Many Things to Make No. 523, 1931 McLoughlin Bros. Craft Book by Louise D. Tessin

Many Things to Make, No. 523, is a 1931 children's craft and activity book designed by Louise D. Tessin and published by McLoughlin Bros. of Springfield, Massachusetts. This large-format paperback features colorful illustrations, cutting patterns, and instructions for making decorative projects.

The covers retain their strong orange, blue, yellow, and green colors, while the interior pages show age toning and minor pencil markings. The activities have not been colored, cut out, or completed.

Published during the early Great Depression, activity books like this encouraged children to create toys, decorations, and useful objects from simple household materials. The uncut designs also preserve a charming record of the crafts children were encouraged to make at home.

Book Details

• Title: Many Things to Make
• Book Number: 523
• Designer: Louise D. Tessin
• Publisher: McLoughlin Bros., Inc.
• Publication Year: 1931
• Publisher Location: Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
• Format: Large-format illustrated paperback activity book
• Binding: Stapled paper binding
• Dust Jacket: None
• Pages: 24 unnumbered pages
• Genre: Children's Activities, Arts and Crafts
• Language: English
• ISBN: None
• Measurements: 13 x 9 3/4 inches

Inside the Book

The activities combine bold color illustrations with practical instructions for constructing decorative and useful objects.

Projects shown include:

• Colorful parrots with instructions for painting or cutting out the bird designs.
• Decorative wooden bookends with floral and butterfly patterns.
• Floral twine holders.
• A small wooden inkstand featuring a monkey design.
• Decorative telephone note pads with illustrated figures.
• Additional coloring, cutting, pasting, and construction activities.

The pages feature bright printed designs alongside instructions for making each project. Several activities include patterns intended to be transferred onto cardboard or wood.

The book's large pages and colorful illustrations make the original designs enjoyable to look through even without completing the projects.

Condition: Good Vintage Condition

Positives

• Graded Good: A vintage activity book with colorful original illustrations, intact construction patterns, and visible signs of age and handling.
• The front cover retains its bold orange and blue background with yellow lettering.
• The original cover illustration of two children and a dog remains colorful and clear.
• Interior illustrations retain strong orange, yellow, green, red, and blue colors.
• Activity designs have not been cut out.
• Printed illustrations have not been colored in.
• The illustrated project instructions remain readable.
• The large-format pages preserve the original printed craft patterns.

Issues and Wear

• General rubbing and handling wear on the covers.
• Light creasing and wear along the cover edges and corners.
• Age toning and yellowing throughout the interior pages.
• Pencil writing on the front cover, possibly a former owner's name.
• A handwritten 10-cent notation inside the front cover.
• Additional pencil and blue pencil markings on interior pages.
• Some printed designs show light pencil tracing or markings.
• Small spots and discoloration on some pages.
• Visible wear and small separations along the interior center fold near the staples.
• The paper shows the softness and age-related handling wear expected of an older activity booklet.

These signs of age are part of the book's history, while the colorful printed designs remain the main attraction.

For collectors of McLoughlin Bros. publications, early children's craft books, and illustrated paper ephemera, this 1931 booklet offers original uncut activity designs along with colorful period artwork. If it's the right copy for you, it's ready to come home.