Toys in the Philippines-a History

A FILIPINO TOY STORY.  this is a history of how filipinos play with toys
we know most children play on the streets.

Aside from the yoyo and the tirador, the doll is always considered one of the
oldest known toy in the Philippines and in the world.


The Yo-Yo is believed to have originated from a Chinese toy known as the Diabolo.
From China, it is thought that the toy expanded its popularity in two directions. The
 first was toward Europe, Ancient Greece to be more exact, and secondly to the
Philippines, in Southeast Asia.

As for the evolution of yo-yo in the Far East, it went from the favorite pastime of
children to a deadly weapon used both for hunting and warfare. In the 16th century,
Philippines warriors  would climb a tree and wait for their prey with a larger, sharpened
device made of rock, which functioned on the same principle as the toy. The word
itself means “come-come” or “to” in Filipino, describing the basic trait of the toy.
Thus, the modern name is considered to be derived from the Filipino language.

Jump forward another half-a-century, to 1916, when the Scientific American
Supplement published an article titled “Filipino Toys,” which precisely depicted it in
its current form and named it a yo-yo. Twelve years later, Pedro Flores, a Filipino
emigre, opened the first yo-yo manufacturing shop in California and the hype was on.

Wood continued to be the dominant material for dolls in Europe until the 19th
century. Through the 18th and 19th centuries, wood was increasingly combined with
other materials, such as leather, wax and porcelain and the bodies made more
articulate. It is unknown when dolls' glass eyes first appeared, but brown was the
dominant eye color for dolls up until the Victorian era  when blue eyes became more
popular, inspired by Queen Victoria.

During the 19th century, dolls' heads were often made of porcelain and combined
with a body of leather, cloth, wood, or composite materials, such as papier-
mâché or composition, a mix of pulp, sawdust, glue and similar materials With
the advent of polymer and plastic materials in the 20th century, doll making largely
shifted to these materials. The low cost, ease of manufacture, and durability of
 plastic materials meant new types of dolls could be mass-produced at a lower price.
The earliest materials were rubber  and celluloid. From the mid-20th century, soft
vinyl became the dominant material, in particular for children's dolls
Gregoria De Jesus also played with dolls, she has a collection of dolls. during her
time.  they are now with the Nakpil family.

it was rare to see playthings in the early 1900s because all toys were generally
made at home, mostly by parents, there were no toy planes, toy guns, only improvised
rag dolls yoyos. at the  time, children were more likely to create their own toys from found objects than they were to purchase them, food at the table and freedom were top priority.
they used cans, paper clips, rubber bands, household scraps to make dolls and musical
instruments.only on very special occasion where toys received as gifts from well off
friends or relatives so  families of the rich afford to bring home imported toys made
from toy making companies abroad (lke the toy horses, expensive toy trains, rag dolls,
and toy soldiers) when Window dressing was introduced. the Christmas tradition of
filling all stores with toys have found success through shop window promotions,
major department stores over the years have created these legendary toys as window
decors every year as part of the Christmas tradition every Christmas you could see
them shine.  I will be talking of toys not only from the Philippines but also from
America, since the Americans introduced toys to well to do Filipinos as an additional
market.

The earliest modern stuffed toys were made in 1880. They differ from earlier rag
dolls in that they are made of plush furr like fabric and commonly portray animals
rather than humans.   but in 1902  Rose and Morris Michtom placed two bears in their
storefront window  with a sign that read "TEDDY BEARs" just to lure curious customers
into the store to their surprise customers requested to purchase the bears that they made
specifically for the display by the turn of the century, the First Teddy bear goes on
sale - Feb 15, 1903 and the bear's name was THEODORE ROOSEVELT
(nickname "TEDDY")

R.W. Sears made the Sears catalog with detailed illustration of each toy, and through
these catalog entries legendary toys such as the Raggedy Ann Doll Viewmaster 3D were
introduced to the public.

Paper dolls are cut out of paper, with separate clothes that are usually held onto the dolls
by folding tabs. They often reflect contemporary styles, and 19th century ballerina
paper dolls were among the earliest celebrity dolls. The 1930s Shirley Temple doll sold
millions and was one of the most successful celebrity dolls. Small celluloid Kewpie dolls,
based  on illustrations by Rose O'Neill, were popular in the early 20th century.

since the early part of the 20th century, toy companies have supplemented their print
ad with live contest and in store demos. in the early 1930s Pedro Flores collaborated
with newspaper mogul William Randolph to promote the Filipino toy accross the nation
by advertising the yoyo in the blank space of his newspaper. in the 1950s Wham-O
founders Dick Knerr and Spud Melin revived the art of the demonstration when they
send FRISBEE experts to College campuses to promote a new toy.

the 1930s company Playskool and Fisher Price made toys by studying children'as
behavior during play with hidden cameras.

