Showing posts sorted by date for query three ships. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query three ships. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

"I Saw Three Ships" Carol

Vintage sheet music of "I Saw Three Ships" lyrics included.
from the CC.
       The earliest printed version of "I Saw Three Ships" is from the 17th century, possibly Derbyshire, and was also published by William Sandys in 1833.
       The lyrics mention the ships sailing into Bethlehem, but the nearest body of water is the Dead Sea about 20 miles away. The reference to three ships is thought to originate in the three ships that bore the purported relics of the Biblical magi to Cologne Cathedral in the 12th century. Another possible reference is to Wenceslaus II, King of Bohemia, who bore a coat of arms "Azure three galleys argent". Another thought was the three kings that came to baby Jesus.
       An arrangement by Martin Shaw appears in The Oxford Book of Carols. The Carols for Choirs series of carol books features an arrangement of the carol by Sir David Willcocks. Organist Simon Preston and former conductor of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Sir Philip Ledger, have also written arrangements that the choir have performed at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in recent years. This carol is also featured in the musical Caroline, or Change, but as a counterpoint. Adapted by Jon Schmidt on Jon Schmidt Christmas album. John Renbourn has arranged it (in a rather free adaptation) for guitar. The song appears on Nat King Cole's 1960 LP "The Magic Of Christmas" (l/k/a "The Christmas Song"), arranged by Ralph Carmichael. Progressive rock singer Jon Anderson released a version as the title track of his album 3 Ships in 1985. Sufjan Stevens recorded a version of the song in 4/4 time for his album Hark!: Songs for Christmas, Vol. II. Wikipedia

"Rare video featuring Marianne and The Chieftains 
performing the song 'I Saw Three Ships A Sailing'. From 
the Chieftains 1991 CD 'Bells Of Dublin'."

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Over 100 Nostalgic Toy Ideas You Can Craft for Christmas!


      Santa's job will be easier when you turn toymaker and lend a helping hand to relieve the burden on his North Pole workshop. Among this collection of exciting toys, there’s at least one that will surely make Christmas extra merry for some youngster.  Construction of these, as well as the others, is apparent from the drawings, which include patterns for the parts that require jigsawing. Enlarging the patterns full size is easy. First, count the number of squares given and rule on paper an equal number of 1-in. squares unless otherwise stated on the graph itself.
      Next, number the rows of squares 1, 2, 3, etc., across the top and down one side of both the magazine pattern and the ruled paper. Now, begin enlarging the pattern by drawing that portion of the outline which is in square No. 1 in the magazine in the corresponding square on your ruled paper. Then advance to the next square, and so on, until the complete pattern is enlarged. With practice, you’ll find it easy to enlarge any pattern by the square method.
      With the exception of the table-and-chair set, which should be made of plywood, common 3/4-in. white pine is ideal material for most of the wooden toys.

A Child's Table and Chair Set
      A child's table and chair set. Photo of finished project plus graph depicting the measurements of each part for the assembly of chairs and a table. Exceptionally sturdy but not especially fancy, this plywood table-and-chair set will appeal to the dad or big brother who works with little more than a handsaw, drill, screwdriver and paintbrush.

More Table and Chair Sets For Children:
Children's Toy Chest Plans:
Swinging Arm Dolls

      Here is how to make these adorable swinging-arm dolls. With old wooden packing boxes laid out in 1/2″ squares as material, mark the patterns according to the squared charts shown above. Before cutting out the figures, bore a hole through the shoulders and up one leg, as shown by dotted lines in diagrams at the right.
      The sailor’s hat is made of thin wood cut in circular shape and nailed to the head. Bore a hole through the under side of each arm about %” deep and a 1″ hole lengthwise to take the wire which passes through the shoulders.
      Straight grained shingles or thin wood will do for paddles. Fasten them by driving a small brad or wire pin through the joint. Set the paddles at an angle (about 45 degrees) allowing easy turning by the wind.
      When assembly is made, be sure to leave a small space between the arms and the body to permit swelling of the wood.
A Lighthouse Stool

