Victorian games for boys

This is the simplest of all cornhusk dolls and can be taught to the very young. The early settlers learned to make cornhusk dolls from Native Americans.

String two or three of these dolls together with small pine cones for a pretty garland to hang during celebration times. Handkerchief Doll Kit: Our Handkerchief Doll Kit includes one inch square white handkerchief, ribbon, lace, needle, embroidery floss, stuffing, instructions, and history.

This historical doll has been used for centuries to keep little girls quiet during church services and can be very easily made. Everything you need is included in the kit. Miss Poppet Doll Kit: Our Miss Poppet Doll Kit includes fabric, string, yarn, stuffing, embroidery floss, sewing needle, pattern, instructions, and history. You only need to supply a pair of scissors and some time to make this historical doll. Miss Poppet is based on a similar surviving rag doll that is over years old.

You can choose to make the doll as it is shown or as a replica doll without arms, hair, and bonnet. Finished size is approximately 13 inches tall. Pocket Folk Doll Kit: Our Pocket Folk Doll Kit includes muslin for two doll bodies, two different fabrics for the dresses, sewing needle, embroidery floss, stuffing for the bodies, instructions, and history. These sweet dolls are fun to make and perfect for two young hands! This kit could serve as a sewing project for a young girl, a new mother, any crafter, or a folk doll collector.

Each doll will be unique and can be played with as a toy, worn on a coat, set in a wreath, or placed on a mantle for decoration. Whatever their ultimate use, they may be a prized possession in the future. Spoon Doll Kit: Our Spoon Doll Kit includes a 4-inch wooden spoon, fabric for dress and arms, needle, floss for sewing, yarn for hair, stuffing, instructions, and history. This is a popular American colonial doll craft for girls of all ages.

This kit is also a nice project for colonial museum workshops, Girl Scout groups, elementary school classrooms, or for a parent-child activity. The cute little doll also looks great in a seasonal wreath or as part of a table decoration. This collection is filled with nostalgic line drawings and interesting fun facts. Presented in a beautiful brass legged wood box. Rich in history, fun to play parlor game parlour game. An unsurpassed gift for the discerning.

Size: 23cm x 24cm x 5cm, 9" x 9. Wooden Dominoes Game: Our Wooden Dominoes set contains 28 double-six wooden dominoes, rules for play, and comes packaged in a wooden storage box with sliding lid. By Historical Folk Toys.

Dominoes have had shapes other than the flat, small pieces we now know. In Korea, dominoes were long, cube-shaped, bone-faced bamboo pieces. In India, "pase" dice-looking dominoes are long rectangular, cubed dice with pointed ends and are made of bone or ivory prisms, marked on four sides.

Dominoes may have originally been used as counters in dice games or in a method of fortune telling with dice. In the year A. The game of dominoes was a popular game during Colonial American times and continues to be a favorite American game. Dominoes are as popular with adults as they are with children. Many Irish pubs feature domino games and sponsor domino contests.

Learn how to hand spin cotton into a fine thread with our cotton drop spindle set. Spindle weighs less than one ounce.

Historical Background: Please see our Wool Drop Spindle Only for the historical background on drop spindles for wool.

Likewise, see our Wool Roving for the historical background on wool roving. Fun Fact: The use of the distaff by women was very common during Medieval times and the term "distaff side" of one's family became known as the maternal relations of the family. Do you know who your "distaff relatives" are?

Fun Fact: A Massachusetts law required young people to learn the art of spinning and weaving. Shreds of cotton cloth and cotton bolls have been discovered in a Mexican cave that are at least 7, years old. Other discoveries have been made in Pakistan dating back to B. India is thought to have been the first country to actually cultivate cotton, but people in Egypt's Nile River Valley and others in Peru were also familiar with cotton farming.

India manufactured and exported a cotton cloth called "muslin" to the Roman Empire as well as Medieval Europe. India continued to export fine muslin cloth until about years ago.

