A is for Alphabet Blocks: Inventions by Women A-Z

Parents have long understood the educational value of alphabet blocks in teaching their children how to read, in addition to inspiring the imagination and encouraging coordination skills as a building toy. 

Alphabet blocks are just plain fun.  

In the 19th century, alphabet blocks were found in school rooms everywhere in the educated world. Historically, some form of alphabet blocks existed as far back as 1693. The English philosopher John Locke wrote that “dice and play-things, with the letters . . . teach children the alphabet by playing,” and make learning how to read enjoyable. 

Does anyone reading this not remember playing with alphabet blocks as a child?

"Baby at Play" (Thomas Eakins, 1876)

Similar references to alphabet blocks appeared in 1798 in a book called Practical Education (Maria and R.L. Edgeworth) as "building bricks," in 1820 (U.S.) as "multi-colored blocks," again in 1837 (Germany), and in 1850 (England) as "terracotta toy blocks." 

Adeline Dutton Train Whitney (1824-1906)

But the alphabet blocks that most of us identify with today were invented by a Massachusetts woman named Adeline Dutton Train Whitney. 

Adeline was well educated and came from a well-to-do family. Her father owned a successful shipping business. After marrying at nineteen and raising four children, Adeline pursued her dream of writing. She wrote poetry and over twenty books, stories mostly for young girls. 

Adeline held to traditional values typical of her time, opposing women's suffrage and promoting the domestic role of women in the home. At age 42 (1882) Adeline patented a set of alphabet blocks constructed of wood, and officially became the toy's inventor. Her model is still used today, although they are often made with non-wood materials.

 

Sources:
http://www.aauw.org/2010/09/16/alphabet-blocks/
http://famousamericans.net/adelineduttontrainwhitney/
http://www.toyhalloffame.org/toys/alphabet-blocks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_block

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Celebrate the Small Things: A Writer's Poem?

Excerpt from "Voices of the Night, Prelude" by Henry W. Longfellow, 1839

Courtesy: http://www.freeimages.com/

. . . "Before me rose an avenue
Of tall and sombrous pines;
Abroad their fan-like branches grew,
And, where the sunshine darted through,
Spread a vapor soft and blue,
In Long and sloping lines.

And, falling on my weary brain, 
Like a fast-falling shower, 
The dreams of youth came back, again--
Low lispings of the summer rain, 
Dropping on the ripened grain,
As once upon the flower.

Visions of childhood! Stay, oh, stay!
Ye were so sweet and wild!


And distant voices seemed to say,
"It cannot be! They pass away!
Other themes demand thy lay;
Thou art no more a child!

. . . "Athwart the swinging branches cast,
Soft rays of sunshine pour;
Then comes the fearful wintry blast;
Pallid lips say, 'It is past!
We can return no more!'

"Look, then, into thine heart, and write!
Yes, into Life's deep stream!
All forms of sorrow and delight,
All solemn Voices of the Night,
That can soothe thee, or affright--
Be these henceforth thy theme."

Keep on writing . . . 

Thank you Lexa Cain for hosting this blog hop!
And co-hosts: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge  
and Katie @ TheCyborgMom

Brief History of the Stereoscope: Stereoviews A-Z

The Stereoscope is a special device used to view photos in 3-D. It was a popular form of entertainment in the U.S. from the 1840s to the 1930s, and also used as a teaching tool in classrooms for learning geography, natural history, world events and a wide variety of topics.

The invention was based on English scientist Charles Wheatstone’s research on binocular vision in the 1830s, and predates early photography. Wheatstone experimented with

Holmes Stereoscope

sketched drawings, but as knowledge of photography developed in the 1840s, the technique was applied to photos. The images were called stereographs (or stereograms) in the beginning, and later known as stereoviews.

 

Here is how the stereoscope works. Two identical photos, arranged side by side on card stock, are viewed through the stereoscope as two and half inches apart (or the distance between the eyes) through the viewer's lense/mirror hooded assembly (on left in picture). The eye sees a 3-D image.

It was not until the Great Exhibition in 1851 that stereoscopes and stereoviews became known to the general public. Queen Victoria in England was fascinated with the invention, and influenced its mass production. One company, the London Stereoscopic Company, sold half a million stereoviews between 1854 and 1856.

In the U.S., author and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes invented a hand-held stereoscope viewer in 1861 that was more economical. With further improvements by Joseph L. Bates (a Boston merchant), the Holmes viewer was soon a common item in Victorian homes all across America.

The stereoscope lost its appeal in the 1930s with the advent of silent film and radio. In the 1950s, it made a comeback with the ViewMaster, a type of stereoscope for children that can still be purchased in stores. And of course . . . there are 3-D movies and television today.

