What a revelation to read about all the toys that came about during the 1950s – and are still as popular today as they were then!
The technological influence began to show up in toys allowing many to be made from plastic rather than other materials. Materials that had been being used to manufacture materials and supplies for World War II were available again.
How many of you still like to play with Silly Putty or put it into stockings every year for some unsuspecting receiver? Of course, there are fewer newspapers around with colored comic strips. Remember imprinting them onto the silly putty, then stretching them into distortion? Similar, but of a different consistency and use is Play-Doh – a forever favorite among children today.
Can you still hula hoop? Yep – it was one of those iconic toys, too. The Soviet Union banned the sale of them due to it’s being linked to the “indecency of the American culture.” Of course, it didn’t hurt that Elvis had his own hip gyrations going on making everyone want to immolate his shocking hip movements!
The matchbox car was invented when a child’s school wouldn’t allow toys at school that were larger than would fit into a matchbox. Still around and highly collectable in some circles.
Mr. Potato Head was designed in the mid-1940s but wasn’t formally marketed until 1952. The original ones included only the facial decorations and had to be put onto a real potato. It also had the fame of being one of the first widely advertised toys at a time that more and more homes began to buy televisions. The number of homes with televisions increased in 1942 from only 8,000 to more than 45 million by 1960. Popular television shows began to influence the gifts that were given. Daniel Boone made coon skin caps and BB guns popular gifts.
Electric trains, whose major manufacturing company Lionel, had stopped producing trains to focus on building military essentials, became popular again and were often used to go around the base of the Christmas tree.
Fisher Price Little People and View Masters came onto the scene during this time as well.
And who can forget the iconic Barbie? She came out in 1959, and the world of dolls was forever changed. There’s even a Barbie movie coming out soon!
Frisbees came out in the 1950s. Now, we have frisbee golf courses!
Surprisingly, a few of the toys either came about by accident or previously had another use.
Silly Putty was made when an engineer from GE was trying to replicate rubber. Instead, he ended up with the bouncy substance known as “Silly Putty.”
Play-Doh was initially used to clean soot from walls from the use of coal in homes for heat – who knew? After World War II, homes were moving to being heated with oil, gas, and electricity. When sales began to wane, the sister-in-law of the company owner tried it out on her kindergarten students, and it was a hit!
Families were encouraged to spend time together playing board games. Popular board games included the already popular Monopoly, Name That Tune, Park and Shop, Candy Land (who hasn’t played Candy Land?!), Scrabble, Yahtzee, and Risk to name a few. Many of the games were used to promote the skills of using money, counting, reading, and/or writing.
There were toys that promoted the traditional role of mother and father in a nuclear home. This was a time period that divorce was still frowned upon and most families were the traditional “nuclear” family. Girls were encouraged to play with dolls, paper dolls, and child sized replicas of kitchens or cleaning tools. Boys were often given toy tool sets or chemistry and doctor sets to nudge them toward “professional” careers. Many parents having grown up through the Depression period or seen the devastation of war wanted better more prosperous lives for their children. The gifts and celebrations often reflected this.
Let’s not forget the adults (Big Kid Toys) …
Along with the new homes came a back yard in many cases. For men, emphasis began to be placed on things to work in the yard or to cook outside. Automobiles were gaining in popularity and affordability. Gifts to maintain the car were pushed as the ideal gift to give to men. Sounds familiar to what we still buy, doesn’t it? Since men worked hard to be the bread winner. Gifts to help him relax after a hard day at work were promoted as just what dad needed.
The home, and especially the kitchen, was the center of families in the 1950s. Since homes were turning to electricity as the power source, gifts that centered around the home were advertised widely as the perfect gift for women. Other common gifts were gold lipstick cases, cosmetic cases, jewelry, and perfume atomizers.
Something that was a surprise was this was the time that the art of gift wrapping began. In 1950, Drucella Lowrie published a manual entitled, The Art of Wrapping Gifts. She warned that “A sloppily wrapped package, or one too gaudy or too skimpy, indicates poor taste, indifference, or lack of skill—and inevitably detracts from the pleasure intended.”
What toys can you remember from the 1950s? Do you still have one you received as a child?
