From Life Magazine, December 5th, 1949:
"In 1946 a Negro schooteacher named Robert Blackburn produced a toy now
known as the Cradle Bounce, a kind of miniature punching bag to keep the
small baby enthralled as soon as he can stand up and swat with his arms..."
What the article didn't mention is that Mr. Blackburn graduated from
Oberlin College, which Wikipedia says is "...noteworthy for having been
the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit
female and black students."
From a 2005 Oberlin College Alumni Magazine article titled "Oberlin
Invents", from a list of inventors:
Robert S. Blackburn ’37
Designer of plastic books and other educational toys such as the Cradle Bounce, "a
lively creative toy for the baby’s pen."
I'm not so sure about the Baby Mozart or Baby Einstein stuff they push
at parents today, but nurturing a little baby Scissorhands or a baby
Skunk or a baby Ms. Deville is something I do believe in. You rock, Mr.
Blackburn! And so do the parents of this forum that have introduced
their children to the speed bag. From the historical record it appears
you can get 'em while they're still in diapers.
A vintage Cradle Bounce.
"In 1946 a Negro schooteacher named Robert Blackburn produced a toy now
known as the Cradle Bounce, a kind of miniature punching bag to keep the
small baby enthralled as soon as he can stand up and swat with his arms..."
What the article didn't mention is that Mr. Blackburn graduated from
Oberlin College, which Wikipedia says is "...noteworthy for having been
the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit
female and black students."
From a 2005 Oberlin College Alumni Magazine article titled "Oberlin
Invents", from a list of inventors:
Robert S. Blackburn ’37
Designer of plastic books and other educational toys such as the Cradle Bounce, "a
lively creative toy for the baby’s pen."
I'm not so sure about the Baby Mozart or Baby Einstein stuff they push
at parents today, but nurturing a little baby Scissorhands or a baby
Skunk or a baby Ms. Deville is something I do believe in. You rock, Mr.
Blackburn! And so do the parents of this forum that have introduced
their children to the speed bag. From the historical record it appears
you can get 'em while they're still in diapers.
A vintage Cradle Bounce.
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