Weaving for the Little Folks

Paperboard box with chromolithograph lid, 7.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches. Box with some rubbing and wear, but stable and intact. Contains 9 completed mats and an additional assortment of cut strips. With original metal "needle" and double-sided sheet of printed directions. Milton Bradley No. 4213. no date given. The Strong National Museum of Play dates a similar Froebel-inspired novelty (Drawing Teacher, No. 4232) to 1867, and an Alamy database image of the lid is dated 1860s. However, in a search of 10 available MB catalogues published between 1872-1916, this particular title only appears in the 1907 "Milton Bradley Company's Catalogue of Games and Novelties" (p. 121). Although it's possible the catalog was marketing backstock, 1907 is the first and only dated appearance we could find (including searches through Bradley's "Kindergarten Review" and other education periodicals). Milton Bradley began manufacturing materials for Froebel's gifts after becoming acquainted with Elizabeth Peabody, educ