Figure 1.-- Here we see Canadian boys rolling their hoops, probably in the 1910s, or very early 1920s. Hops were major toys, mostly for boys, in the 19th century. After World War I we don't see them so much. But as we see here they did not disappear. We suspect the decline was relalated to the automobile and the increasing danger of playing in or near the street.

We notice the same toys in Canada that we see in America and Britain. Most toys were primarily for indoor play, blocks, board games, dolls, marbels, models, play sets like doll houses, puppets, toy animals, guns, soldiers, and vehicles. Of course indoor photiogtaphy was complicated. You needed flashbulbs which were not readily availabkle for snapshots until the 1950s. There were also outdoor toys, balls being the most imoportant, but kites were also popular. A very important outdoor toy was the hoop. Actually this was a toy almost every boy had because they were so common. Barrells until the 20th century were a major way of transporting many products from pickels to flour. Barrels were constructed of wooden staves bound by wooden or by the 19th century metal hoops. The they were manufactured in huge numbers. They were thus easily acceable and made for perfect play hoops.

Created: 6:31 AM 10/9/2018
Last updated: 6:31 AM 10/9/2018