from the fire

A Klickitat basket - ca. 13" tall

Klickitat Brave, 1899

The Klickitat baskets are large burden baskets woven of red cedar root, cattail leaf, or beaver grass with geometric designs and rawhide straps. The Klickitat, or Qwu'lh-hwai-pum (prairie people), lived along the shores of the Colombia River between the present day states of Washington and Oregon. 

The Nez Perce cornhusk bag is woven from dogbane or silkweed and decorated with colored fibers. Later yarn and corn husk were also incorporated in weaving these utilitarian bags or baskets. The addition of a rawhide strap made for easy carrying. The Nez Perce were also inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. 

The two pottery objects included in this exhibit are from the southwestern U.S. and Northern Mexico. They are both polychrome decorated vessels with geometric designs.

The pitcher was made at Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico using both mineral and vegetal based paints. The design uses a characteristic white background allowing Acoma potters to produce crisp black and polychrome designs. This pitcher is nine inches tall. Acoma Pueblo has been occupied by descendants of the Mogollon and Anasazi people for over 800 years, making it one of the oldest continually inhabited communities in the U.S. I could not resist including this wonderful photos of one of the houses at Acoma today.

A house in the Sky City of Acoma Pueblo

17 November 2012, by Beyond My Ken

The other pottery piece is a wonderful little polychrome pottery bowl made by Indians in the Casas Grandes region of Northern Mexico, in the modern day state of Chihuahua. Casas Grandes, also known as Paquimé was settled by people descended from the Mogollon. It is only about 4.5 inches tall and has holes pierced in the top for hanging or carrying. 

The Khrabroff Collection

There is a wonderful variety of characters and historical figures to learn about at The Alice, with research frequently focusing on one General or another. On the second floor of the museum, in a little space that houses cases of dolls, is a photo of a Russian General - General Nicholas Khrabroff, who originally came to the United States from Russia as President of the Artillery Commission. From 1915-1917 the Russian Artillery Commission was based in New York, its mission to negotiate purchase of munitions and other artillery supplies for the Imperial Russian government.

The arms shortage in Russia was so acute during WWI, that by 1916 Russian soldiers were being sent to the front lines without arms, hoping they would equip themselves with weapons recovered from fallen soldiers from either side. Efforts at weapons production in Russia were greatly stepped-up and attempts to procure weapons overseas were intensified. Then came great turmoil in Russia, spurred on partly by the poor treatment of soldiers and massive loss of life in WWI.

Mrs. Khrabroff looks on as Nicholas Khrabroff puts the
finishing touches to the base of a pair of dolls.

By December, 1917 General Khrabroff was still acting in his role to procure arms, despite the changes in Government occurring in his country precipitated by the Russian Revolution. There is still question whether he could have actually been representing his government in agreements he signed during this time, having been sent as a representative of the Imperial Government, which had been overthrown in early 1917. Eventually, it became obvious that he could not return to Russia and he settled in Thetford, Vermont with his wife and daughter, having lost his son in WWI.

A Mongolian Couple and the sketches
from which Mrs. Khrabroff worked...

In their new life in Vermont it is Nicholas Khrabroff’s wife who emerges to us through her Christmas gifts to Alice. The Alice T. Miner Museum holds, among other wonderful collections, an assemblage of hand made dolls representing various historical and cultural groups of Russia. The 30 dolls, usually in male/female pairs, were lovingly made and clothed in their traditional dress by Mrs. M.V. Khrabroff, who even included accessories and jewels for the fascinating figures. Among them are: Peasant twins sent to Alice in 1929; a Polish Noble couple sent in 1928; a newly engaged Ukrainian couple; Finnish twins; a Shaman or “Mongolian Priest” holding his drum; a “bridal couple” from the Volga River region that Mrs. Khrabroff refers to as “Mordvah”, sent in 1935. The Mordvins (also Mordva, Mordvinians) are among the larger indigenous peoples of Russia.

The sketches were done by a friend in Petrograd.

Accompanying these wonderfully made dolls, some of whom have hand painted faces, are affectionate and romantic letters written to Alice by Mrs. Khrabroff about her creations. Some of the letters include sketches of costumes, and separate notes written to Alice by the dolls themselves! These letters are usually safely stored in our archives and therefore out of the public eye. Right now, however, you can see a few of the sketches and postcard images that inspired Mrs. Khrabroff, paired with the figures she created, on exhibit at The Alice.

For this pair Mrs. Khrabroff worked from postcard images...

She recreated every wonderful detail, including costume colors.

Mrs. Khrabroff once wrote to Alice, "I want you, dear Friend, to be sure that I understand very well that the only thing which makes my rag-dolls a little bit interesting and a little bit worthy (oh! very little!) to occupy a very, very small place in your beautiful and rich museum - is the truth of the costumes. Next year I am going to send you the sketches which Oksana made of the Tartars from the ethnographic figures in our best museum in Petrograd... I want that the whole Russia in the great variety of her numerous nationalities, tribes and races would stand up before you as a token of love and gratitude for what Mr. Miner and you, our endlessly kind Friend, made for one of her unfortunate families." The costumes and details of these figures are magnificent! Mrs. Khrabroff was justifiably proud of her work, and would be thrilled, we feel sure, if she knew your curiosity about these little works of art would lead you to visit The Alice!

A Simpler Gift

There is something about these passing years that can make us forget how much things have changed since we were children... the days really begin to fly by in our early 20’s... life fills with friends and family, and work and play, and eventually careers, and perhaps even children of our own.

When Christmas or Chanukah or Kwanzaa come along we start thinking of gifts to get for the people in our lives. More frequently these days gifts come with batteries, or plug into our televisions or computers; iPods and Wii video games have replaced the record player and Twister. One of the gifts that was most memorable for me as a child was the bike with the banana seat I got for Christmas when I was six!

Here at The Alice, however, none of the toys have batteries or plugs, and few even have moving parts! The toys at the museum hearken back to simpler times. Dolls and ice skates were things children enjoyed for hours, and in ways that did not necessarily isolate them from those nearby.

As a way to celebrate the youthful joy of the holidays we have put together some of our toys for you to see for yourself... sort of a visual "Letter to Santa Claus" from the 18th and 19th Centuries. We hope you will come enjoy this display, and perhaps linger for a last tour for 2008.

Ice Skates, an Adventure Book, Dolls, a simple tin puppet...