Ursinus College Digital Commons @ Ursinus College The Dutchman / The eP nnsylvania Dutchman Pennsylvania Folklife Society Collection Magazine Summer 1955 The Dutchman Vol. 6, No. 5 Earl F. Robacker Olive G. Zehner Cornelius Weygandt Henry J. Kauffman Albert I. Drachman See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/dutchmanmag Part of the American Art and Architecture Commons, American Material Culture Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Cultural History Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Folklore Commons, Genealogy Commons, German Language and Literature Commons, Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons, History of Religion Commons, Linguistics Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits oy u. Recommended Citation Robacker, Earl F.; Zehner, Olive G.; Weygandt, Cornelius; Kauffman, Henry J.; Drachman, Albert I.; Graeff, Arthur D.; and Heller, Edna Eby, "The Dutchman Vol. 6, No. 5" (1955). The Dutchman / The Pennsylvania Dutchman Magazine. 5. https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/dutchmanmag/5 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Pennsylvania Folklife Society Collection at Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Dutchman / The eP nnsylvania Dutchman Magazine by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Authors Earl F. Robacker, Olive G. Zehner, Cornelius Weygandt, Henry J. Kauffman, Albert I. Drachman, Arthur D. Graeff, and Edna Eby Heller This book is available at Digital Commons @ Ursinus College: https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/dutchmanmag/5 75 Cents Summer, 1955 Vol. 6, No. 5 Editor: Dr. Alfred L. hoe ma ker A ssistant F.ditor: Dr. J . Wm. Frey A ntiqu60 E,litor: D r. E a rl F . R obaeker Contents Craf ts (\'; Folic Art /c,dilor: Olive G. Zehner Food Editor: Edna E b." H ell e' r .\. nliq ucs for F a ne," a nd for Fun .. Delil'gn Editor: LeB.o." Gensler E AHL F . R On t\CKE R Photogra pher: Clifl'ord Yeieh Duleh hy the T on . P BLl SlJ Elt : 7 OLI VE H G. ZEII NE H The P ennsylvania DllLeh F olklore Cen­ Ler. Inc., Franklin a ndl\Ia r ~ h a ll Collcge, La ncas ter. P enn .ylvania. 13easts in Du teh la nd . .. 10 COHNE LIUS \ \'EYGAN D'l' SUBSCRIPTION R ATE 3.00 a ~ ' ea r in the nited la le a nd Church .\. rchitccture in La ne:1.s Lcr Count." ........... .... ...... lG Ca nada. EI ew here fi fl y cen ts add i- H EN RY J . KAU F F ~IA N tional for po tage. in gle copies $.75 each. Tracking the Elusive Distelfink . ........ 28 l\ISS AND PH OTOG RAPII S: ,\. LBE H'I' 1. DHA c mlAN The Editor will be glad to consid er ISS and phot oO' raphs enl \\ ith a R cnasccncc of History . vi ew to publica lion. (Each is ue will . .. 3G contain :1.t lea t one major a rticle.) AWI' II UR D. GHAEFF When un uitable for publication. and if accompa nied by return postagc, Dutch Chce 'c 39 ever," care will be exerei ed towa rd ED NA Eny H ELL EH their return, although 11 0 responsibility for their safety is assumed. The Zchn-uhr chtick ... ........ ................... .. ...... 40 THE D UT HMAN. June-August OLIVEH G. ZEH NEH ]955, Yol. 6, N o.5, publi hcd qua rtcrl y and cop,Hight 1955 b,Y thc P cnn yl vania Dutch F olklore Center, Inc., Franklin a nd Mar hall Coll ege. Lancaster, Pa. Single copy $.75. B y subscription $3.00 per year in the nited State and Canada; el ewhere fifty cent po tage extra. Entered as second-cia s ma tter D ec. 9, ]949, at the P o t Office at Lancaster, P enn y lvaniit, under the Ac t of March 3, 1879. PRESS OF INTE LLIGENC E R P RINTING COM P A NY LANCASTER, PA. = ".Jus t for fancy" as an expression to describe orn amental rather than utilitarian objeel among th e P enn s.v lvan ia Dutch might we ll be matched by an ther- ".lust for fun ." T ogether. these tags serve \\'ell lo designate a wide vari et." of oA' hand and original crealions some for purel.