Child's Play

Decorative Arts o Costumes o Toys o Fine Arts o Tools o Music o Transportation

Children's Collections
Playthings ~ Clothing

Child's Doll and Toy Piano

Piano: wood, stained and painted
Maker: A. Schoenhut & Co., Philadelphia, PA
American, circa 1873
Gift of Mrs. G.W. Stephens, 83.7.2 Doll: bisque painted head and hands; leather body; wood chip stuffing; human hair; silk and cotton dress
Maker: [...]hein, Germ[...]
German, late 1890s
Gift of Emily Norman, 80.16.20b

The donor recounted that the clothing of this doll was intimately tied to her own childhood. The lace collar was from a dress she had worn as a child, the hair ribbons and sash from her mother's clothing. The doll's hair was made from her mother's tresses.

The toy piano bears a resemblance to our full-scale melodeon (circa 1862-65). The keys strike a xylophone hidden in the body. A. Schoenhut & Co. (1872-1935) began manufacturing toy pianos in 1872. The piano was the property of Mrs. W.E. Walsh who came to San Diego in 1894.

Site Outline | Site Search

SDHS