So this was my first time attempting this but I found this Ebay lot for an extremely good price for what was all in it, the only thing is I already own half the items soo... I sold the items I already have within a few days and made $35.00 off of the deal and the items I kept I basically got for free plus a profit!
Anyways, one of the things I am keeping is the Noah's Ark. An interesting fact about this piece is that in the 18th century, children were not allowed to play with toys on Sunday...with an exception of a Noah's Ark like this one because it is bible related.
I am going to get the review out of the way first this time and then I will talk a bit about the other toys in the 18th century. So the first thing I have to say about this is... it is the cutest thing ever! The Ark is made of wood, the roof flips up for storage and the boat comes apart at the middle for storage as well. The ark comes with a Noah figurine, a figurine of his wife, and five pairs of animals, 2 elephants, 2 sheep, 2 horses, 2 camels, and 2 pigs. I am not sure exactly what the figures are made of but they feel like glass or porcelain. The Noah and wife have movable arms! The ark comes with a little wooden ramp for the animals to go up. This ark is the early Pleasant Company version, the way to know this is because the early version has two blue stripes on the ark. The newer version only has one stripe (on the top). My son said the blue on the bottom is suppose to be water, he is such a smarty pants sometimes.  |
| Ark with ramp, Noah and his wife |
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| Boat with its top off...ohh boy! |
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| Closeup of Noah and Wife |
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| "Come on Noah, Lets start a wave!" |
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| Elephant |
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| Sheep |
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| Horse |
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| Camel |
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| Piggy |
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| Animals paired up, in a line |
I searched far and wide on the interwebs for a picture of an 18th century Noah's Ark with no luck. But I did find some of early to mid 19th century. But I do know they existed then after reading up on it some more. They started being made in Germany in the early to mid 18th century.
Both of these examples were made in Germany. Much like the Felicity version, these arks also have storage inside the boats. Of course these have a lot more animals to go with it.
Now in the 18th century, a lot of children didn't have a lot of time to play. As soon as they were toddling around, children were always involved in work around the homes and farms. Could be as simple as picking up rocks and sticks out of the garden. When they did have time to play like on rainy or cold days where they couldn't do much work, they played with mostly homemade toys, carved wood figures, paper dolls, etc. Although around this time it was also becoming popular to buy toys already made at shops, too.
Popular indoor toys in the 18th century included rocking horses, toy soldiers, dolls (could be made of paper, wood, rags, wax, ivory), spinning toys such as tops, bilboquet (wooden cup on a handle with a ball on a string attached, the goal was to catch the ball in the cup).
I am going to save talking about outdoor toys and games for another post because I have a set in mind that will be perfect for that. ;)
I hope you guys have learned something new today and be sure to follow my blog so you don't miss any new posts!!
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@Faithful.Friends.Forever.Be
That is so cute!
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