In the late 1800′s all children played with and received as gifts wooden toys. There were no metal or plastic ones made from molds in those early days. Each individual toy was carved by master craftsman and then hand painted so no one toy was ever exactly alike.

Some of these beautiful toys were carved as miniaturized figures such as soldiers, people, animals and more. They were also made into unique one of a kind nativity scene sets as well. Some of these sets of the nativity have dated all the way back to the Fifteenth Century.

During the Nineteenth Century the largest number of wood toys came from Germany. The wood used was mostly pine but some toys were also crafted from birch and maple. Special carving knives were used in the crafting of smaller type toys of wood.

Toys which were larger in size were not completed by carving but by piecing everything together with the use of nailing and gluing the parts to make them complete. Some were still hand-painted within the Nineteenth Century but many were decorated by the use of lithograph style of paper which was glued onto the wood. These made for more extravagant details than the hand painting.

The United States made toys from wood as well but theirs were much larger due to the fact they did not hand carve them. Instead they used carpentry tools like drills, lathes and more to design and put together which made them have to be bigger in their size.The most unique wooden toys were put together and jointed by Charles Crandall. Crandall was a very talented artist in this field. His depictions of some of the favored fairy type tales of the era was the favorites of the children of his time from the late Eighteenth to the early Nineteenth Century.

Wooden toys made childrens play times so interesting and got their imaginations flowing. You can still find these creative and unique toys today. So why not give your kids the thrill of playing with these toys instead of the plastic and metal ones we see on the markets today. Let them get a taste of what their Grandparents play times were like when they were children.

Discover the fascinating history of wooden toys now in our review of everything you need to know about how and where to find the best wooden balance bike .