Punch bowls; Bowls (Tableware); Little Red Riding Hood (Tale)
Children of the turn of the century played with toy dishes just as they do today! For special parties, nothing could beat this set with a molded "Fairytale" pattern of Little Red Riding Hood. Other punch sets imitated "real" cut...
Be a millionaire! Monopoly was invented on a table cloth in Atlantic City, NJ during the Great Depression. When the first games were sold by Parker Brothers in 1935 onwards, many Americans were enduring financial hardships. Foreclosures, bankruptcy...
Toys; Pull toys; Little Red Riding Hood (Tale); Characters and characteristics in literature
This pull toy was manufactured by the world-renowned Italian company, Sevi. Established in 1831, it is the oldest European company to produce wooden toys. Founder and visionary Vinzenz Senoner expanded his business from a small woodcarving shop...
Vietnam; Vietnam -- Social life and customs; Baskets
Women are the basket makers in Vietnam, as well as most Southeast Asian countries. Baskets were part of every aspect of Vietnamese life, such as for ceremonial purposes, shelter, containers, and clothing. This backpack basket is a miniature version...
The magic lantern is an early version of a slide or movie projector. Beginning in the 1670s through the early 1900s, these projectors turned a small picture painted on glass into a larger image. Using an oil lamp and a wall or white sheet, the...
Winter travelers used foot warmers when traveling in an open carriage or an early automobile without a heater. Sometimes simple bricks were heated, wrapped and placed under the feet. Or, you might use a carpeted, metal version with an interior...
This riding toy is a miniature version of the real Oscar Mayer Weinermobile -- an oversized 27-foot long working vehicle that resembles a hot dog on a bun. The first Weinermobile was created in 1936 as a promotional tool for Oscar Mayer's...
Indianapolis Speedway Race; Board games; Games; Automobile Racing; Automobile Racing -- Indiana -- Indianapolis
Can you hear the roar of the engines? Can you feel the wind the cars whip around the curve just in front of your eyes? Cars have been racing in the Indianapolis 500 since 1911. With games like this 1930s Speedway Motor Race board game, players...
The Sciopticon or magic lantern is an early version of a slide and movie projector. Beginning in the 1670s through the early 1900s, these projectors turned a small picture painted on glass into a larger image. Using an oil lamp and a wall or white...
This 1970s popularized version Frankenstein’s monster is inspired by the 1918 novel Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly. The monster, brought to life by Victor Frankenstein, appears in numerous movies, comic books, and even a few...
In 1963, a small turquoise toy oven appeared on toy store shelves. Selling 500,000 the first year, this light bulb toy oven was a hit! Girls wanting to imitate Mom could do so with very little supervision from adults. Mimicking changes in full size...
This pedal car was purchased from the very last Sears Wishbook catalog in 1992. This Junior Sportster is an updated 1990s version of the traditional pedal car. It’s made to look like a classic Volkswagen “Bug” and is battery powered.
Pac-Man chopped into arcades in 1980. Developed in Japan, the game pits Pac-Man against four ghosts while attempting to gobble up bits of food. Pac-Man became so popular in the United States that the company sold cereals, t-shirts, bed sheets, and...
Thailand; Thailand -- Social life and customs Hmong (Asian People); Clothing and Dress
The Hmong are one of several so-called "hilltribes" of Thailand and can also be found in regions of China, Vietnam, and Laos. They wear very distinctive clothing, traditionally made by Hmong women from home-spun thread of cotton or hemp....
Tortoises; Kenya; Kenya--Social life and customs; Soapstone; Soapstone art objects; Sculpture
The stone from which this sculpture is made, called kisii stone (or Kenyan soapstone), is found only in the Tabaka Hills in Western Kenya. It occurs in a variety of colors, ranging from black to white and even pink. Stones are quarried then...
Dresses; Clothing and dress; Russell, Pearl; Dance; Entertainers
Pearl Russell fascinated audiences from 1895 to 1917 with her version of the skirt dance first popularized by Parisian dancer Loie Fuller. She danced in front of a projected lantern slide background of a rose or a butterfly, and accompanied by a...
Storytellers; Storytellers in art; Indian pottery -- Southwest, New; Hopi pottery; Rabbis; Judaism; Judaism in art; Rabbis; Pueblo indians; Pueblo indians - social life and customs
Storytellers are traditionally important characters in the lives of Pueblo children. They would gather around and listen as the elders told stories passed down from generation to generation. The pottery figurines, called "storytellers"...
China; China -- History; China -- social life and customs; Folk dancing, Chinese; Lions; Dance; Costume; Headgear; Chinese New Year
According to Chinese belief, lions chase away evil spirits and bring good luck, most likely because of their size, strength and fierce nature. Chinese lions are depicted as very colorful and stylized. This mask is a smaller version of a full-sized...
This Annie Oakley cowgirl outfit contributed to the romantic version of the “Old West” that became popular in the 1950s via television and movies. With costumes like this, kids could dress just like their favorite Western hero. During the 19th...
Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indianapolis, Ind.); Indianapolis Speedway Race; Sports journalism--United States
For many years, the Indianapolis 500 radio network broadcast booth and the timing and scoring crews were housed in a Japanese-style Pagoda. Newspaper reporters needed a special badge to enter the Pagoda. From the Pagoda, reporters watched the race...
