Forum Discussions - Watrous Bell Toys2024-03-29T00:10:01Zhttp://belltoys.ning.com/forum?feed=yes&xn_auth=noJuly 4th patriotic bell toystag:belltoys.ning.com,2020-07-04:656749:Topic:200062020-07-04T19:37:17.590ZBellToyBoyhttp://belltoys.ning.com/profile/BellToyBoy
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<p>For the 4th of July, here's some patriotic bell toy history. Mass production of bell toys started just after the end of the Civil War and before the U. S. Centennial. The gruesome Civil War had drained the spirit of Americans. Centennial celebrations created a cause to rally the spirits of citizens around. During the Civil War great strides in mass production advanced the factories of the north. The Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia was the place to have your products seen.…</p>
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<p>For the 4th of July, here's some patriotic bell toy history. Mass production of bell toys started just after the end of the Civil War and before the U. S. Centennial. The gruesome Civil War had drained the spirit of Americans. Centennial celebrations created a cause to rally the spirits of citizens around. During the Civil War great strides in mass production advanced the factories of the north. The Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia was the place to have your products seen. Numerous toy and bell manufacturers displayed their wares at the Exposition. Included were many patriotic-themed bell toys. Most of the iron bell toys were from a small town in Connecticut, East Hampton. The bell toy makers from East Hampton included Gong Bell Mfg. Co., Wm. Barton, and Starr Bros. From New York came the patriotic tin toys of Althof Bergmann. From Philadelphia, the firm of Kyser & Rex made the iron flag-waving Liberty bell toy. Some of the toys by Althof Bergmann incorporated a revolving chime that had been patented by Gong Bell. Below is just a small sampling of the bell toys of the Centennial era.</p>
<p>While we rejoice in the 4<sup>th</sup> of July celebrations, we should remember the sacrifices of those that fought to create this Union, those that fought to keep the Union, and those sacrificing today, striving to create a more perfect Union.</p> ABA article "Hoop Bell Toys, Hoop Chime Toys & Rolling Hooples," Part III Supplementaltag:belltoys.ning.com,2019-07-08:656749:Topic:176132019-07-08T20:00:42.815ZBellToyBoyhttp://belltoys.ning.com/profile/BellToyBoy
<p>The American Bell Association has published in their magazine, The Bell Tower, my article, “Hoop Bell Toys, Hoop Chime Toys & Rolling Hooples.” Part I was in the March-April 2019 issue pages 9-22, Part II was in the May-June issue, pages 9-20, and Part III will be in the July-August issue. <br></br>When I began researching and writing the article I thought this would be a short piece, perhaps a few pages. It turned out to be a lot more than a few pages. Part III focuses primarily on patents.…</p>
<p>The American Bell Association has published in their magazine, The Bell Tower, my article, “Hoop Bell Toys, Hoop Chime Toys & Rolling Hooples.” Part I was in the March-April 2019 issue pages 9-22, Part II was in the May-June issue, pages 9-20, and Part III will be in the July-August issue. <br/>When I began researching and writing the article I thought this would be a short piece, perhaps a few pages. It turned out to be a lot more than a few pages. Part III focuses primarily on patents. I was surprised when found over 50 related patents. The last part had to be whittled down dramatically to fit in the magazine, so many of the patents are not in the article. I am putting these patents and some other related items that were edited out of the article on this web site.<br/>If you are seeing these patents and have not seen the article, you may wish to get copies of the magazines. If so, please contact Ron Weaver at 210 819 3349. You may also want to consider joining the ABA . <a href="https://americanbell.org/">https://americanbell.org/</a></p>
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<p>Many thanks to Marilyn Grismere for all her patience editing my couple page article....</p>
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<p>Life is good,</p>
<p>Bob</p> The Mystery of the Missing N. N. Hill Brass Co. buildings.tag:belltoys.ning.com,2015-02-25:656749:Topic:96032015-02-25T02:04:44.876ZBellToyBoyhttp://belltoys.ning.com/profile/BellToyBoy
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/999666289?profile=original" target="_self">N N Hill building evolution Part 1</a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/999666347?profile=original" target="_self">N N Hill building evolution Part 2</a></p>
<p>Attached is an article by Robert K. Watrous about the buildings of the N. N. Hill Brass Co.</p>
<p>The article was prompted by a mystery. Shown in a drawing of 1898 are buildings of the N.…</p>
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<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/999666289?profile=original">N N Hill building evolution Part 1</a></p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/999666347?profile=original">N N Hill building evolution Part 2</a></p>
<p>Attached is an article by Robert K. Watrous about the buildings of the N. N. Hill Brass Co.</p>