By the early s, Native Americans were growing cotton in America, as documented by the Coronado expedition of Spaniards who settled in the Florida region began to grow cotton in When Navajo tribes migrated south from northwestern Canada in the s or s, they learned to grown, spin, and weave cotton. England, on the other hand, had such a profitable wool market that they enacted laws against the import and export of cotton cloth. However, these laws didn't stop many American colonists from building a cotton-based industry.

In , cotton planting began in Virginia along the James River and soon spread throughout the southern colonies. The cotton industry involves many procedures, most of which were done by hand for centuries.

In , Samuel Slater, an English mill worker, migrated to America and is credited with building the first North American cotton mill -- from memory! In , Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, which separated the lint cotton fibers from their seed husks. Other improvements were made during the second half of the 17th century. In the early s, a cotton picker was designed that would pick approximately 8, pounds of seed cotton in one day.

Today, cotton harvesters can harvest , pounds of seed cotton in one day! The world's cotton industry presently provides millions of jobs. Cotton is used for making clothing, household goods, medical supplies, industrial thread, and paper money. Even the cotton seeds' oil is used to process foods such as mayonnaise, margarine, and baking and frying oils.

Cotton oil is also used in making rubber, explosives, insecticides, cosmetics, and soaps. Please see our Cotton Hand Spindle Only for the historical background of hand spindles for cotton. Likewise, see our Cotton Sliver for the historical background of cotton. A fifer and drummer, usually between the ages of 12 to 16, were attached to each Company in a regiment.

In camp drummers sounded out the routine calls to duty. In the field, they signaled the commands of the officers. When the Companies of men were assembled, the musicians were massed to from a corps of fifers and drummers, which provided military music for parades, reviews and special ceremonies. Individually the musicians could be called upon to perform both formal and informal music for dancing and entertainment. Dimensioned for a child's use, the drum is 10" in diameter and stands about 12" tall.

The solid hardwood shell and hoops are cut and steam-bent at Cooperman's Vermont sawmill, much as they would have been in early America. The sounding surfaces, known as "heads", are made of natural vellum animal-hide and the distinctive sound of the snare drum is provided by natural gut snares stretched across the bottom of the drum.

Silver Rope Tension: Noble and Cooley Americana toy field drum is a replica not necessarily a reproduction "cord and ear" rope tension drum. Size approximately 9" diameter and 10" high. Comes with sling and drum sticks.

Blue Rope Tension: Noble and Cooley Americana toy field drum is a replica not necessarily a reproduction "cord and ear" rope tension drum. Star and Shield: Noble and Cooley toy field drum using spring clamps for tension. It is based on the original lithographs from the s. Metal shell embossed on the original machine with the same colors. This a much later period of tension than the rope tension drums. Collectible Patriotic: Noble and Cooley toy field drum using spring clamps for tension.

It is based on the original lithographs from the with Uncle Sam surrounded by Eagles and Stars and Stripes. Sweet: A collection of 78 tunes containing some Civil War selections as well as many other traditional favorites. Each arrangement features harmony, style marks and guitar chords. The music is supplemented with histories of the tunes and drumbeats.

Complete Music for Fife and Drum was compiled by a professional fifer and is intended for the military fife in B-flat. This book offers tunes from the Revolutionary and Civil War eras with suggested snare and bass drum parts as well as chord progressions. It also contains a wealth of fife history and resources. Game of Graces Item Last Updated: Tuesday, Aug EDT Opponents send gaily beribboned hoops whirling towards each other to be caught on the tips of slender wands in this exciting and elegant sport.

The game of Graces was considered both proper and beneficial exercise for young ladies in the early 's and it was proper as well for boys to join in as a "lark". Also known as Les Graces or the Flying Circle, the game of Graces was described as early as in "The American Girls Book" and judging by children's books and store advertisements, remained as popular throughout the 19th century.