Come join us tomorrow when we’ll look at decorations of the 1950s. I bet some of you still have some of these jewels…
The technological influence began to show up in toys allowing many to be made from plastic rather than other materials. Materials that had been being used to manufacture materials and supplies for World War II were available again.
How many of you still like to play with Silly Putty or put it into stockings every year for some unsuspecting receiver? Of course, there are fewer newspapers around with colored comic strips. Remember imprinting them onto the silly putty, then stretching them into distortion? Similar, but of a different consistency and use is Play-Doh – a forever favorite among children today.
Can you still hula hoop? Yep – it was one of those iconic toys, too. The Soviet Union banned the sale of them due to it’s being linked to the “indecency of the American culture.” Of course, it didn’t hurt that Elvis had his own hip gyrations going on making everyone want to immolate his shocking hip movements!
The matchbox car was invented when a child’s school wouldn’t allow toys at school that were larger than would fit into a matchbox. Still around and highly collectable in some circles.
Mr. Potato Head was designed in the mid-1940s but wasn’t formally marketed until 1952. The original ones included only the facial decorations and had to be put onto a real potato. It also had the fame of being one of the first widely advertised toys at a time that more and more homes began to buy televisions. The number of homes with televisions increased in 1942 from only 8,000 to more than 45 million by 1960. Popular television shows began to influence the gifts that were given. Daniel Boone made coon skin caps and BB guns popular gifts.
Electric trains, whose major manufacturing company Lionel, had stopped producing trains to focus on building military essentials, became popular again and were often used to go around the base of the Christmas tree.
Fisher Price Little People and View Masters came onto the scene during this time as well.
And who can forget the iconic Barbie? She came out in 1959, and the world of dolls was forever changed. There’s even a Barbie movie coming out soon!
Frisbees came out in the 1950s. Now, we have frisbee golf courses!
Surprisingly, a few of the toys either came about by accident or previously had another use.
Silly Putty was made when an engineer from GE was trying to replicate rubber. Instead, he ended up with the bouncy substance known as “Silly Putty.”
Play-Doh was initially used to clean soot from walls from the use of coal in homes for heat – who knew? After World War II, homes were moving to being heated with oil, gas, and electricity. When sales began to wane, the sister-in-law of the company owner tried it out on her kindergarten students, and it was a hit!
Families were encouraged to spend time together playing board games. Popular board games included the already popular Monopoly, Name That Tune, Park and Shop, Candy Land (who hasn’t played Candy Land?!), Scrabble, Yahtzee, and Risk to name a few. Many of the games were used to promote the skills of using money, counting, reading, and/or writing.
There were toys that promoted the traditional role of mother and father in a nuclear home. This was a time period that divorce was still frowned upon and most families were the traditional “nuclear” family. Girls were encouraged to play with dolls, paper dolls, and child sized replicas of kitchens or cleaning tools. Boys were often given toy tool sets or chemistry and doctor sets to nudge them toward “professional” careers. Many parents having grown up through the Depression period or seen the devastation of war wanted better more prosperous lives for their children. The gifts and celebrations often reflected this.
Let’s not forget the adults (Big Kid Toys) …
Along with the new homes came a back yard in many cases. For men, emphasis began to be placed on things to work in the yard or to cook outside. Automobiles were gaining in popularity and affordability. Gifts to maintain the car were pushed as the ideal gift to give to men. Sounds familiar to what we still buy, doesn’t it? Since men worked hard to be the bread winner. Gifts to help him relax after a hard day at work were promoted as just what dad needed.
The home, and especially the kitchen, was the center of families in the 1950s. Since homes were turning to electricity as the power source, gifts that centered around the home were advertised widely as the perfect gift for women. Other common gifts were gold lipstick cases, cosmetic cases, jewelry, and perfume atomizers.
Something that was a surprise was this was the time that the art of gift wrapping began. In 1950, Drucella Lowrie published a manual entitled, The Art of Wrapping Gifts. She warned that “A sloppily wrapped package, or one too gaudy or too skimpy, indicates poor taste, indifference, or lack of skill—and inevitably detracts from the pleasure intended.”
What toys can you remember from the 1950s? Do you still have one you received as a child?
Come join us tomorrow when we’ll look at decorations of the 1950s. I bet some of you still have some of these jewels…
