The 1800s was a time of exploration and frontiersmen, with millions of immigrants who came from other countries.  They each brought with them their different cultures and experiences.  There were few if any formal schools, so literature and music was mainly passed-on and learned through oral traditions.  It was the social and economic organization, climate and access to tools that played a major role in the lives of these people. Through hardships and challenges, children’s play and their pretend world for learning prevailed in the games, dolls, and musical toys evidenced throughout this century.

In the 1850s, tramp art was particularly popular and easy to make, appealing to anyone who had a desire to take a pocketknife to wood. Children’s rattles soon became part of this art form that resurfaced in popularity decades latter during the Depression.  Whistles, rattles, drums, music boxes, bells and singing were all a part of the sounds of children’s play and learning in the 1800s America.