We have two different sizes of the Game of Graces. Large: has two 10" diameter solid wood grace hoops, packaged with 4 tapered 22" solid wood wands and 8 lengths of colored ribbon in a poly bag, with history and instructions. The larger hoop are easier for younger children to catch. Small: has two 7" diameter solid wood grace hoops are packaged with 4 tapered 19" solid wood wands and 8 lengths of colored ribbon in a poly bag, with history and instructions.

The smaller hoops make for a more challenging game. It is played by marking squares on the ground and leaping into designated squares in a particular sequence. The name comes from the 17th century term escocher, meaning to cut or cut with a stick. This was the way children originally marked the playing surface usually packed earth. It also may broadly relate to the term to the phrase to "scotch" something, as in scotching a rumor, meaning to put an end to a rumor.

The game is played by scratching or marking a series of squares on the ground, sometimes single squares and sometimes two squares side by side, on which the children would jump. As a child progressed satisfactorily through the series of squares, a pebble would be tossed into the next square to mark the beginning square into which the child was to make their first jump.

The remaining rules vary widely, but the object is to make the necessary leaps and maintain your balance as your progress through the series of squares. Out of hopscotch, oddly enough, some elements of history have survived thanks to the chanted "calls" passed down from mother to daughter over long periods of time. Perhaps most notable and relevant to the antebellum and Civil War period is the chant which is known today as "The Pateroller Song" "pateroller" is a term derived from the word "patrollers", a reference to the men who patrolled the highways and byways in search of runaway slaves , a song which slaves began long before the War Between the States began, and one that continues to this day through the hopscotch and jump-rope chant.

Hopscotch Game: Our Hopscotch game comes with sidewalk chalk, 5 pucks and directions for traditional hopscotch games by Historical Folk Toys. It is reported that Roman children made their own smaller courts to imitate the soldiers. The children developed a scoring system for their games, and hopscotch was born and spread throughout Europe. The word "hop scotch" literally came from hopping the long road to Glasgow, Scotland.

Various cultures have developed their own games with different courts and rules. Other words for hopscotch are: "marelles" France , "templehupfen" Germany , "hinkelbaan" The Netherlands , "ekaria dukaria" India , "pico" Vietnam , and "rayuela" Argentina.

Most hopscotch games are played with a "puck" or "potsey. The courts can be drawn with chalk on a concrete surface or with a stick on a bare spot of level ground. Generally, hopscotch games are played by tossing the puck into a drawn section and hopping in a specific way through the court and back.

There are rules against stepping on a line, missing a square, or losing your balance and touching the court with a hand. The first person to complete the course is the winner. Today, we think of Hopscotch as a children's game, particularly for girls.

This book was considered "A popular encyclopedia of the sports and pastimes of youth. Maria Child, published in Hopscotch was considered a boy's game, as depicted by five boys playing the game in the illustration "Scotch Hoppers" from "Juvenile Games for the Four Seasons. In early America the game was known as five-stones or jack-stones. As time went on, one of the stones The Jack was replaced by a wooden ball, then rubber ball.

The other stones were replaced by small pointed metal pieces reminiscent of the original animal knucklebones. We have cast 10 jacks in lead-free pewter and packaged them with 1 wooden ball and 1 rubber ball in a cloth pouch.

It comes with a hang tag that provides a history of the game and rules for play. The pouch comes in a variety of colors. Game of Knucklebones: Knucklebones was similar to today's game of Jacks. The bones could also be used for game of chance, by marking the flat surface with numbers from 1 to 4. We have packaged 5 synthetic knucklebones, closely resembling the original animal bones, in a poly bag along with one wooden ball, and a history and instruction sheet.

Described in Scientific American as a "simple toy - very illusive in action", the Jacob's Ladder still confounds us with its seemingly inexplicable motion. Our Jacob's Ladder is constructed of 6 solid wood segments attached with colorful grosgrain ribbon. Each toy is individually packaged with instructions for some tricks to add to the mystery by Historical Folk Toys. Among the Puritans and Separatists and indeed among the Protestant sects up through the mid- to late nineteenth century, few toys were acceptable for amusement on the Sabbath, as the Sabbath was set aside for the exclusive purpose of worshipping God and reflecting upon His grace and mercies on that one day in seven.