       The "beacon of the lighthouse stool, which is enclosed in an inverted glass jar, consists of a 1.5 volt flashlight bulb. This is inserted in a socket and wired to a push-button switch and dry cell. Removal of the screws at the base of the lighthouse permits renewal of the dry cell. Three 1/4 inch carriage bolts attach the padded top of the stool, lengths of tubing being slipped over the bolts to support the top slightly above the glass jar. The pattern for the sheet-metal base of the lighthouse is given at the right. The metal is lapped at the seam and fastened together with sheet-metal screws.
        Any boy can build one of these mirror-scopes at a small expense, and for his efforts see, when looking through the peephole, three miniature objects increase to a multitude.
      Here is the way it is done. Construct a wooden box about two feet long and five or six inches square. Against the inside of the front fasten a mirror as illustrated in the drawings above and drill a small peephole about two inches from the bottom. Also scratch a similarly sized peephole in the silvering on the back. Then cut a hole six or eight inches long in the top of the box and fit into it a piece of ground glass to admit light.
      The rear is built up of two pieces of wood as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Attach a second mirror to the inside of the end, then hinge the latter as shown. Paint the inside of the box white and you are ready to install the figures.
      Many miniature images can be purchased at the five and ten store. Arrange not over four figures in a nice grouping. Close the end and it will seem as if hundreds of images inhabited the box when you look through the peephole. Images of ships, men, animals, etc., are recommended.

Toys Similar to a Mirror-Scope:
Wood Choppers

      The stock required is 1/4" thick. Two bodies, two arms with axes, and two bars are needed for this toy. The upper bar has a place 5/8" from its center which is widened to resemble a tree stump an inch high. The pairs of parts are held together while holes are being bored thru them. The shoulders of the men and arms should have small holes to make a fixed joint while the men's legs and the bars should have holes closely fitting 1" nails. Both bars are located on the side of the men on which the arms are fastened. Color the coats, hats and sleeves blue, boots and axes black, arms, fingers, faces pink, and trousers red, bars green, and stump brown.

Bucking Goats
      From 1/4" stock, saw out two bodies, as shown in the full-size drawing, and two bars shown in the dimensioned drawing. Place the two bodies together and bore holes in the hind legs, as shown, for 1" nails. Do likewise with the two bars. Color the goats white, with large brown spots on their backs, necks and legs. Color the horns and hoofs black, and the bars gray or brown. Fasten with movable joints, one bar on each side of the goats, having them cross as indicated in the assembled drawing.

Similar Hand-Held Toys:
A Bucking Bronco Rocker

      This bucking bronco rocker requires plate casters for the footrest and a socket-type caster for the rear leg. The two sections of the toy are pivoted together with a carriage bolt and a small pillow-block bearing. A coil spring between the legs give the "cowboy" a bucking ride that bounces him up and down in the saddle.
Bucking bronco instructions and pattern.
A Walking Turtle Pull Toy 

      When pulled, on a string, the wooden turtle illustrated below moves its legs and draws its head in and out in a lifelike manner.
      Turn the shell from a band-sawed pine blank. Hold it in a chuck for recessing, and then fit the recess to another chuck for shaping the outside. Groove the segment zones and divide them radially.
Bend the crankshaft from baling wire, the bearing from a strip of sheet iron. The connecting rods are strips of sheet iron, pushed onto the cranks before the wheels are added. The latter are keyed by bending the shaft ends back on themselves and forcing them into small holes in the wheels, where a drop of celluloid cement holds them. Screw the bearing inside the recess, slit the ends to the bearing holes, and force in the crankshaft.
      Shape the head and neck semicircular on top. The neck slides in a groove in the shell, being held with a metal plate. The connecting rod enters a slot, where a nail holds it. The tail is a strip of inner-tube rubber.

More Old-Fashioned Pull Toy Patterns:
An Organ Grinder Toy

Front side, and open rear view of the animated organ-grinder toy.
 The sand motor is "wound" by turning the house sidewise through a
complete revolution as shown at the far left.
      An everlasting sand motor provides the power to drive the mechanical organ grinder illustrated. To “wind up” the mechanism, it is necessary merely to give the box a complete turn in the direction indicated in the drawings. This brings the sand back into the hopper ready to run down and turn the small paddle wheel. Other adaptations will suggest themselves, such as a woman pumping water or a hobo sawing wood.
      For the box, plywood is used, the joints being well fitted to prevent leakage of sand. The six-bladed paddle wheel is scroll-sawed from a block of white pine. The axle is a piece of bicycle spoke turning in glass-bead bearings, which are recessed into the wood as shown. Short lengths of brass tubing will serve just as well as the beads.
      The hole in the sand hopper should not be over 1/8″ in diameter for beach sand. Incidentally, beach sand is the best because the grains are smooth and pour more readily. Sand from a creek bed is also satisfactory. To facilitate adjustment, the back panel with the window is fastened with No. 3 screws.
      The organ grinder is scroll-sawed from material and painted in bright colors. The girl is painted on cardboard, together with the window frame, and glued to the box, as is the hand organ.—L. R. Browne.