\· decOl'ati ve uses, some obviously to pl ease th e children, and some to serve the purpo. e of what a later ge neration call s co n\'er ation pi eces. Among th e su rvi val. of th e Nineteen th Cen tu r.Y. th e sq ueak toy is a fa vorite of antique coll ec tors. The nature of a sq ueak toy is nol hard to im agine; th e idea was to add SO llnd to sllbsta nce- Iong before the crying do ll or the Antiques for Fancy and for Fun By EARL F. ROBACKER " ma ma" doll had come into bein g. Wh ile squeak to.\·s ex i t in some variet.v. the roo te l' ma.y be suggested as repre­ se ntative. The bod.v of the bird is of holl ow papier mache, thinl.\· spread over muslin . and gail .v painted in reali sti c colors. Legs of ti ghtl.\· coiled wire attach the bird to a bell ows base. Wh en this ba e is first depressed and th en released. a concealed whistle emit an appropriate sound, and the roo tel' bob energe ti call.\· forward a nd back on hi 'pringy legs in a successful ph.vsical imitation of crowing. It goe without sa.v ill g that these to ~ ' s a rc scarce today. and that such as do come to li ght a re likel.Y to be minus their "squeakin g" q ualities no deterrent to the coll ec tor, of course. N o les ori ginal but somewhat Ie s innocent. a t least in concept, a rc snake-to.\' . A favori te of compara tively recent limes \l'a a jointed replile formed of intricately can 'ed bl oc k so closel.\· a rti cula ted that. wh en the snake wa s grasped in the mid-riA' and squeezed , head . body. and la il wou ld undulale in s tartlingly life-like fa hi on. in ce uch snakes were also usuall y reali sti eall .v painted. above and beneath. lhe practical joker had a sure-fire device r ea d~ ' to his han(1. Another \'e r ion of the nake-to,\' purports to be a book- eemingl.v a book with wooden cover and red-cord book­ mark da n<f lin g a t the bottom. "'hen the cord is pu ll ed. a thin panel slides back. bringin g with it the upreared head of a n a ll -too-realisti c se rpent. Worse. while the sharpened­ nail fa ngs a rc u ua ll .\· mis in g nowadays, every ori gin al 2 . Snakes emerge from their lairs in books when the serpent ee ms to have bee n full .\· equipped with them. and drawstrings are pulle d. the v ictim of the hoax usuall y had hi s skin pierced before h could uller a cr,\' of fri ght. Of a gentler nature were the pottel'," to.\'s of P e nn s ~ ' lvania redware- lhe same e l a ~ ' used in the makin g of slipware and sgraffito pl a tes. plain glazed bowls a nd pitchers. and unglazed hou ehold utensils in enormous \·a ri et,\'. C hief alllOJl O" a rticle made for ehildren were p e nn~ ' bank and whis Ll e . The ba nk ranged from imple spherical sha pe fl attened at the (Cuts are numbe red according to the order in which hase (not at a ll simple to create! ) to more elabora te forms they are me ntioned in the article. ) of a nimals a nd hiI'd. The dog a nd the bear ee m to ha\'c Illustratio ns from the Robacker collection. bee n fa\·oritcs. ,\11 . of eour e. ha\'e a slot al the top lo Photography by Charles Bohr. ad mit coin s. 2 3 , The bird wh is t le, Note the incised wi ngs, an unusuol feature , The whi li e was usuall y but no t al\\'a,\' in the shape of a bird, An openin O' on the back a ll o\\'erl the creature to be fi ll ed with l\'aler, The \\'his Ll e itself \\' as built into the Lail. a nd ex tended Lhrough the bod,\' a nd into the water, ,\ Ithough the wriLer ha ne\'er come upon a specimen ti ll in good working order, lhe fact thal Lh e glaze ha been \\'orn off a ll the tails he ha seen would a ppeal' Lo indicaLe lha t long-ago blowers found the toys adequaLe! I n tere ting but e xtr e m e l ~ ' ra re are the jointcd mcla l " walking men." to,\'s evidenLl,\' fashioned for the a musemcnt of toddlers, The cpa ratc mcmbcrs of thcse to,\'s werc cut I , An especially real ist ic specime n of the squeak- toy, ou t of thin tinned heet iron, evid en L1,I' freehand, and Lh en found a t Re inholds, Po , ri vctcd togcther 100 cl,\' enough Lhat each pa rL could win" free, .\ Ion ha ndlc wa a LLached Lo Lh e man ' hat, and Lh c fi gm e asslllllcd a vari eLy of ludicrous po itions when hc \\'as made to "walk, " These to,l'S werc ori ginall ,v brighLl,\' pa inted, 4 , The jointed meta l walking toy, which collapsed for the amusement of ch ildre n, Be rks County, 3 5 .