Monday, January 28, 2013

Good Old Bird






One of the new/old dolls that has come to live here at the World's Largest Toy Musuem recently is in pretty good shape. When I saw her stretched out like that I thought I'd surely break something if I tried to get in that position not to mention the challenge of getting back up! Most of my exercising (when it gets done at all) consists of walking - not contorting.

However, what caught my eye was the old bird standing behind her. The base says, "Peters Weatherbird Shoes - For Boys - For Girls." I had never heard of Weatherbird Shoes and so I did a little checking. I learned that the Saint Louis Peters Shoes Company used Weatherbird's image for promotion purposes from 1907 to 1932. But who is Weatherbird? As it turns out, Weatherbird is the oldest continually running daily cartoon in America. He first appeared in February of 1901  in the St. Louis Post Dispatch and is still going. He's been drawn by several different creators over the years and his "look" has evolved somewhat as well. But for twenty five years he was also the mascot for children's shoes manufactured by the Saint Louis Peters Shoes Company.

Perhaps our girl in pink has some Peters Weatherbird Shoes she can change into from her ballet slippers.



Some of the information for this blog came from www.weatherbird.wikia.com

Friday, January 25, 2013

New Old Stuff

If you go through the World's Largest Toy Museum right now you will see several of these signs. The reason? We just recently acquired the contents of a toy museum at Natural Bridge, VA. We now have the joyous task of finding room in what many folks already consider a "full" museum for these 45,000 additional items. I never cease to marvel at the creative ways Tom Beck and Raine Clotfelter make space appear where none seemed to be before. Before this building was a museum it used to be a restaurant and guess what - a walk-in freezer makes a quite nice display area. Who knew?

With the addition of these new items, we now have toys that go clear back to the 1700s. We have a lot if international dolls and all kinds of other toys that make visiting the World's Largest Toy Museum an even more incredible experience. Even our gift shop has a number of additions from this acquisition expanding what we have to offer.

As we get various displays set up, I'll be posting photos on our "World's Largest Toy Museum" Facebook page for you to enjoy. Keep in mind, though, those snapshots are no comparison to the wonderful fun of seeing over a million toys as you journey through time here at the museum. Looking forward to seeing you.