Chapter II: Part II

TOYS OF CARDBOARD AND WOOD:
MECHANICAL TOYS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. ADDITIONAL TOOLS 145

II. CAPSTAN, DREADNOUGHT, LINER 148

III. MOTOR-CAR, SWINGING CRADLE, DECK-CHAIR 152

IV. A TRAM-CAR 155

V. A CRANE 159

VI. WINDMILL, WATER-WHEEL, WELL 161

VII. DRAWBRIDGE AND SIEGE TOWER 168

VIII. WAR ENGINES PAST AND PRESENT 171

IX. A FIRE-ESCAPE 181

X. CASTLE, TOURNAMENT, AND FAIR 184

XI. AN OLD CHARIOT AND SOME QUAINT DOLLS' FURNITURE 190

XII. RAILWAY SIGNAL AND SIGNAL-BOX 195

XIII. LIGHTHOUSE, TRANSPORTER BRIDGE 199

XIV. YACHTS AND BOATS: THE USE OF THE CHISEL 203

XV. THE FRET-SAW 209

XVI. LITTLE GYMNAST, DANCING CLOWN, ROCKING ANIMALS 212

XVII. MOVING FIGURES 218

XVIII. SOME OLD-FASHIONED TOYS 221

XIX. LITTLE SWORDSMEN 225

XX. SOME MORE FRET-SAW TOYS 229

XXI. TOYS WORKED BY SAND 235

XXII. TOYS WORKED BY WHEELS, ETC. 243

XXIII. KITES, GLIDERS, AND AEROPLANES 249

XXIV. MORE OLD-FASHIONED TOYS 260

XXV. LIFT, PONT ROULANT, TOWER BRIDGE 267

XXVI. SOLDERING. SCREW STEAMER. TOYS WORKED BY
WIND AND BY CONVECTION CURRENTS 278

XXVII. BUILDINGS AT HOME AND ABROAD 286

XXVIII. A THEATRE 295

Introduction

By R. Bassett, B.A.

HEADMISTRESS, COUNTY SECONDARY SCHOOL, STREATHAM

I. EXTERNAL EVIDENCE

Women are often limited in their amusements and in their hobbies for lack of power or of knowledge to use the requisite implements. We may wield the needle, the brush, kitchen utensils, even the spade and the trowel, but what knowledge have we of the chisel, the plane, the saw, or even the friendly gimlet and the screw-driver?

The scissors answer many purposes until the points are broken, but how helpless we are with a screw or a saw, how futile are our attempts to adjust a loose door-handle, or to set the knives of a mowing machine! It is humiliating to call for help in such simple jobs, and tantalising not to be able to enjoy the carpenter's bench as our men-folk do in their hours of leisure.

A really active hobby, one entailing exercise of many muscles, otherwise resting, does help to keep a well-balanced mind and a healthy body. It saves one from fretfulness, from too great introspection; it keeps one cheerful and changes one's attitude of mind when change is needed.

It is possible that the management of big things falls into men's hands because from babyhood they have dealt with larger things than women, and through handling manageable things from an early age have developed the constructive faculty more thoroughly. The little girl deals with 'wee' things: stitches are small, dolls are small; there is a fatal tendency sometimes to 'niggle,' to 'finick'--not that men-folk are immune from this--to love uniformity and tidiness for their own sakes, to seek regularity rather than utility. The little girl, however, must, unless she is too thoroughly supervised, exercise some ingenuity in planning a doll's dress out of a cutting from the rag-bag; but her amusements and hobbies tend to pin her down to small things, and she does not rise far enough from her immediate surroundings. The dress of her little doll will follow the prevailing fashion. Originality in dress is eccentricity.

The girl takes pains to carry out her work (neatness is often the sole aim put before her), the boy finds methods. The girl hovers round the well-known place, the boy makes a bee-line to fresh fields. See how this affects reading: the girl still hankers after _What Katy Did, What Katy Did Next_, while the boy of her age is reading Jules Verne or Ballantyne or Henty, or if there is open access to shelves in the Free Library near him, you see him finding books on Airships, Submarines, Carpentry, or Engineering.

