Old top was a favorite in the 1940s toy box

by Ken Weyand | Dec 10, 2022 | Vintage Discoveries

December 2022

Vintage Discoveries

Old top was a favorite in the 1940s toy box

by Ken Weyand

Toys of yesteryear

Many of today’s youngsters take little interest in the toys of yesteryear. Devoid of today’s electronics and high-tech gadgetry, and handcrafted from basic materials like wood, cast iron or tin, the old toys depended on youthful energy and imagination for their appeal.

Typical of the toys in the World War II era was the simple top. Despite America’s efforts to conserve metal for the war effort, a few companies turned out tin toys during the war years, including tops. Without any internal spring or windup mechanism, the top relied on a metal bar at the top’s center, with a small wooden handle. The bar’s spiral shape caused the top to spin when the bar was pushed downward. Another mechanism produced a melodic sound when the top spun. Centrifugal force kept the top spinning (and singing) for several magical seconds.

One of the manufacturers of tops and other children’s toys in the 1940s was the Ohio Art Co., based in Bryan, Ohio. According to Wikipedia and the firm’s own literature, the company was founded in 1908 as a manufacturer of picture frames and remains active today. It claims to be one of the world’s leading metal lithographers, specializing in precision printing and metal fabrication for major consumer goods companies. Examples of its work can be seen on beverage trays, metal signs, and various product containers.

The old top

The old top doesn’t work like it once did but still reminds me of the simpler days of my childhood. (Ken Weyand photo)

My top is a bit smaller than some of Ohio Art’s featured tops, measuring 7 inches in diameter, and 6 inches high without the wooden handle. With the handle and spiral “push-rod” extended, the total height increases to about 11 inches. The upper part of the top’s body features four young children playing with various toys around a circular waterway. The word “CHORAL” is printed near the center, and “Ohio Art Co., Bryan, O, U.S.A.” can be found in smaller lettering.

Unfortunately, the top’s mechanism is no longer functional, but I can remember pumping the spiral rod as a youngster and hearing a musical sound as the top spun for several seconds. It was an in-house toy, serving as a consolation prize on rainy Saturdays when mud roads kept the family home and unable to venture out for a day of “trading” at the county seat.

It didn’t take the place of watching westerns and cartoons at the local theater or getting a milkshake and looking over comic books at the town’s pharmacy, but it was an interesting toy in its day.

Similar tops by Ohio Art Co.

Similar tops by Ohio Art Co. can be found on eBay and other online sellers, with prices ranging from $16 to $40, depending on size and condition. A variety of designs can be seen, all examples of the quality metal lithography that made the company successful.

Ken Weyand is the original owner/publisher of Discover Vintage America, founded in July 1973 under the name of Discover North.

Ken Weyand can be contacted at kweyand1@kc.rr.com Ken is self-publishing a series of non-fiction E-books. Go to www.smashwords.com and enter Ken Weyand in the search box.

Baby shoes from the 1880’s recall some sad family history

by Ken Weyand | Oct 28, 2022 | Features, Vintage Discoveries

November 2022

Vintage Discoveries

Baby shoes from the 1880’s recall some sad family history

by Ken Weyand

My dad often referred to his seven siblings when recalling how the family split up when their parents died, and they were “farmed out” in 1900 to various aunts and uncles. But he seldom mentioned the ninth member of the family, William Albert Weyand, who was only two years old when he died in 1884.

Historic Baby Shoes

Years later, when I discovered two pairs of baby shoes that had been saved with old photos and other family memorabilia, he told me they had belonged to his mother. When my parents died, the shoes remained with me, tiny reminders of my family, and their early struggles. Recently rediscovered, they had spent years hidden away as our family went about our lives.

Although my dad traced the shoes to his mother, I have a strong hunch they belonged to her late son, and she saved them to honor his memory. In the mid-1800s, when many babies died in infancy, E.D.E.N. Southworth, a novelist, wrote a short essay in Godey’s Lady’s Book on the subject, according to an article by Jeanne Gutierrez for the New York Historical Society. “There is no part of a baby’s wardrobe so suggestive and beautiful as the little shoes,” he wrote. Southworth’s essay made several references to grieving mothers who kept baby shoes in the 1800s.

Five Button shoes

At the time of his death, my uncle may have worn these shoes, with five buttons.

Baby shoes were miniatures of adult shoes

A far cry from today’s booties, these shoes were meant for infants but were made to look like miniatures of adult shoes.