Interesting information for collectors:

http://taggart.glg.msu.edu/stereo/holmes.htm (how to make modern stereoviews)
http://www.stereoworld.org/index.php (National Stereoscope Association; publications, worldwide organizations, and information on workshops and conventions) 

Other Sources:

http://cnx.org/content/m13784/latest/
http://www.stereoviewmadness.com/stereoviewmadness.com/The_Stereoview.html
http://home.centurytel.net/s3dcor/index.html
http://yellowstonestereoviews.com/publishers/neweducational.html

http://yellowstonestereoviews.com/publishers/cosmopolitan.html
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA03/staples/stereo/stereographs.html

  Copyright 2013 © Sharon Himsl; Gravseth family archive

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing

Southeast Indians by Andrew Santella: Book Review

 
"First Nations of North America" series
Southeast Indians
Author: Andrew Santella
Publisher: Heinemann Library, 2012
Reviewer: Sharon M. Himsl
Age: 8 up, Middle Grade nonfiction
Pages: 48

Native Americans were the first people to settle North America. Scientists believe they migrated from Asia across a Bering Straits land bridge 12,000 years ago. Some settled in the southeast region of North America to as far west as present-day Oklahoma and Texas. The ten diverse tribes within this group, the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Catawba, Creek, Choctaw, Natchez, Seminole, Apalachee, Timucua, and Calusa, are known as the Southeast Indians. Santella tells their story, tracing their ancestral history and culture to the present. Readers learn how early Southeast Indians lived and survived—about their diet, crops planted, clothing, body adornments, hunting techniques, tools and weapons, house styles, transportation, and family life in the different clans. Included are the roles expected of boys and girls and their elders, the games they played, religious beliefs, and the popular Green Corn Ceremony still practice today. A turning point in their story came with the first non-Indian contact in 1513, when countless Southeast Indians were killed and enslaved by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León and his expedition. Conflicts and hardships followed as other Europeans settled the region. Over time, the Southeast Indians adapted and many adopted European ways. One Cherokee member, Sequoyah, even invented a syllabary to record their language. However, the centuries old conflict proved futile. In 1830, the tribes were ordered to Indian Territory under the U.S. Indian Removal Act. Thousands traveled west to present-day Oklahoma on what became known as the Trail of Tears. Many died en route and millions of acres of land were later lost. Despite unfair treatment, the tribes survived, and today live throughout the United States. Santella’s presentation is well organized and useful in Native American Social Studies curriculum. Glossary (boldface text) and Timeline are provided. Maps, photos, and sketches are on most pages. Reading level Q.  

Copyright 2013 © Sharon M. Himsl

Pioneering Women by Jeff Savage: Book Review

 
"True Tales of the Wild West" series
Pioneering Women
Author: Jeff Savage
Publisher: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 2012
Reviewer: Sharon M. Himsl
Age: 12 up, Young Adult nonfiction
Pages: 48

When Agnes Morley’s father died in 1886, the family was left to fend for themselves. Agnes, her mother, and two siblings became ranchers in New Mexico, and before Agnes was even a teenager, she could saddle and ride a horse like a man, herd cattle, handle a gun, and defend the ranch against cattle rustlers. Agnes was forced to take on duties “considered man’s work,” Savage writes. However, she grew to enjoy her freedom as a young woman, and even wore a five-gallon Stetson cowboy hat, refusing to wear a sunbonnet. Agnes is representative of the brave women who traveled overland to settle the American west beginning in the 1830s, but not all women were the same, Savage explains. Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding, for instance, were the first of these women to travel west and came with their husbands as missionaries. Most women were married and had more traditional roles: raising children, cooking, running the household, etc. But like Agnes and her mother, they often learned out of necessity how to manage a homestead alone, hunt for food, and defend their property. Other more independent-minded women traveled west alone. They liked being free to do as they pleased and challenged the traditional roles of women. Calamity Jane, for example, openly drank, smoked cigars, and gambled. Some women traveled west to mine for gold. Women even became outlaws, such as Belle Starr, better known as the “Bandit Queen.” Women came as reformers and teachers, too, bringing education, morality and respect to the frontier, including suffrage. Savage does a good job summarizing the different types of women who traveled west. One chapter appears to deviate from the theme, however, and is devoted to American Indian women (e.g., Sacagawea) and Spanish women in the Southwest beginning in the 1500s. As Savage then explains, these are really the “first western women,” to settle the frontier; they share a kindred pioneering spirit with the women who traveled from the east later. Pioneering Women is aimed at older reluctant middle grade readers, but advanced readers will also find the book interesting. Black and white photos, Glossary, Index, and References are included. 

Copyright 2012 © Sharon Himsl