Tether car racing began in the late 1930's when some people decided to put a model
airplane engine on a board with four wheels. Within a year there was racing of
beautifully built cars that resembled the oval track cars of the period. but this toy is
considered the most dangerous toy ever made.

Filipinos also play with doll houses

Contemporary dollhouses have their roots in European baby house display cases
from the 17th century. Early dollhouses were all handmade, but, following the
Industrial Revolution and World War II, they were increasingly mass-produced and
became more affordable. Children's dollhouses during the 20th century have been made
of tin litho,
plastic, and wood. Contemporary houses for adult collectors are typically made of wood.

by the way, you heared of Barbie?
her full name Barbara Millicent Roberts, from the town of Willows in Wisconsin. But
Barbie’s predecessor, the Swiss Bild Lilli doll, had an image that wasn’t quite as clean
cut.  Unlike other dolls of the time made to resemble babies and infants, Bild Lilli was
all  woman with long legs, fashionable clothes and glamorous make-up. Based on a
comic strip character, Lilli was a working girl, described as a ‘blonde bombshell’, and
Lilli dolls were initially  sold as an adult novelty.

Barbie is a well branded product which changed the face of the fashion doll industry
since 1959 Mattel has manufactured a monopoly. Barbie was born on the March 9, 1959,
the day she was officially launched at the American International Toy Fair. Created
by businesswoman Ruth Handler to show little girls that they could be anything they
wanted to be, that ‘a woman has choices’, Barbie quickly became a global icon.
While she may not have visibly aged over the last five decades, Barbie has constantly
reinvented herself, changing her clothes to keep up with the latest fashions and adapting
her image in response to wider social and cultural change with varying degrees of success.

Influenced by the movie stars of the 1950s, the first Barbie doll was fully made up with
red lips, black eyeliner and perfectly arched eyebrows. She wore a strapless zebra
striped swimsuit and came with either blonde or brunette hair done up in a cute Audrey
Hepburn ponytail

Then the robot trend began with the introduction of Japanese...
Robot super heroes like Voltes V in 1977. sci-fi animation that features a giant
anthropomorphic robot – only gained a foothold on Philippine soil. But I think given the
sheer brilliance of the merging of excellent storytelling and contemporary (in the 1970s)
cutting-edge science, Voltes V could have won fans across the world including YOU and me.

During the series' run, Popy released a diecast metal toy of Voltes V. The toy was available
either with the five Volt Machines sold separately or in a gift set known as the "Volt In Box".
Aside from the Volt Machines combining to form Voltes V, the toy also transformed into
Voltank mode (an alternate vehicle mode wherein the robot lied down face-first with the
Volt Panzer and Volt Lander's wheels on the ground). Voltank mode never appeared in
the  series, but was a unique feature of the toy. The boxed set was re-released in 1982
before being repackaged as part of Bandai's Godaikin line for the international market in
1983.

Popy also released a Jumbo Machinder version of Voltes V. Standing at over 24 inches
in height, the toy featured firing projectile fists and could transform into Voltank mode,
which small children could ride on.

In 1983 toy companies released programs in which popular toys like
MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE, GI. JOE, TRANSFORMERS were animated stars
of ther own TV shows, and as expected toy sales multipled in relation to the popularity
of the shows.when thse toys are released, kids are encouraged by the packaging to
"collect them all" so the kid that originally requested for one toy now wants five or
six more.

by the 1980s many toy manufacturers recognized their "dual" audience and began
catering to both kids and adults(collectors) new line of action figures including the
power rangers by Bandi and the inja Turtles by Playmate were placed in clear packaging
that was easy for Filipino kids to open and convinient for collectors to keep sealed.
in the early part of the 1990s Todd McFarlane had been working with Mattel to create
a new line of action figure and created Todd Toys and made Spawn action figures ready
for the first toy fair in 1994. the figured he created were violent sexy and strong they
seemed more like a miniature sculpture than toys. and even parents and old people like
me didnt hesitate to buy those. the world of designer toys has just begun. from stuffed
animals to die cast cars.

and how about the toys now? where they as durable?? as presentable and appealing??
To know more come visit us at RETROTOY Booth at THE CHRISTMAS TOYCON
or Christmas Toys & Collectibles Fair 2018. 
This coming Dec 14 to 16  MEGAMALĹ booths 44 and 45.
this is your LOVERBOY Dennis signing out
Merry Christmas