Buttons non Laces

My shoes were fastened by buttons, not laces. They vary in size, indicating one pair could have been worn by an infant, with four buttons. The other pair, about an inch long, was also higher and had six buttons. At least one button was missing on both pairs. Both had polished leather toes and hard leather soles. Unlike baby shoes of later eras, the shoes seemed to be designed not for comfort, but to be a miniature version of adult footwear.

Manufacturers Marks

There are few markings on the shoes to reveal the manufacturer. However, on both shoes, a small image etched into the sole, shows a tiny flower with petals. As the family often received gifts from my great-grandfather in Philadelphia, I’m guessing the manufacturer could have been Philly-based S. S. Sollers, a leading maker of children’s shoes in the 1800s. Advertising from another maker, John Mundell, & Co, announced they specialized in “solar-tipped shoes,” which could explain the polished leather on my two pairs. However, I could find no logos from either company that featured a flower petal. More research is needed.

Ken Weyand is the original owner/publisher of Discover Vintage America, founded in July 1973 under the name of Discover North.

Ken Weyand can be contacted at kweyand1@kc.rr.com Ken is self-publishing a series of non-fiction E-books. Go to www.smashwords.com and enter Ken Weyand in the search box.

Terracotta figurines survived rugged European trip – and more

by Ken Weyand | Oct 25, 2022 | Features, Vintage Discoveries

October 2022

Vintage Discoveries

Terracotta figurines survived rugged European trip – and more

by Ken Weyand

Some vintage items bring back a lot of memories. In 1953, I had the good fortune of traveling in Europe with the director of the Apollo Boys Choir. As a 16-year-old Missouri farm kid, my “travel budget” was tiny, limited to cheap souvenirs and a few postcards I sent to my parents.

Of the “souvenirs,” I was attracted to a pair of terracotta sculptures at a crowded marketplace stall in Naples. A woman was selling a pair of beautifully-detailed, tan-colored figurines for less than $15. One showed an elderly woman with knitting tools. The other was a street musician with a guitar. I had never seen anything like them, and I parted with the last of my pocket money, and crossed my fingers I could get them home safely.

I recall the marketplace seller was a large woman, with masculine and work-worn hands. But she wrapped my treasures carefully in a length of tissue paper until they were shrouded like a cocoon, and stuffed them into a small cardboard box. Later I would pack the box into my small suitcase and hope for the best.

For the next three weeks, as our tour crossed Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and returned to the U.S., I often watched baggage handlers throw my suitcase atop busses, and feared the worst. What would my parents think of a box of dusty and broken clay?

At the end of the trip, I opened the box, and unwrapped the layers of tissue, expecting the worst. But my figurines survived, and found their way to my house when my parents passed on.

They measure a little over five inches tall, and stand on small circular bases. The detail is incredible, a credit to the artisans who still do similar work in Catania, a city in eastern Sicily, near the toe of Italy’s “boot.” Similar figurines can be found on eBay and other internet sites, with prices generally in the $30 to $45 range.

M.B. Curtis was a popular Hungarian Jewish actor

Street Musician figure

Street musician figurine captures everything but the music itself.

Elderly Woman figure

Elderly woman with spinning materials is depicted in detail. (Ken Weyand collection)

Ken Weyand is the original owner/publisher of Discover Vintage America, founded in July 1973 under the name of Discover North.

Ken Weyand can be contacted at kweyand1@kc.rr.com Ken is self-publishing a series of non-fiction E-books. Go to www.smashwords.com and enter Ken Weyand in the search box.

Mementos of a trip to Paris: 1921-22

by Ken Weyand | Sep 1, 2022 | Features, Traveling with Ken

September 2022

Vintage Discoveries

Mementos of a trip to Paris: 1921-22

by Ken Weyand

Sailing on the Aquitania

My aunt, Ruth May Weyand, was the youngest of eight siblings orphaned in 1899 and farmed out to various relatives. By 1917, she had graduated from Illinois College, and became the “family historian” in charge of keeping the family together. Over the next three years she qualified to be a practical nurse, and took a job in Chicago as a social worker.

But her work in Chicago took a toll on her emotional health. Ruth’s doctor said she was suffering from nervous exhaustion, and needed a change of pace.

It was a big change. After helping a sister in Chicago care for two young children, she headed for Brooklyn, N.Y., to visit a brother. Using his address as her “home base,” she boarded a ship and headed for France for an extended visit with another brother and his family in Nanterre, a village near Paris.

In May, 1921, Ruth sailed on the “Aquitania,” at the time the largest liner in the Cunard fleet. According to Wikipedia, the ship was first launched April 21, 1913, barely a year after the sinking of the Titanic. Converted to a troop carrier during World War I, it returned to passenger service in 1920, and continued as a troop transport in World War II.