We started our voluntary classes with these ideas in mind, and at first allowed girls to choose an indoor occupation in the two winter terms instead of outdoor games. Many girls preferred games, but others chose Art or First Aid or Cookery or Handwork or Needlework. They had to work at least a term at the chosen occupation. We felt that the girls gained great benefit from the hobbies, not only in the additional happiness of working at what they enjoyed, but in an increase of freshness of mind for other work. This year we have gone still farther and have given each girl one period of voluntary work in addition to a whole afternoon for games or gardening; moreover, the four lowest forms have each one period of class work in toy-making; yet even now the children say that the time is too short. It is really amusing to see a change of classes in the woodwork-room; the first class dare not and cannot stay a minute after the bell has rung, for the second class is in and already at work.

I have tried to find out what is the great attraction to the child in the handwork lessons; the children's appreciation of the subject will be found in Section II. Probably the strongest attractions are: firstly, they see the building up of a piece of work and the result pleases them (at all events, until they do something better); secondly, they are actively employed, learning by doing, not learning by listening; and, lastly, they love the cheerful noise of the hammer and the saw and friendly conversation.

It is hard to estimate the value of handwork in education, for one cannot separate the influence of one subject in the curriculum, but one is tempted to say that it has a beneficial effect upon the child's attitude toward work in general; she looks into the why and wherefore of an object in order to see how it is made; unconsciously she adopts the same attitude toward things abstract. She learns to appreciate accuracy and to detect error, but how far she applies this to subjects other than handwork it is hard to say. It is possible, also, that handwork helps to develop the sense of justice.

Certainly the girl who has had a course in handwork does take a more intelligent interest in things around her, and does find out a way of 'setting about' a piece of work by herself. She has something pleasant and profitable to think about; she becomes more businesslike; in the lesson itself she resents interruption (this was the case when the photographer came for illustrations for this book); more strangely still, she plays no tricks with glue-pot or tools, although she has innumerable opportunities for mischief. The joy over the finished article is greater than the spirit of mischief. She realises how short the time is when there is work to be done, and looks out for devices for saving time, putting tools in handy places, saving pieces of wood of useful sizes to avoid sawing, and so on.

There is a spirit of earnest endeavour abroad in the handwork class which prevents a girl from throwing aside in a pet something she has done badly; she does not give up in disgust; she finds out the cause of the failure and tries again and again until she gets better results. It is no unusual thing to find a girl return to a job that, five or six weeks before, she had thought finished, and do it again, because her progress with other articles has made her dissatisfied with her previous standard. This comes, not from suggestion from outside, but from the development of the child's own judgement. These are the things which show what is the real value of this training.

II. INTERNAL EVIDENCE

In order to find from internal evidence the educational value of toy-making, the following questions were put to the two lowest classes (ages ten to eleven). The girls were told to write frankly what they really thought, not what they thought might satisfy the mistress.

To the question, "If you like handwork, say why; if not, say why you do not," out of forty-five papers one answer only was against handwork--"Because I do not like sawing." The answers in favour were of this type:

"Because we can make what we like."

"Because I like sawing and hammering."

"Because it is nice to see the things when they are finished."

"Because you can make interesting things."

"Because it is interesting making things out of wood like
boys."

"Because I make useful things."

The favourite tools were the hammer and saw. There was considerable difference of opinion on the question, "Has it done you any good?" A fair number think it has made them careful or patient or more useful; others seem to think that the exercise in sawing has some good effect on the arms; one says her "fingers are better for music." Others see in handwork a pleasant occupation for future grown-up days; another thinks it has made her "not so flabby and fat."