<p>The article was prompted by a mystery. Shown in a drawing of 1898 are buildings of the N. N. Hill Brass Co. which suddenly disappeared in the 1903 drawings of the N. N. Hill buildings. What happened to the buildings?</p> A brief history of Watrous Manufacturing Co.tag:belltoys.ning.com,2012-07-04:656749:Topic:58052012-07-04T02:24:19.246ZBellToyBoyhttp://belltoys.ning.com/profile/BellToyBoy
<center><h2>A brief history of Watrous Manufacturing Co.</h2>
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<center>In “Bell Town” East Hampton, Connecticut, David Watson Watrous was one of the founders in 1851 of the East Hampton Bell Company. He left in 1860 to found the company Clark and Watrous, and then in 1865 created D. W. Watrous & Co. which later became Watrous Manufacturing Co.. The company created sleigh bells, bell toys, and in it’s early days they made casket trimmings. D. W. Watrous was also the town undertaker.…</center>
<center><h2>A brief history of Watrous Manufacturing Co.</h2>
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<center>In “Bell Town” East Hampton, Connecticut, David Watson Watrous was one of the founders in 1851 of the East Hampton Bell Company. He left in 1860 to found the company Clark and Watrous, and then in 1865 created D. W. Watrous & Co. which later became Watrous Manufacturing Co.. The company created sleigh bells, bell toys, and in it’s early days they made casket trimmings. D. W. Watrous was also the town undertaker. Watrous Mfg. Co. had been making bell toys for over forty years according to a 1918 ad. D. W. was to answer the call of the bell until one tolled for him when he died in 1918. His son John Lazarus ran the company till his bell tolled in 1923 and the company stock was then sold to Gong Bell Manufacturing Co.. The Watrous Mfg Co. was dissolved in 1927.</center>
<center>By the early 1900s Watrous Mfg. Co. had developed a distinct bell toy style. While some of the toys had fancy iron frames, more often their toys utilized nickel plated or coppered steel frames and nickel plated steel wheels. Flattened cast iron figures often move to strike a bell or chime. The mechanisms were frequently exposed. Parts were often lacquered over the nickel plating which gave the paint an iridescent quality.. As a reflection of the times there are Soldiers and Sailors, Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders, Admiral Peary and the Polar Bear, and Dancing Coons. Popular toys included many versions with horses, clowns or bears. Comic Character toys included Buster Brown and Tige, Little Nemo and Flip , Charlie Chaplin, Mammy and Foxy Grandpa. In addition to the bell toys, chime toys or gong toys, the company also produced an erector set called Modelit around 1916, and a mechanical tin and wood toy called Flying Areoplanes.</center>
<center>The Watrous Mfg. Co. was closely associated with several of the many East Hampton bell companies. The Barton family is credited with starting the bell industry in East Hampton. An 1880 illustrated map of East Hampton shows Barton and Watrous Bell Mfrs. in one building as well as D. W. Watrous, Mfrs. of Bells and Undertakers Supplies, Undertaking in another.</center>
<center>For a while Watrous Mfg. Co. and N. N. Hill Brass Co. combined their catalogs into one while they were both branches of the short lived, 1903 -1907, toy manufacturers consortium, National Novelty Corporation. Grace Bevin and the Bevin Bros. Mfg. Co. and were major stock holders of the Watrous Mfg. Co. from their Incorporation in 1913 to 1923.</center>
<center>The Gong Bell Mfg. Co. was just upstream from the Watrous Mfg. Co.. In 1912 Clifford M. Watrous, surprisingly unrelated to the Watrous family of Watrous Mfg. Co., became general manager at Gong Bell Mfg. Co.. In 1921 he patented the popular Playphone 600. He would later become President of Gong Bell Mfg. Co. East Hampton was and still is a small town. There were many ties by marriage to other East Hampton families, many involved in the bell industry. The bell and bell toy industry faded leaving Bevin Bell Co. as the sole survivor in East Hampton today.</center>
<center>The water from Lake Pocotopaug still flows over the East Hampton Falls near Watrous Street. The site where Watrous Mfg was located at 103 Main Street in East Hampton is now a parking lot for the town library. The names, a few scraps of paper, and some toys that have somehow survived the normal ravages inflicted by children and time are all that remains of the Watrous Manufacturing Company’s sixty seven year history.</center>
<center> Life is good,</center>
<center>La vie est belle,</center>
<center>Robert K. Watrous </center> Robert K Watrous - how I started down this path of bell toy collecting and researchtag:belltoys.ning.com,2012-07-04:656749:Topic:60022012-07-04T02:16:12.336ZBellToyBoyhttp://belltoys.ning.com/profile/BellToyBoy
<h2>Hi, I'm Robert K Watrous</h2>
<p>Since I found what was listed as a Watrous bell toy on ebay I've been researching the Watrous Manufacturing Co. and collecting their toys. The search has introduced me to many fine people and surprises. I sent that first toy to my parents as a gift. The mailman left it at the garage door and my parents ran the car over it. The toy I later found out to be by Gong Bell not Watrous. I later would find out I'm not related to the Watrous that started Watrous…</p>
