We continue our review of the exhibition of our museum “Khrushchevka 60’s”.
Next in line is a baby carriage. Following the already established format of previously published articles, we begin with the history of the subject.
The history of the buggy is already written and not by me. I will only indicate the main stages in the evolution of this subject of everyday life. And the details can always be found on the Internet.
In ancient times, when there were no strollers, children wore in the arms in front, side or back in a special sling. More often in aprons, which called a hem. Hence the expression “Brought in the hem”. The hem was tied to the shoulder. New is well forgotten old. Moms of the 21st century call such a change – sling.
The well-known architect William Kent invented the wheelchair. The first wheelchair appeared at the court of William Cavendish 3rd Duke of Devonshire, the father of six children, who in 1733 ordered him a stroller for his children. Actually, it was not a stroller in our understanding, but a small children’s cart, which harnessed a goat or a pony.
The invention of Kent was appreciated, and soon the strollers spread among the higher layers of European society. At that time they were truly a work of art. The middle and lower classes could not afford to buy such an expensive car, and for more than a hundred years the stroller remained an incredible curiosity.
The whole further history of children’s carriages can be conditionally divided into several stages, which are connected, usually, with historical epochs and the activity of concrete inventors.
The golden time of the history of wheelchairs 1890s-1920s. On the one hand, strollers have already become an industrial goods, but on the other hand, they have preserved elements of exquisite art, and have not yet become a mass faceless consumer goods. They continued to be an object that could emphasize the social status of the family, because they were not available to everyone. Here is an example of such an emphasis, if you want – vanity, from 1915 – the world’s first parade of baby carriages in Esbury Park, New Jersey.
But that’s all they have … And what about the country of the Soviets? Before the advent of industrial prams, the Soviet people used the “strollers” of their own production – the Kulibins were full! Basically, these were wooden strollers or wickerwork from wicker rods. Wood and vine were cheap and affordable material, so poor people could make strolls from it.
If the master was not on the horizon – children just wore on their hands.
It is generally accepted that the industrial production of Soviet wheelchairs began approximately in 1949. On the orders of the USSR Government from Germany (… Remember the episode from the cult film: Shtrilits during the bombing helped the woman and rolled the wheelchair) was delivered a sample that was carefully measured, studied and in the likeness, began to produce the first Soviet models. In 1953, the Dubna machine-building plant began to produce wheelchairs in large quantities. About this period in the history of the plant the following is written:
“… For the production of consumer goods, the special building No. 105 was built at the plant, in which the main technological processes were mechanized and automated. Among the consumer goods, the main share was the production of baby carriages. Only from 1953 to 1990 they were released 4.5 million pieces. In 1989, the daily production of baby carriages reached a thousand pieces ”
In the sixties, which our exhibition illustrates, 50 workshops were opened for the production of “children’s transport” throughout the country. The first strollers were uncomfortable – they had a low landing and small wheels, were flimsy and cold because the body was made of metal. But the young mothers were probably incredibly happy that they had the opportunity to move with the baby.
In the history of the fine arts of the Soviet period, you can find many very touching examples (author’s stories). I believe Mom with the stroller was still a curiosity and for the artist served as a lyric object.
The design of baby carriages of that period in our country, judging by the photographs, did not differ in principle from foreign ones. Box, low wheels; differed only in the details of the decor and the handle.
In the mid-1960s a new type of stroller appeared – with a high fit, on large wheels, it was impossible to lie in such a stroller, but just sit back and lean back. Carriages of rectangular shape with low seating are still widely used, but there are wheelchairs with a high ground clearance. And the kid finally saw the world …
True, for many years they remained a large deficit. To buy a baby carriage, it was necessary to collect money, and then still register in the queue for her, from time to time nazvanivaya in the store and specifying the delivery time. When buying a certificate is required: showed a certificate of birth of a child – buy a stroller. Without a piece of paper, you are not a buyer, but with a piece of paper – father or grandfather.
My childhood of the 60’s passed without a vehicle either. For the answer I turned to my mother and that’s what I found out. The regional situation of the “wheelchair issue” was as follows: women carried a certificate from the polyclinic about pregnancy and only then they were recorded on the queue, which did not guarantee anything, at the local “Department store”. And it turned out that when the strollers went on sale and our “turn came” – I already stomped on my own. Conclusion – in the regional city of the USSR, the strollers were sold once a year!