If they admit that it has cured them of any faults (and they are not very ready to do this), the chief are laziness, clumsiness, and carelessness. To the last question, "Will it be of any use to you when you are grown up?" the majority look forward to the joy of mending their little girls' toys. (Not one mentions a little boy; is he expected to mend his own?) Others will make things instead of buying them ready-made. Some look forward to mending broken chairs or door-handles. One says: "It will teach me to earn my fortune," and finally one writes philosophically: "Ordepents." (No! handwork does not cure bad spelling.)

The girls of the next highest forms (ages eleven to twelve) were given the _questionnaire_ as suggestions and were asked to write an essay on handwork. From them we get the 'home' point of view, the views of the mother, father, sceptical brothers, and of the younger children, who appear to clamour for the toys.

"Handwork is my favourite lesson next to Botany. It is a
delightful pastime for myself and a great amusement for my little
brother when it is finished. 'Have you finished the swing yet?' is
the usual question which greets me every Thursday evening. When I
am able to do handwork extra nicely I shall do a very nice piece
of work and keep it as long as I can, and when I get old it will
remind me of youth."

"My brother tries to make some of the things I bring home. My
sister likes the swing and uses it for her dolls."

"It is a source of enjoyment to most children, but until I
entered this school I had never heard of girls being taught it. I
enjoy this so much that I hope to buy some tools and wood and do
some work at home. My three brothers tease me terribly and call me
the 'left-handed carpenter,' because I always work with my left
hand. I am not satisfied with the handwork I have done at present,
but hope greatly to improve. I enjoy making useful things because
they make very useful presents at all times. I should like to teach
handwork to others, as I think it so interesting. I have discovered
that handwork needs patience and neatness in every way."

"I have learnt that everything must be done properly, because
I made a motor-car and gave it to my little sister, but she
happened to drop it and it came unstuck. My little brother thinks
it's silly for girls to learn handwork, and everything I bring
home he says, 'I should not have done it like that,' and goes on
to explain how he would have done it, although he has never learnt
himself. I don't like the part much where you have to prepare
everything to put together. I like putting it together and then you
can see something for your work."

Some show the ethical value of the training; the need of patience seems to appeal most forcibly to children who are making their first attempts at handwork.

"To make toys and other wooden things teaches us to be
patient, for often just at a critical moment something will come
unstuck and we have to begin all over again. The top of the
roundabout which I am now making has come off three or four times,
and consequently it has taken me about twice as long to make as it
would if all had gone smoothly."

"Sometimes you have to wait for a piece of wood to stick. The
other Friday I was waiting for a piece to stick and after a while
I went on, thinking it had got stuck; unluckily it had not and
it came off. That very same piece of wood has come off every day
except to-day. This shows any one that one needs time and patience.
Also you have to wait a while because some one has run off with the
glue-pot, or else I find my file or gimlet disappeared."

"When I first began handwork I could not knock a nail in
straight or else I would hit my fingers. But I can now knock a nail
in straight and without knocking my fingers. I can saw much more
quickly than when I first began."

"It teaches us a great lesson of patience. For instance, it is
very trying to have to sit or stand for quite a long while holding
some little refractory piece of wood that will not stick however
much one tries: but it is no good getting cross, for the work will
not be finished if we do not stick the little piece of wood or
paper."

"Once mother told me I had not any idea for anything, but now
she says I am much better, this being one result of handwork."

"Handwork, I think, has cured me of one fault and that is
inaccuracy, for if the wood is not the proper length, it will not
fit on to the thing which is being made. I have never done this
kind of work before, but I think it does help us when we are grown
up; one way is that everything must be accurate; and it is also
very nice to make things."

"I find that handwork helps me greatly, as I am bad at my
drawing and needlework."

"I love using the saws and hammers. Mother is going to give me
a set of fretwork tools so that I can put fancy tops to my frames,
etc. If I had a little sister or brother I would make a motor or
train, but as I am the only one, I make things for ornaments. Next
I shall make a table with the two sides to let down, or one with a
separate leaf to put in. Handwork teaches you to be exact and to
hold things delicately. It is very awkward to hammer a nail into a
thin leg of a table or chair, because they wobble over."

"I think handwork is very interesting and it has taught me
patience. I am not allowed to read more than half an hour after I
have done my homework and practice because my eyes are weak, and
as I am what some people call a bookworm I used to miss reading a
great deal, but now I do handwork in my spare time. One day I hope
to complete my doll's house, its garage and furniture, but I have
not finished the house yet. I like making such things as chairs
and tables best of all. Handwork lessons were unknown to me until
I came to this school nearly two terms ago, and at first Mamma was
always telling me that she would not let me do any more at home,
until I thought of putting paper on the floor, which keeps the
shavings and sawdust from untidying the floor. I always do this
now, and when the paper is taken up I do not have so much trouble
as that of picking the pieces off the mat and then sweeping the
floor before I go to bed."

"Handwork also helps to make one accurate and careful; perhaps
your fingers 'were all thumbs,' as the saying goes, before you
started handwork, but you find that after say a month your fingers
would be able to touch a frail thing without breaking it."

Their desire to make and remake varies between 'pleasure toys' and useful articles; one suspects sometimes a desire to appease the vexation of the 'house-proud' mother when there is much disorder caused at home with shavings and sawdust.

"I can not only make toys, but useful things such as dish
stands, brackets, photo frames, also easels to stand photographs
on."

"I like handwork. For voluntary work I do handwork, and it is
also our first lesson on Friday afternoon. I like it because it
helps us to make useful things. For voluntary work I am making a
medicine chest. It will be handy, because we always have a great
deal of medicine at home. Last term I made a knife-box, and it
was useful, because Mama's was getting old. My favourite tools
at handwork are the saw and hammer. Next term I want to make a
writing-case and a Red Cross motor."

"I enjoy going to handwork very much. The first thing to
think about, on getting down to the handwork-room, is setting to
work, and going about everything quietly. Everything in handwork,
to be done nicely, must be neat, clean, and carefully made and
put together. In handwork I have made an easel (which is a bit
difficult to fix, unless one has a proper hinge at the back) and
a picture-frame and a little doll's house, and I would like to
make another one, as I think it is so interesting planning out
each little corner for different things, and it helps one to think
of how they would plan out a home if they had one of their own,
as perhaps some of us will. I am now making a tram-car, which is
really very difficult. I have not nearly finished yet, as there is
such a great deal of work in it."

"Girls' likings for tools differ, but a file is the nicest
tool, in my eyes; it makes the rough places quite smooth and
nice. In my experience of handwork I have made a boat with the
captain's bridge and riggings, funnels, masts, and railings around
the edge. I have also made a picture frame and doll's furniture
for a friend's sister. At home I have made a basement for a doll
gentleman's house for the servants to live in; I papered it and
made it look neat and tidy."

"It is rather nice to see all of the girls making things at
the tables as busy as bees and it is nice to see their faces when
they look at the thing which they have just finished."

"The lesson I enjoy most during the week is the one termed
handwork, really carpentering on a small scale. There are many
things you can make, and if you take great pains with them they
become really pretty little ornaments; in fact, I am thinking of
having some shelves specially for my toys."

"When thinking of what measurements to make your toy and
planning it out in figures I think that it helps you greatly in
arithmetic. The hardest tool to use, I find, is the saw; you have
to have a steady hand to use it. When I first took handwork lessons
I used to think it hard work, but now I think otherwise, and feel
rather grand when I show my parents the things I have made. The
most important use of handwork is that when you are older you can
knock a nail in or mend anything that needs mending in the wooden
line, instead of having to wait until father, brother, or husband
comes home tired for them to do it. As well as this there might
come a time when the making of toys would help to earn the daily
bread."

"I am making a tram-car now, and when I have finished it I
want to make a whole set of furniture for a doll's house. The
hardest part of it will be when I am putting legs on tables or
chairs. They have to be quite straight or the table will not stand
up."