Unlike the Titanic, the Aquitania carried lifeboats for all passengers and crew, including two motorized launches with wireless equipment to enable rescue. Passenger amenities included extra-large cabins, smoking rooms, a gymnasium, and more, with open areas for walkers and joggers. On the back of a ship’s menu, my aunt wrote: “It’s well over a quarter-mile walk around the ship.”

In France, Ruth stayed with her brother, Charles, and his family, which included two daughters — Ginevra, who turned 7 in 1921, and Odette, born the previous September. When she wasn’t babysitting, Ruth took time out to see Paris, including visits to the Palace of Versailles, the Chateau de la Maimaison (Napoleon’s home), the St. Germain area, and the Palace of Fontainebleau. A map of World War I battlefields indicates she may have included them in her schedule. Nightlife included an evening at the Folies Bergere.

My aunt Ruth Weyand

Ruth Weyand, my aunt, on the Aquitania, en route to France

Aquitania menu

Aquitania menu, with memo from Ruth showing location of her cabin

In October, Ruth sailed back to the U.S. on the S.S. President Adams, of the United States Lines. Launched a year earlier under the name President Grant, the 10,495-ton ship later re-assumed that name and served as a troop transport in World War II.

After reaching New York, Ruth continued her trip with a visit to Niagara Falls. She brought home several tour folders of the area that are included in her collection of souvenirs.

Eventually my aunt settled into the routine of managing the family home in Hamilton, IL and caring for her stepmother, Lucy. Our family often visited, and as a youngster I occasionally stayed overnight. In the morning, Aunt Ruth often treated me to one of her favorite breakfast treats from her Paris days – a “French egg,” soft-boiled and served in a special eggcup. Great memories.

Returning to the U.S., Ruth sailed on the President Adams

Ken Weyand is the original owner/publisher of Discover Vintage America, founded in July 1973 under the name of Discover North.

Ken Weyand can be contacted at kweyand1@kc.rr.com Ken is self-publishing a series of non-fiction E-books. Go to www.smashwords.com and enter Ken Weyand in the search box.

Picture book was a 1917 railroad souvenir

by Ken Weyand | Jul 27, 2022 | Features, Traveling with Ken

August 2022

Vintage Discoveries

Picture book was a 1917 railroad souvenir

by Ken Weyand

Rocky Mountain Views

One of my relatives who traveled through the Western states by rail in the early 1900s came home with a souvenir book of “Rocky Mountain Views. The origin of my book is unclear, but it may have come from one of several relatives, including an uncle who lived in Oakland, CA, and made several trips with his wife to visit her relatives in the Midwest.

The book, “Rocky Mountain Views on the Rio Grande, the Scenic Line of the World,” reveals by its grandiose title that it was a souvenir of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. A note on the title page indicates it was for sale only on that route.
According to Wikipedia, the Van Noy Railway News and Hotel Co., publishers of the book, was founded by brothers Ira Clinton and Charles S. Van Noy, of Kansas City to provide services aboard passenger trains. Among their early employees was 15-year-old Walt Disney, who in 1916 worked as a “news butch,” walking through passenger cars, selling magazines and other merchandise to travelers.

In the years before dining cars were common on trains, the Van Noy brothers secured contracts with railway lines and built restaurants and hotels along major rail stops. Along with their two other brothers, they became hugely successful, both Ira and Charles building homes in Kansas City at 6700-6800 Elmwood that are now on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1926, the company began operating as the Interstate Co., and expanded its publishing business. My book, copyrighted in 1917 and printed in Denver, is one of their products.

Souvenir book of Rocky Mountain Views

Souvenir book of “Rocky Mountain Views,” copyrighted in 1917, was marketed as a railroad souvenir. My copy is fascinating, if not in perfect condition (Images courtesy of the author)

Denver of the past

View of Denver contrasts with today’s bustling city.

The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad was an outgrowth of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, founded in 1870 by Gen. William Palmer, a Union Civil War veteran. The original line was the largest narrow gauge line in America and served Colorado and Utah primarily. According to “Railroads of America,” an online source, the railroad built some of the most tracks in existence, including the highest mainline railroad in the U.S. (over 10,000 feet) at Tennessee Pass in Colorado.

A map at the back of my book shows the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad and connecting routes as they appeared in 1917. The line later became the Southern Pacific Railroad, and was merged into the Union Pacific Railroad in 1996.

Ken Weyand is the original owner/publisher of Discover Vintage America, founded in July 1973 under the name of Discover North.

Ken Weyand can be contacted at kweyand1@kc.rr.com Ken is self-publishing a series of non-fiction E-books. Go to www.smashwords.com and enter Ken Weyand in the search box.