One nuance: mothers of the sixties will understand – a pillow. A large pillow was necessary to place on the bottom of such a stroller and a thick quilt, so that the baby is not cold. The baby carriages did not protect at all from the cold – the curiosity … The frame of the stroller quite often bent just under the weight of the baby. Also there was no basket for things and springs. Such carriages will pass through all the sixties.
Only in the mid-1970s “children’s transport” ceased to be a rarity and was accessible to every Soviet family. However, the strollers of that time were made somehow and often broke. By the way, they were not afraid, as now, to leave unattended on the street or in the entrance.
Mom went to the store or a pharmacy and was sure that no one would pull her stroller, but without fail her “transport” needed an identification sign-a bow, a rattle, an inscription, etc. What for? In the USSR, all must be o-di-on-to-e-e. Everyone is equal or do not stand out! Easily, it was possible to bring home in the stroller is not his “screaming kulochek.”
However, this principle did not apply to everyone …
The granddaughter of the General Secretary is not all … Leonid Ilyich’s famous predilection for imported cars (of which his garage was counted to 349) was distributed, it seems, on all types of transport and for members of his family. A photograph of 1973, of course, staged; but in an imported wheelchair serenely asleep and still does not know anything about his future fate, his granddaughter …
And yet, the craving for imports was always and with the common people! Another thing – the possibilities.
Children’s imported strollers from the 70’s and 80’s were of fundamentally different materials, tall, light, on elegant and durable wheels. The real object of envy when meeting mom on a walk and the subject of quarrels with her husband. Where to get a velvet German stroller ?!
In the early 1980’s appeared on sale a very strange stroller, a trasformer, which has not caught on with the people. A plastic stroller was very light and could tip over with the baby. Due to the fact that they had to be folded and folded, they quickly went out of order, except for that they were low (they looked like poor carriages of the 60’s) and were lost in flight, rejected by mother’s caring hearts.
How joked the unforgettable A. Raikin – “Money is – there is no good, the goods are – there is no money”. So it was in the early 1990’s, but the baby carriages could already be bought excellent: the production of the GDR, Poland, Finland, Czechoslovakia. Expensive, but convenient …
There were intermediate models of strollers in the early 2000s: skaldnye, stroller-walking sticks, but the practical use of these caused a lot of criticism due to the flabbiness of the structures.
The life experience of moms of all time proves – the stroller must be strong and functional!
For the sake of completeness, I can not remain silent about the modern carriages that designers create for the heirs of indecently rich people. Both examples of me, personally, impressed me …
This creation of designers GrahamRichardson and AlisonMurfet is covered with 24-carat gold, and inside it is covered with blue satin and fur with an ermine. In a wheelchair worth 12 thousand dollars, a special musical mechanism is built in, losing lulling melodies.
Read more: https: //lady.tut.by/news/life/392835
And these strollers are made in Germany exclusively by hand. The hood, cradle and walking stroller are made of genuine leather.
Read more: https: //lady.tut.by/news/life/392835
And another version of the modern exclusivity, which seemed very controversial to me. Stroller-suitcase. So in the luggage you can turn over the child, mistakenly …
At the beginning of this article mentioned a kind of vanity fair in 1915 – a parade of baby carriages. Similar street processions, it turns out, are also taking place in the former post-Soviet space, including in Belarus. Vanity in these parades is not observed, but patriotism and humor are noticeable! Judge for yourself.
For the sake of justice, it should be mentioned that at all stages of the evolution of the wheelchair, adults did not forget to design wheelchairs-toys for the eternal role-playing game “Daughters-Mothers”. These are mini-copies of real children’s transport of different years.
In our apartment-exhibition “Khrushchevka 60’s” a baby carriage is also there, to be honest – this is the only item in the 1971 exhibition. The carriage of the VM-210 model appeared on the basis of the Votkinsk Machine-Building Plant and for a long time was the personification of family well-being, and the plant became the leader in the production of baby carriages.
I do not lose hope that in somebody’s attic or basement there still lives a baby carriage of the 60s. Such as in the photo.
Dear residents of our city Lida!
Help me find such a miracle for our “quartet of the ’60s.”
Feedback on the phone. 52-13-91 from 9.00 to 18.00 (except Monday)
Here is such a touching look at the “children’s transport”.
For illustration, materials from the funds of our museum, as well as those found on the Internet, were used.
Request to INEQUAL to this topic residents of our city Lida: share photos from personal archives, which are made against the background of interiors of the 60’s. Scan and return with gratitude!
