We don’t play with the same toys as decades go by. If the children living in 1700 weren’t playing with Lego, Gameboy or Barbies, we got away without having to play with their mini-guillotines, mechanical scary dolls and other strange toys. Here is a selection of 10 old toys which would make you cry if you got them under the Christmas tree!
1/ The mini-guillotine
During the Revolution, the mini-guillotine would have been a very popular toy among children. It was about 6 cm high and allowed the revolutionary toddlers to cut off the heads of their dolls, some models of which were filled with fake blood, in order to create an illusion during “cutting”.
2/ The nuclear energy fabrication kit
.A gift that would provoke strong reactions if it were brought back today! The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory was produced in 1951 for children, including an alpha particle chamber, a spinthariscope, uranium and ore samples, and an electroscope.
3/The creepy baby
Patented in 1871, this mechanical doll was supposed to represent a baby crawling. It must be said that with the techniques of the time, one can not blame the manufacturer! It was one of the first dolls in history to be marketed.
4/The doll with two faces
Released in 1920, “the doll with two faces” was very popular. A little freaky thought. Once side of the face was a baby smiling and the back of the head was another face of the baby crying.
5/ The baby’s first butchers
During the Victorian era, miniature butchers were rivals to doll houses.