<h2>Hi, I'm Robert K Watrous</h2>
<p>Since I found what was listed as a Watrous bell toy on ebay I've been researching the Watrous Manufacturing Co. and collecting their toys. The search has introduced me to many fine people and surprises. I sent that first toy to my parents as a gift. The mailman left it at the garage door and my parents ran the car over it. The toy I later found out to be by Gong Bell not Watrous. I later would find out I'm not related to the Watrous that started Watrous Manufacturing Co., but I am related to the Watrous that married into the Gong Bell Manufacturing Co. family and went on to create the popular Plaphone 600, designed and patented the wheels that are on that first bell toy I purchased, and later became their president. You just never know where the research will lead. If you have any information, no matter how arcane, to share on the history of bell toys and especially the companies associated with East Hampton Connecticut, please contact me. If you have any toys you'd like to share I'd also love to see them. Last, if I can help you identify toys in your collection or answer any of your questions, please contact me.</p> Bevin bell factory in East Hampton CT burns to the ground Saturday night 5/26/2012tag:belltoys.ning.com,2012-05-29:656749:Topic:53402012-05-29T00:20:23.915ZBellToyBoyhttp://belltoys.ning.com/profile/BellToyBoy
<p>It's just heartbreaking news. The Bevin bell factory in East Hampton has burned to the ground. See the blog page for a note by Robert Watrous and some before photos of the Bevin bell factory.</p>
<p>It's just heartbreaking news. The Bevin bell factory in East Hampton has burned to the ground. See the blog page for a note by Robert Watrous and some before photos of the Bevin bell factory.</p> Gong Rocking Bell toytag:belltoys.ning.com,2012-04-17:656749:Topic:53202012-04-17T14:28:23.604Zdfriday2http://belltoys.ning.com/profile/dfriday2
<p>Hi Bob -</p>
<p>I have two Gong Rocking Bell Toys (No 14 from their 1880 catalog). One has a glass bell ringer, and the other has metalic (lead) bell ringer. Any idea which one is original? Can you or anyone else check yours and advise?</p>
<p>Thanks, Don Friday</p>
<p>Hi Bob -</p>
<p>I have two Gong Rocking Bell Toys (No 14 from their 1880 catalog). One has a glass bell ringer, and the other has metalic (lead) bell ringer. Any idea which one is original? Can you or anyone else check yours and advise?</p>
<p>Thanks, Don Friday</p> Gong Rocking Bell toytag:belltoys.ning.com,2012-04-11:656749:Topic:52152012-04-11T16:15:27.736Zdfriday2http://belltoys.ning.com/profile/dfriday2
<p>Hi Bob -</p>
<p>I have two Gong Rocking Bell Toys (No 14 from their 1880 catalog). One has a glass bell ringer, and the other has metalic (lead) bell ringer. Any idea which one is original? Can you or anyone else check yours and advise?</p>
<p>Thanks, Don Friday</p>
<p>Hi Bob -</p>
<p>I have two Gong Rocking Bell Toys (No 14 from their 1880 catalog). One has a glass bell ringer, and the other has metalic (lead) bell ringer. Any idea which one is original? Can you or anyone else check yours and advise?</p>
<p>Thanks, Don Friday</p> Stick toy displaytag:belltoys.ning.com,2009-07-20:656749:Topic:18412009-07-20T13:45:19.000Zdfriday2http://belltoys.ning.com/profile/dfriday2
I have at least a dozen wooden stick toys by NN Hill and Watrous. Typical handles are 19" - 22" long. I really haven't found a creative way to display these. They don't look right if just mounted on a wall or sitting of a shelf. At this point, they're just sitting in a closet. Has anyone found a good way to keep these as a visible display within a household?<br />
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Regards,<br />
dfriday2
I have at least a dozen wooden stick toys by NN Hill and Watrous. Typical handles are 19" - 22" long. I really haven't found a creative way to display these. They don't look right if just mounted on a wall or sitting of a shelf. At this point, they're just sitting in a closet. Has anyone found a good way to keep these as a visible display within a household?<br />
<br />
Regards,<br />
dfriday2 reproduction of cat and dog pull toytag:belltoys.ning.com,2008-10-21:656749:Topic:12652008-10-21T05:56:09.000ZDavehttp://belltoys.ning.com/profile/Dave
You said my pulltoy on ebay was a reproduction and I looked on your web site at the one on the one they had for sale for 19.95 and it had screws holding it together and mine has ribbits. It also had brite paint job and mine is just the old cast iron look. I don't know where they are getting the measurement of 3/4 in from but mine is lots wider than that.<br />
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I did state on ebay that I did not know if it was the real thing or a reproduction. I try my best to be very honest about anything I sale on…
You said my pulltoy on ebay was a reproduction and I looked on your web site at the one on the one they had for sale for 19.95 and it had screws holding it together and mine has ribbits. It also had brite paint job and mine is just the old cast iron look. I don't know where they are getting the measurement of 3/4 in from but mine is lots wider than that.<br />
<br />
I did state on ebay that I did not know if it was the real thing or a reproduction. I try my best to be very honest about anything I sale on eBay.