MUSEUM OF NATURE

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32637, 19 June 1971, Page 12

MUSEUM OF NATURE

Toys of another age

(Contributed by the Canterbury Museum)

The constant change and equally constant sameness of life are both reflected in the toys with which we amuse ourselves.

In her guide to the Canterbury Colonists’ galleries, now unfortunately out of print, Miss Rose Reynolds writes: “Our first toy is a rattle; our last a book or a pack of cards.” Although today the last toy is perhaps a radio or television, the statement remains basically true. We occupy our leisure time throughout life with a variety of toys. The Canterbury Museum has a wide collection of children’s toys and an inspection of these brings a flood of nostalgic memories or

shows a different world according to the age of the viewer.

The earliest toy in the museum is probably the small wooden Polynesian dog found by museum archaeologists in Monck’s Cave Redcliffs, and displayed in the moa-hunter gallery on the first floor. Today, too, household pets are important members of the family and toy replicas of these remain firm favourites with children.

Another lasting favourite is the doll’s house and a most elegant Victorian example is on display opposite the period rooms on the ground floor. Made in England, it was originally owned by a family called Watson, later acquired by Mr and Mrs E. H. Short, of Mr and Mrs E. H. Short, of Dunedin, where many charities benefited by its exhibition, and was finally purchased by Mrs J. Ferrier, of Christchurch, and presented to this museum. In addition to being a fine doll’s house this exhibit also provides an authentic picture of life in Victorian England and always attracts a crowd of young admirers during the holidays. Elegant dolls For girls, of course, the most important toy is always a doll. These change with changing fashions and today’s life-like examples may walk and talk, be bottle-fed and consequently require a change of clothing but in spite of these refinements the wax-faced ladies in the museum’s toy shop retain a greater charm. As today there are dolls representing all ages

from babyhood up. One elegant lady presented by Mrs Petrie, formerly Joan Leitch, has a porcelain head, kid hands and is wearing a green striped silk dress trimmed with green ruching. Two other dolls with similar porcelain heads share a pram once exhibited in the International Exhibition held in North Hagley Park in 190607, and another walking doll, worked by clockwork, wears a lavender striped silk dress and was once the prized possession of Miss Maru Atkinson in 1867. As well as the dolls themselves the shop displays a wide variety of accessories, dolls’ tea-sets; kid boots for dolls; dress baskets; dinner sets; furniture; irons and books, all in miniature to suit these toy people. Then, as now, the youngest inhabitants liked a rattle and a metal rattle hung with bells presented by Mrs D. McGregor was purchased in Christchurch by her father, Mr Thomas Hall in 1875. The boys, too, were well catered for and in spite of the absence of such twentieth century horrors as jet planes, moon rockets and modem armaments, managed to get along very well with steamtrains; waggons complete with horses and driver and a wonderful model coach of the Telegraph Line. One of the most unusual exhibits in the shop is a bone whistle used by Mr J. D. Bamford in the 1860 s, when he was approaching his home at Woolston, then a lonely rural area, in order to let his wife know who it was.—M.J.D.