A Sand or Water Mill

      This is an interesting beach toy as either fine sand or water may be used to operate it. It is very simple to construct and is made as follows: The base is constructed of 1/2 " pine, 7 1/2" wide and 7 1/2 " long; and the four blocks which are glued and bradded to the corners, are 1/2 "x1"x1". The two uprights are 3/4"x7/8"x8 1/4", and the two cross supports at the tops measure 3/4"x7/8"x2 1/2".
  • Two holes are bored in the base for the screws that  hold the uprights in place. These holes are 2y 4 " from  the end and 2^" from the sides.    
  • Holes are bored in the little top braces )A" from the  two ends and one just in the middle, or iy 4 " from the  ends. These are for the screws that hold the braces to  the uprights and to the top piece. All holes are bored  with a drill suitable to take iy 4 " No. 8 flat-head screws,  and all are countersunk on the side where the screw  enters.   
  • The top piece is made J/4"x5*4"x5*/>" with the two  front corners slightly rounded, as shown.     
  • A hole is bored of a size to receive the funnel used,  \y 2 " from the front edge and 2^" from the sides.   
  • A hole is drilled in each upright piece, 3 l / 2 " from the  lower end, of a size that will insure a driving fit to the  wire used, in this case being a piece of No. 12 copper-  dipped, 4^4" long.   
  • A piece of J4" dowel is cut off %" long and a similar  hole is bored about two-thirds of the way through, as  shown.    
  • Four holes are bored, as indicated on the drawing, for  the quills, which are later glued in place. Feathers from  the poultry yard will furnish these.    
  • Sand all pieces with No. 1 sandpaper and first assemble the top, the two uprights and the two cross supports.  Paint these two coats of red paint.    
  • Attach the cross blocks to the base with glue and  •U" brads and paint two coats of yellow. Paint the tun-  nel two coats of bright green.    
  • While these are drying construct the paddle wheel.  The piece through which the wire axle runs is ^4"x34"x  2J4". The four blades are y 4 "x2y 4 "x2y 4 ".    
  • After these are sanded and a hole is bored through the  center piece, nail the blades to the center piece, in the  position shown in the side view. Use y 4 " brads and glue  for fastening the blades. Paint two coats of yellow.   
  •  When the parts so far assembled are thoroughly dry,  finish the assembly, using \y 4 " No. 8 flat-head screws  and glue.   The toy is now ready to operate.
 More Water and Sand Toy Ideas:
A Step-Up Stool

       Little ones may need a bit of help in the washroom reaching the sink so why not build a little helper? This little step-up stool features a curly tail and a pink pig snout. Don't forget to tack on a non-skid rubber mat to prevent slippery falls!

  More Bath Related Toys:
A Toy Freighter

      A colorful Toy Freighter for quantity production boats are among the most fascinating toys for young children. If they can play with a boat in the bathtub or in a wading box or pool, so much the better, but they also get much enjoyment in playing with one on the floor if it is of a flat-bottomed type.
      The little freighter illustrated is adapted for either purpose, and the design is especially well suited to quantity production because of its simple construction and the small amount of materials required. The capacious cargo hold will carry a large shipment of dummy boxes and barrels made from scraps of wood.
      White pine, redwood, or any fairly lightweight wood may be used. The hull is built up as shown and fastened with casein glue to a waterproof plywood bottom. The plywood should be of the outdoor type. Avoid using nails or brads unless galvanized, because ordinary nails will eventually cause rusty streaks.
      Deck planking can be simulated by scoring the wood with a hard lead pencil and then varnishing the surface. Take care to round off the tip of the mast as well as that of the dowel behind the deck house. If the toy is intended for a very small child, the mast should be eliminated so that there would be no danger of his falling upon it.
      Use the brightest reds and greens in painting, because the appeal of this freighter lies principally in its coloring. Stenciled windows and doors add to its appearance, but are not absolutely necessary. The cargo hold is painted gray.

Craft Little Toy Cars, Boats and Trains:
Playing Make Believe at The Car Wash:
Road Rugs and Mats For Little Toy Cars:
Creative Playthings for Marbles:
Build A Child's Doll House:
Craft Your Own Math Toys:
Dress-Ups Aren't Just For Halloween, These Also Make Great Gifts For Christmas:
Tools and Workbenches for The Youngest Carpenters:
Homemade Toys for Little Campers:
Build Child Sized Markets:
Build Your Child a Durable Kitchen Play Set:
Make Your Own Play Food:
Instructions for this project from Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza.
 This kitchen is a recycled child's dresser.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Print "Three Ships" by Henry Payne for Christmas Letters

      The following pictures by Henry Payne were restored by Kathy Grimm for the purpose of reprinting on Christmas Cards or including a little print with a handwritten letter for a loved one. Visitors should read The Terms of Use before downloading them from here. Use them in your own personal crafts and letters freely but do not redistribute them over the web or profit from them by selling the work in it's original state. (This means burning the jpgs. to CDs or using them to draw traffic to web pages.) Click directly on one of the four options to download the largest files.