"Sometimes we have just settled a post or a rail in the right
place with the help of some glue when somebody knocks the table and
over goes our piece of wood. Then we have 'to grin and bear it.'"

"Our teacher's name is Miss Polkinghorne, she being very
skilful and does much better work than us for we are only
miniatures yet awhile!"

"When I grow up handwork will be useful to me, for if anything
breaks I shall know how to mend it, and if I had children I could
make things to amuse them. Often I do handwork at home. I like
using the saw better than any other tool. I have made a good many
things, but I think the best was a little toy motor-car. Handwork
is my favourite lesson; when I grow up I shall never leave off
doing handwork. My little sister helps me sometimes. I think she
will like it. My mother has asked me to make a little thing to put
match-boxes in."

"I think that it helps to make you very careful. For when one
is hammering and the hammer slips you get hurt and that makes one
careful. The hardest thing to do in a writing-case is to saw the
piece of wood for the ink division. It is hard to get the exact
size, but it does not look nice if it does not fit exactly."

"I like handwork because it is different from any other lesson
in the week; there is not much writing to do, only to mark on the
wood certain lengths."

"I once spent a long time in doing a ship, but I could not
get on. I spent a very long time in trying to take the paper off a
tobacco box, but it was not going to come. I then went on with the
making, but it kept falling to pieces. I took it home, and took
necessary materials with it; paper for flags and nails. I was a
long time in doing it, as I took everything apart and scratched all
of the paper off; but it now looks very much better. Handwork is
rather a funny kind of occupation for girls, but it teaches us how
to do things."

"Handwork is one of the most interesting lessons that there
is. It helps one to have ideas, and also to be careful. The reason
why I like it is because I think that most people should have a
pastime and this is a very pleasant one, and I think most children
will agree to this point."

"I have to use many kinds of tools but the nicest is the
hammer, because when I use it I know I am near the end of a piece
of work. (It is not that I dislike handwork, but that I am going to
start something fresh.) I have already made two picture-frames, two
beds, a swing, a chair, a motor-car, an easel, and I am now making
another swing. I think I shall try to make a baby's cot after I
have finished my swing."

"I prefer to saw wood and stick pieces of wood together to
hammering nails in the wood, because the nails are sometimes
difficult to get in, for they very often go in crookedly. When we
get older and understand handwork more thoroughly we may be able
to make things for the home, such as knife-boxes and paper-racks;
the things we make now are mostly pleasure toys that we will amuse
our younger brothers and sisters with. In most cases it needs a
great deal of patience, for the things, however simple, have some
difficult part."

"I like making toys, so then if you make them nicely you can
take them home for your little sisters and brothers to play with.
Handwork gives you ideas about things. We can make very useful
things such as letter-racks and pipe-racks. I like making furniture
for dolls' houses--chairs, tables, and sofas. I like making swings.
Some of us make animals."

"I do not know very much about handwork, as I have scarcely
handled a tool before I came here this term, but I think I shall
always enjoy it very much."

"I am making a doll's house now, for my little sister (aged
five), and I think it is teaching me to make myself useful, because
nobody at home cares for it much, so I will soon be able to mend
chairs, make brackets, etc., etc."

"Since we have not been able to have proper firewood at
home lately, mother has had large wooden boxes to chop (a thing
I delight in doing), and now and again mother has given me a few
of them. I tried to make things out of them and soon found it too
rough: so father has given me some nice polished wood, and he says
that perhaps soon he will buy me a nice little fret-saw set of
tools as his are so large and clumsy."

"I think I like sawing best of all, but I think I like all the
rest very well; I get quite excited when Thursday and Friday come
round (for those are the days on which we have handwork)."

"Mother thinks it is a splendid thing for girls, and I quite
agree with her. And we both think that it will help me on with my
geometry (which I'm not very brilliant in, but am trying my best)."

These compositions were written in school and the extracts have not been corrected, they are just as the children wrote them; we add no commentary, but let them speak for themselves.

TOY-MAKING IN SCHOOL AND HOME