Patsy Doll Was Child Of Time

Patsy dolls were products of the Roaring ’20s. They were the first composition dolls to resemble real children and they were perfectly proportioned. Patsy was a child of the times, with a bobbed hair style, a cupid’s bow mouth and short skirts.

Patsy also reflected the society of the times in the amount of personal property she had. In addition to dresses, she had an extensive ward robe with accessories, toys and items like rollerskates.

The first Patsy was made in 1924 by the Effanbee Company. The most successful one came four years later, in 1928. She was joined by a whole family of dolls, including Wee Patsy (5 3/4” tall,) Patsy Mae (30”,) Patsyette, Patsy Ruth, Patsy Baby and others.

During the period of her popularity, all other leading doll manufacturers in America made Patsy-type dolls. Arranbee’s version was called Nancy; Madame Alexander made Betty and American Character made Sally. There were also many that were unmarked and sold through catalog stores such as Sears and variety stores such as Wool worth’s.

These dolls reached their peak of production and popularity in the 1930s.

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What Would A Strong Blacksmith Be
Without His Stronger Anvil?

Anvils are old! The first ones are believed to have been used by Stone Age men as they chipped their flints on anvils made of stone. There is a bronze anvil in a Swiss museum that has been dated as being 10,000 years old.

The first anvil to appear in the United States was in 1632, when John Moses brought one with him from England. They continued to be imported from England and other parts of Europe until about the middle of the 19th century, when some factories for their production were started in America.

In 1843, Mark Fisher made the first anvil which had a cast iron body with a steel face welded to it. This was a more solid structure than the common English and German imports, and therefore did not cause the hammer or sledge to rebound when the blacksmith struck his blow.

Fisher’s manufacturing business started with an accident. He had owned a tannery business in Maine. The tannery burned, and as Fisher dug through the debris, he found where some iron and steel had welded together. This led to some experimentation, and in 1843, he built an anvil works near his home town of Levant.

Later, he opened an anvil factory in Trenton, New Jersey. It remained in operation from 1847 until 1961 as Fisher and Norris.

The body of most anvils is either wrought iron or cast steel. A blacksmith’s anvil for all-around work weighs about 200 pounds. They may weigh as little as 80 or as much as 425 pounds. Anvils used by other trades - jewelers, nailmakers, and farriers, for example - will weigh less. They will usually be found mounted on wooden blocks and fastened with iron straps or spikes.

The rounded forward projection is the beak or horn. It is used for shaping round and curved parts. Where the horn connects to the main body is a table, or small cutting ledge. At the other end, the heel, there is usually a small hole. It is used for punching holes through hot metal held over it, for making bolts, or for attaching supplementary tools to the anvil.

The anvil serves the smith in much the way a bench serves a woodworker, and even the placement of the anvil in the shop is quite specific. The smith should be able to shift from the anvil to the forge in one step, with the least possible motion, in order to keep his metal hot as long as possible.

Anvils are classed and sold by weight. The following explanation is given in Blacksmith’s and Farrier’s Tools, published by the Shelburne Museum of Shelburne, Vermont.

“The weight is generally stamped on the side of the anvil. Three numbers are used. The first to the left shows the weight in cwt. (hundredweight) of 112 pounds each. The middle number shows the additonal quarters of cwt. and the right hand figure the number of odd pounds. For instance, an anvil marked 2-3-4 would weigh 312 pounds: 2 x 112 + 3/4 of 112 + 4 pounds.

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Calling Cards Inspired
Wide Range Of Card Cases

During the Victorian period, a calling card was a necessity when making a social call, and the cases to hold them were often miniature works of art. They were in fashion from about 1830 to 1900. Most of the examples found seem to be from the 1860s and 1870s, however.

They were often purchased as souvenirs when traveling. Mosaic cardcases were a popular item to bring home from Italy. A trip to Scotland could inspire one to purchase a case with a pictorial representation of a Scottish castle. Carved ivory, ebony or carved sandalwood were brought home from the Far East, usually by someone in the military. The English produced handsome silver cases with pictorial or floral engravings. They also made some of papier mache, often with inlaid scenes and/or hand-painted designs.

For those who stayed home, the American silver firms also made fine silver cases. Equally interesting are the cardcases made of fabric. Some were of embroidered silk and looked almost like a small purse. Others had fine beadwork.

Other cardcases were made of wood, with inlaid mother-of-pearl. Cardcases with reverse-painted glass set into tortoise shells are a real find.

If you find yourself collecting cardcases, you’ll probably be adding a few calling cards to go with them. The earlier ones were embossed with a design, with the owners name written in an elegant script. (Some ladies hired a professional penman to write their name on the cards.)

Later cards were chromolithographed or had cardboard attachments pasted on, such as hands or flowers, with the owners name underneath.

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