Victorian+Toys


 * __Toys__**

Boys and girls played with iron hoops which they rolled along the street. (Craig Nelson)

Back in the "Victorian Era" the toys that children had differed depending on the amount of money that particular family had. The poor familes would have had games like cup and ball, marbles, an acrobat (A man on a piece of string that performed stunts) diablo and possibly some form of a pull-along toy. The wealthy Victorian children would have had toys like a rocking horse (With proper horse hair) a doll house with all the rooms that were necessary, maybe a child's tea-set (Made from china) a doll and crib and the boys like to play with metal model soldiers. (Oran Barton)

victorian toy diablo (Nicole Archibald)

 Noah's ark was the only toy that the Victorian children were allowed to play with on Sundays. that is because of the bible story. victorian children had fewer toys than we do today. (Nicole Archibald)

// Victorians' belief in self-improvement. "Dolls and dolls' houses taught girls how to look after children and homes, and toy soldiers taught boys about patriotism and history," (kaitlyn oneill) // // __ The younger children __ // //Of well off families had lots of beautiful toys in their nurseries. The favorite was the rocking horse, which was made from wood and painted brightly.// Girls also enjoyed playing with their dolls' houses, furniture for these could be bought and changed with times and fashions. Victorian dolls were probably the most beautiful ones made. Their heads and shoulders were made of wax or china with bodies made of stuffed calico or wood. Most dolls were dressed as adults with beautiful clothes made from satin, taffeta or lace. A poor girl would long for a doll like this, which she would only see in shop windows, She would never be able to afford one but might have a rag doll instead. Boys would play with their tin or lead soldiers. Later in the century as the railways developed across the country clockwork trains became popular. //**__ Older children __** (Kaitlyn Oneill) // // Often older children would play with toy theatres. The plays they would perform would take up a lot of their time and money. First they had to buy a stage, which would be made of wood and cardboard with a row of tin footlights with oil burning wicks along the front. Sheets of characters and scenes would cost a penny plain and two pence ready colored. // //Girls might spend their spare time sewing. They practiced their stitches by embroidering letters of the alphabet, texts or complex pictures within a fancy border. These pieces of embroidery were called samplers. (Kaitlyn Oneill)// // Reading was a popular pastime; many books written during the Victorian era are still enjoyed today. Older Victorian girls kept dolls as decorations in their rooms and dressed them up if they chose to. //

// **__ Outdoor games __** // // These changed with the seasons, children played with hoops, balls or tops. They also played marbles or alleys. // //( By kaitlyn O’neill )//

The cup and ball (Andrew Moore)  A Victorian spinning top ( Chloe Leighton )

__**The Joacob's Ladder ( Editor:Tonicha McGowan )**__

The Jacob's Ladder is a very old optical toy. It consists of a series of blocks held together by ribbons. When the topmost block is turned, the blocks appear to cascade down the strings. This version has two different pictures, which alternate as the blocks tumble. There are stories that one was found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun! Certainly there is evidence of these toys as far back as the pilgrim times in the USA, and they are still made by indigenous craftsmen in Mexico. They were also popular in Europe in Victorian times. The toy is called Jacob's Ladder because of its seemingly endless tumbling of blocks is said to resemble a dream of angels continuously ascending and descending a ladder to heaven. ( Tonicha McGowan )

Victorian games
The Victorians were quite creative when it came to play time. Not just children, but adults would participate in victorian games during the evenings. Card games were especially popular with the grown-ups. Whist and Bridge would provide hours of after-dinner entertainment. For both adults and children, Skittles (on the order of bowling) and Charades, a Victorian game which is still played today, would be enjoyed by all generations. (Suzi Hardyway) =**Poor Children **= Poor families made  their own, such as cloth-peg dolls and paper windmills. Children would save their pocket money to buy marbles, a spinning top, skipping ropes, kites or cheap wooden toys. (Niamh Tweedie)  Typical Victorian toy (Niamh Tweedie) A british victorian rocking horse(Louise Wylie)
 * British Rocking Horses**, classic rocking horse maker and restorer, hand-crafts beautiful wooden rocking horses. Our stable includes hand made Lancaster Victorian rocking horses mounted on 'Georgian' bow rockers and 'Victorian' safety stands. Whether for an adult or a child, you will find the very finest handmade bow rocking horse or rocking horse on a safety stand.(Louise Wylie)



This is a doll a rich Victorian child would have played with. (Eve Niblock)

A Victorian child would have a doll they could play with during the week and a 'Best Doll' which they would play with only on Sundays. (Eve Niblock)

Some rich Victorian girls would of had a dolls house to play with but it was very unlikely for a poor Victorian child to have one because they could have been quite expensive!

A victorian skipping rope would also have been quite popular in Victorian times and would have been played by a group of children in the street (Sarah Lynch)

Victorian children had fewer toys than you have today. Poor families made their own, such as cloth-peg dolls and paper windmills. Children would save their pocket money to buy marbles, a spinning top, skipping ropes, kites or cheap wooden toys. Girls played with dolls and tea sets whilst boys played with toy soldiers and marbles. <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,Arial;"> During Victorian times, people became fascinated by toys that made pictures move. One of the earliest and simplest of these was the thaumatrope. This is a disc with a picture on either side that is attached to two pieces of string or a stick. When you spin the disc quickly, the two pictures appear to combine into one. (Clarissa Patton)
 * Poor Children**
 * Rich Children**

=== **Rich children** had rocking horses with real horse hair manes, and dolls houses full of beautifully-carved miniature furniture. Other popular toys for rich children included china or wax dolls for the girls and clockwork train sets for the boys. (Clare Carson) ===

<span style="color: #ffff00; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Girls played with dolls and tea sets whilst boys played with toy soldiers and marbles. <span style="color: #ffff00; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">During Victorian times, people became fascinated by toys that made pictures move. One of the earliest and simplest of these was the thaumatrope. This is a disc with a picture on either side that is attached to two pieces of string or a stick. When you spin the disc quickly, the two pictures appear to combine into one.
 * <span style="color: #00ff00; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 160%;">Rich Childrens Toys **

<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">( <span style="color: #00ffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Eliza Scott <span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">)