Most Protestant denominations were Sabbatarian then. The "Sunday Blue Laws" that were in place in most states even into the end of the 's throughout the country bear witness to the prevalence of that formerly-held conviction. Its construction was somewhat along the lines of a ladder, reminiscent then of Jacob's ladder from the Old Testament.

Marbles Item Last Updated: Tuesday, Aug EDT Marble games have been played in all parts of the world with all kinds of playing pieces for more than two thousand years. Children in colonial America played with marbles made of stone or clay, while glass marbles were highly prized among children's playthings in the 19th century.

Enclosure games, hole games and conquering games are all traditional marble games that are still familiar today.

Glass Marbles: This game of Marbles contains traditional glass target marbles 30 and shooters 2 of assorted crystal rainbow and cats-eye colors. Each marble game is packaged in a cloth pouch, with a hang tag that provides a history of marbles and instructions and rules of play. Clay Marbles: Our clay marbles are made to represent those that are so often found in historic area excavations.

These old style marbles are not perfectly round nor are they totally consistent in size and so are perfect imitations of the original handmade clay marbles. Our Game of Clay Marbles contains 10 target marbles and 2 shooters, all made of red-brown non-toxic clay. The word "marble" was not used to represent the round toy ball made from various stones until in England.

It was then that marble stone was being used for the toy and was being imported from Germany. Before this time, the English adopted the Dutch word "knikkers" for marbles.

The word "knikker" was used by New York City children well into the 19th century. The earliest marbles were made of flint, stone, and baked clay. For centuries afterward, marbles were made of stone and sometimes real marble. Glass marbles were made in Venice, Italy, and later, around , china and crockery marbles were introduced.

A glassblower invented a tool called the "marble scissors" in that allowed a larger production of glass marbles. Clay marbles began being produced in large quantities around During the s, the first machines to manufacture glass marbles were introduced.

Martin F. Christensen invented the revolutionary glass marble-making machine in , and his glass marble company produced over a million marbles each month. Horace Hill founded a company named the Akro Agate Company and moved it from Akron, Ohio, to Clarksburg, West Virginia, because natural gas and sand were more abundant in that area.

By , the Akro Agate Company was the largest marble producer in the world. Berry Pink of the Marble King Company helped promote local and national marbles tournaments in America during the s and s.

Jeff Carskadden and Richard Gartley are recognized mibologists who have published the most scholarly works to date on the subject of toy marbles. Their research shows nine marble games that can be found on 17th- and 18th-century Dutch wall tiles. Marble games can be divided into two types: the games in which a player tries to knock his opponent's marbles with his own and win the marbles , and the games in which a player tries to hit a target or roll the opponent's marble through a hoop or into a hole.

There are specific ways to play marbles and to hold what is called the "shooter marble," which is a larger than the regular playing marbles. One method of shooting is called "knuckling"; and another way is called "fulking. Marble terminology: Shooter -- taw Alleys -- marbles once made of alabaster Flints -- marble that look like flint Cloudies -- marbles that look cloudy Marbles are definitely a part of America's heritage.

They have been a popular American game from Colonial times to the present. Norman Rockwell painted a wonderful picture called "Marbles Champ," which features a little girl winning the marbles of two forlorn boys.

If you are interested in marbles, you can visit the Marble Museum in Yreka, California or online at www. The game board consists of a flat, square board into which 24 holes have been drilled, all following a progressively larger pattern of three squares of eight holes which form three holes to a side. Two differently colored pins are used twelve for each player. The object of the game is place your pins in such a way as to form a straight line of three of the same-color pins, while preventing your opponent from doing the same.

The game was played in America as early as the mid's, and continued to enjoy popularity through the time of the War Between the States. It is one of many forms of bowling games played in Europe since the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans. In colonial America men and women of all ages enjoyed the popular pastime of ninepins. For more information regarding Nine-Poins and Bowling Games, see the " Historical Background " below the shopping cart. Tabletop CF Ninepins Game This set of tabletop ninepins, meant for playing indoors, has been developed from accounts and pint sources provided by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and has been produced with their permission.

Out solid wood ninepins stand 5" tall. They are packaged with 2 solid wood 2" balls in a box printed with history and instructions for play. Tabletop HFT Ninepins Game Our set of Nine Pins with cloth bag is a tabletop version of the traditional bowling game which can be played on any tabletop surface.

A quality, heavy-plain muslin bag with draw stings is included for storage of the set along with history and game rules by Historical Folk Toys. Great fun for children and adults alike. Indoor bowling began in German monasteries. The peasants who attended church always carried their big clubs called "kegels" with them.

Tables or Backgammon was a known board game. It is believed to have been derived in Draughts also called checkers was another popular game believed to have originated from the Egyptian times. Coming to the popular sports in Victorian times, the four most popular games were Bicycling, croquet, lawn tennis, roller skating and horseback riding. Water games were also well-liked by the people. Bicycles were invented around the s. It, apart from being a hobby or pastime , was the cheapest means to travel.

The original bike had wheels of different sizes at the front and at the back. Later when it was felt that girls had difficulty in riding the bikes because they wore long skirts, tricycles replaced bicycles for girls. It was in that Croquet was introduced. It was a rather simple game and both men and women were encouraged to play it. Roller skating was introduced in the year The admission fee was collected from those who wanted to play this game.

The teacher and students in the Automata toy pictured would move at different intervals depending on the gear work located under the floor. In a world without video games and the like, Victorian children would be fascinated for hours playing with this toy. It was mostly a toy for rich children but could be made by hand if the father of a poor family was good at working with wood.

But a young man in the Victorian age loved playing with toy soldiers. Marbles are still played with today but are starting to fade away a little. Marbles were a popular Victorian Toy.

You could play many games with marbles. Poor children usually had marbles made of clay while the rich kids might have marbles made from real marble. As with all children from the olden days up to now there is a great desire to emulate their parents.

They want to act grown up just like their parents. They could gather their friends around a table and have a nice little tea party of their own, just like their mother.

Miniature Tea Sets were a toy that rich Victorian Kids played with for the most part. The object of the game was to keep the hoop rolling as long as possible. Children played this game outside and many times it would be played as a competition between several children to see who could roll the hoop the farthest. Pictured to the left is a Victorian Age Kaleidoscope.

A child could look through one end and see a brightly colored design at the other end. As the child would twist or shake the Kaleidoscope and the psychedelic design would change into another design and the more it was repeated the more it would change.

This was a fascinating toy for a child in those days. At the bottom of the page is a video of what one might see while looking through a Kaleidoscope. One might say that this was actually the beginning of movies and eventually television as we know it today. Actually some of the early Disney cartoons were made using this principle. There were other names for moving picture toys such as Phenakistoscope, Thaumatrope, Cinematrope and Praxinoscope.

They would usually come with extra cardboard or paper inserts so a child could change the moving picture inside. The video at the bottom of the page will explain what a Zoetrope is better than I can put into words here. Obviously this is one toy that has been around for a long time and will be around for many years to come.

It seems that at a very young age almost every little girl acquires the desire to copy their mother and care for a child or at least a good substitute for one. A doll fills that need quite well. China Dolls became popular during the Victorian age. One reason for that popularity might have been because it was said Queen Victoria had a large collection of China Dolls from her childhood.

China Dolls were very expensive and were typically owned by rich children. Dolls owned by the poorer class of children were usually handmade. There were no cars in Victorian times so horses were the main source of transportation.

This made the Hobby Horse or Rocking Horse very popular. Wealthy Victorian Children could afford the expensive rocking horse while the poorer children played with a Hobby Horse.