by Judy W
Originally published in Currents April/May 2004

A small sample of the collection of hundreds of north German toys representing the last two centuries is on display in 25 vitrines along the gallery on the second floor of the Altonaer Museum. Bring a child or two with you on your next visit: the toys on display are inspiration for many topics of discussion. Many toys have changed very little over time. Dolls may be made nowadays of plastic instead of cloth or ceramic, but they‘ve been loved by little girls over the centuries just the same. How did the Teddy Bear get its name? Teddy Roosevelt one day refused to shoot a bear cub while on a hunting trip, the man who founded the Ideal toy company asked permission to name a stuffed bear toy after him, the Steiff company in Germany displayed their version at a toy fair in Leipzig in 1903, the bear became an instant hit in both Germany and America, and now there are versions of stuffed bears in almost every child’s crib and in every adult’s memory. Do seasons make a difference in the toys one uses? On display are toy boats for sailing on the local pond in the summer, and strap-on ice skates for when the pond is frozen. There are large photos behind the display cases showing the manufacturing methods from early last century, showing in some cases how whole families were employed for meager wages making toys for wealthier families whose children did not have to work to put food on the table.

When one looks at certain of the toys on display, one is struck by the realization that they are designed to prepare girls and boys for their adult responsibilities. Girls played primarily with dolls and doll houses to give them practice in their future roles as housewives and mothers (remember that reliable birth control has been available for only a few decades). Doll houses and little stoves gave a girl instruction in the proper running of a household. Dolls were originally sold without clothes, allowing for development of sewing and fashion skills. Boys practiced their roles as protectors of and providers for the household. Costumes helped them get into the spirit of their roles — they could practice their fighting skills while wearing cowboy and Indian costumes, or wear train conductor hats while they dreamed of romantic jobs. They played with wooden blocks and metal erector sets to prepare them for engineering and manufacturing jobs. We live in relatively peaceful times at the moment, but through the centuries, it was highly likely that a man would be called upon to defend his country. Young boys were given all sorts of play weapons and tin soldiers representing fighters from many different periods in history. One (to this reporter) unsettling item on display among the tin soldiers is a cereal bowl with weapons and war symbols around the rim, and a painted child soldier which would become visible in the bottom as a reward when the child had eaten all his breakfast.

An exhibition catalog (in German) is available in the museum foyer for EUR 19.95: Spielzeug: ein Kindertraum (Toys: a Child‘s Dream), by Torkild Hinrichsen, Husum Verlag, 1996.