Tuesday, July 15, 2014

The Festive Christmas Tree In 1906

Small boys surround a Christmas tree in 1905.
      It will not be the fault of the shop keepers if your Christmas tree is lacking in characteristic beauty, for as early as November first the toy departments were beginning to assume a "Christmasy" aspect.
      The number of people who purchased decorations at that time was altogether surprising, and from the first week of November to Thanksgiving the buying has been unprecedented. There are two good reasons for early buying; the novelties, of course, quickly disappear and the stock becomes exhausted; again when purchased in ample time there is less danger of the frail ornaments being broken, which is sure to occur when the holiday rush is on for good and everybody is making for the same goal. 
      While there is nothing strikingly new or unusual among the fanciful embellishments for this year's Christmas tree, they are sufficiently satisfying and ornate to please the little men and women for whom they are intended, happy sojourners in the Land of Delusion.
      It is probably owing to the small box-like rooms that prevail in recently built houses and the growing popularity of flat-life that brought the diminutive tree into favor. At any rate, real and artificial trees from 24 inches to 1 yard high and from this height to the fast vanishing giant balm that ends unwillingly beneath the ceiling are all equally desirable according to recent advice.
      Every purchaser buys a tree best suited to the available space in his home. Children may trim and untrim small trees and so engage their time for days at a stretch, whereas with the usual size tree this is not possible. Besides, there is an economical side to the dwarf-like tree, which is vastly better than none at all, when a larger one proves too great a tax for a slender purse. The attendant annoyance of falling greens and the time required in trimming the trees are reduced to a minimum.
Babies underneath the tree in 1908.
      Small trees are also employed to bear the gifts for the children, which is even more fun than finding them under the tree.
      A number of very attractive shapes are shown in colored glass ornaments, besides the standard ones that have been doing service for many years. The coloring this year seems to be unusually brilliant, three or four hues often being combined in one piece. Many of the more expensive ones are hand-painted and rainbow tinted, with queer little spirals of gilt running over and around them.
      About a hundred and one different models for airships, some horizontally built, others like balloons swinging vertically, are in profuse assortment. These are mostly seen in a single color with spirals of gilt surrounding them. Boats, horns of plenty, besides hosts of others, may be added to the list. Many musical instruments are displayed alike in painted glass, with bright and dull finish.
      Bunches of grapes in gold, silver, green and purple glass are available from 5 cents to 1$, and must assuredly be included among the essential decorations.
      Miniature fans with the tops finished by frills of a plain color and enlivened with tinsel, ornate flowers, fancy heads and sparkling dust, are among the attractive novelties; these fans vary from three to six inches, the sticks are of gilt and silver paper, some of which are mounted on heavy cardboard.
      The Christmas fairy does not flourish in her undisputed sway today as she did when we were nursery enthusiasts. But she is the same ornate fluffy spangled lady, sometimes wearing frilled skirts of gold paper, again one of coarse lace with paper flowers and bits of tinsel and stars or one of cotton net standing out in a characteristic, bouffant fashion.
      Quite amusing are the little roly-poly decorations, dudes, Indians, clowns, dancing girls, besides those of the animal tribe, rabbits, dogs, cats, pigs, bears and what not, all fancifully garbed, with their bearing attached to swing on the tree.
      Both plain and crepe papers enter largely into the fanciful designs of all sorts. Very graceful indeed are the horns of plenty of embossed gold and paper filled with flowers, some of which support a fairy butterfly, glistening with vari-colored diamond dust.
1908, girls making ornaments for sale
      Large single flowers, the rose, chrysanthemum and sunflower, besides sprays are realistically designed in colored papers, their petals touched with gold and silver dust. Torpedo bonbons,
wishing bon bons gayly decorated with tinsel, fancy heads and flowers are fashioned of colored papers. These, it may be whispered, are not in the least difficult to make and very effective, and in white, scarlet, yellow, pale blue and pink make a good showing. I neglected to say that in some of the single flowers of crepe paper a little doll's face unexpected appears.
      Among the most effective novelties handled by several houses are those of varicolored beads, made up into unique little ornaments. Many of these are of pendent persuasion and occasionally combined with glass beads, as in air ships, for example.
      Strings of glistening glass beads and crystal shapes, some in one color shading from light to dark, again several colors alternating with each other, produce a most artistic effect when arranged in garland fashion. In pure white they catch and reflect light, like so many diamonds.
      Crystal or glass fringe in gracefully shaped oval pendants of varying color add a refined brilliancy to the tree as a whole that seems unmatched by any other medium of decoration. Marjorie

Ornaments From The Gilded Age 1870 - 1900: