Nostalgic Toys ~ Colorforms

Founded in 1951, Colorforms is one of the oldest and best-known brands in the toy industry. It was the very first plastic-based creative toy, and one of the first toys ever advertised on television.

www.Colorforms.com

Colorforms are paper-thin, die-cut vinyl sheet images and shapes that are meant to be applied to a shiny plastic laminated board, much like placing paper dolls against a paper backdrop. The images stick to the background by adhesion, which takes place when two highly polished surfaces come in contact. The Colorforms vinyl pieces can be repositioned to create new designs and scenarios.

Colorforms oddly enough grew out of the progressive trend in the 1950's to create toys that were somehow beneficial to a kid's psychological well-being: these were (ostensibly) toys that helped kids learn and grow through play, stimulating their imaginations and creativity. To that end, the first Colorforms set was made up of little plastic shapes, of different colors. Kids could combine the shapes and colors to make their own pictures of whatever they liked. 

The 1970's was probably the hayday of Colorforms, with dozens of sets devoted to such subjects as Evel Knievel, Star Trek, or Holly Hobbie. But the brand survives to this day, and as millions of kids discover to their delight, despite the obvious enticements of modern video amusements, this simple little plastic and cardboard toy can still offer many hours of quiet imaginative fun.  

Nostalgic Toys - Marionettes

  Opening in 1967, the Bil Baird Marionette Theater at 59 Barrow Street in Greenwich Village presented plays for more than a decade. 

Marionettes were used in performance theatre in Egypt as early as 2000 BC when string-operated figures of wood were manipulated to perform the action of kneading bread, and other string controlled objects. Wire controlled, articulated puppets made of clay and ivory have been found in Egyptian tombs.

Ancient Egyptian Marionettes

With the rise in popularity of television and film, marionettes found a rise in popularity especially in children's programming. The story of Pinocchio and its Disney adaptation (Pinocchio), which was released in 1940, is a story about a marionette. In 1947, Howdy Doody introduced marionettes to children's television, with Howdy Doody (the main character) being a marionette, as well as some other characters.

Children of New York City watching a Marionette Show in the 1930'

Popular Howdy Doody Marionette

One of the hidden treasures in Central Park is the Swedish Cottage MarionetteTheater.   For more information go here http://www.cityparksfoundation.org/arts/swedish-cottage-marionette-theatre/

The Swedish Cottage is home to one of the last public marionette companies in the United States. Puppeteers have worked there since 1947. The cottage was originally constructed as a model pre-fabricated schoolhouse, and became Sweden's entry in the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. After the exhibit, Park co-designer Frederick Law Olmsted chose the rustic building for Central Park. After a string of diverse uses, the nature study center for children and an entomological lab, for examples, the cottage became headquarters in 1939 for the Parks Department's Marionette Theater. The marionette company has long been known for its whimsical productions of classics like Peter Pan and Cinderella.
The Swedish Cottage is home to one of the last public marionette companies in the United States. Puppeteers have worked there since 1947. The cottage was originally constructed as a model pre-fabricated schoolhouse, and became Sweden's entry in the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. After the exhibit, Park co-designer Frederick Law Olmsted chose the rustic building for Central Park. After a string of diverse uses, the nature study center for children and an entomological lab, for examples, the cottage became headquarters in 1939 for the Parks Department's Marionette Theater. The marionette company has long been known for its whimsical productions of classics like Peter Pan and Cinderella.

Nostalgic Toys - Stereoscopes

A stereoscope is a device for viewing a pair of separate images, which are almost identical, side by side.  When viewed through the stereoscope, the image appears three-dimensional.  Many may know the stereoscope more commonly as the trademarked toy, "View Master".

Publisher D. Appleton and Company's stereoscopic showroom on Broadway in New York City

Stereoscopes were wildly popular in the 1850's to 1930's where even showrooms existed to display and sell the stereograph slides.   Millions of stereographs were produced, and steroscopes were common in many homes.  In a age before movies and TV, they brought news and entertainment to parlors and living rooms.  

They captured history, landscaping, architecture and street scenes through one dimensional photos and brought them to life, transporting you into the image.

NYC Flat Iron Building Stereoscope slide 

In late 1939, the View-Master was introduced at the New York World's Fair.. It was intended as an alternative to the scenic postcard, and was originally sold at photography shops, stationery stores, and scenic-attraction gift shops. The main subjects of View-Master reels were Carlsbad Caverns and the Grand Canyon.  In more modern times, the View-Master reels began to feature fewer scenic and more child-friendly subjects, such as toys and cartoons and television series.

The New-York Historical Society recently released a book/stereoscope set which includes a sturdy metal stereoscopic viewer and 50 stereoscopic photographs of turn-of-the-century New York. The package also includes a 128-page paperback that provides a brief history of the stereograph craze and an overview of the city’s evolution during that time.    It is a fun source of historical research and it makes for a great coffee table book.

 Which one did you own?