Production and sale of handicraft toys by Russian Zemstvos

Ugryumova Mariya Viktorovna ORCID: 0000-0001-5717-9214 PhD in History Associate Professor; Department of Documentation, History of State and Law; TRTU MIREA 119331, Russia, Moscow, Moscow, Kravchenko str., 8, sq. 322 mugruymova@mail.ru

Fomenko Marina Viktorovna ORCID: 0000-0003-0986-2312 PhD in Philosophy Moscow, Pogonny, 11, sq. 63 107150, Russia, Moscow, Moscow, Pogonny ave., 11, sq. 63 maryform@mail.ru

Exhibitions of handicraft achievements have become popular again in modern Russia (the Ladya Exhibition and Fair, the Russia exhibition and Forum, regional exhibitions), as in the historical periods of the Russian Empire (provincial and All-Russian handicraft, industrial and art exhibitions) and the Soviet Union (the All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft Industrial Exhibition, "Exhibition of achievements of the national economy"). Exhibition and fair activities are currently being actively promoted and organized by federal and regional authorities. A special place at such exhibitions has always been occupied by local handicrafts, which represented the history and culture of the most diverse territories of Russia.  In this regard, it is important and interesting to turn to the history of the organization by the local (zemstvo) authorities of one of the handicrafts – a folk toy, which is still worthily and vividly represented at exhibitions as folk traditions of the Russian regions.

The zemstvos paid their attention to handicraft production in general, and to toys in particular, in different ways, this process depended on the ability to distribute finances and conduct artisanal business, develop individual artisanal areas, on the availability of craftsmen and teachers, entrepreneurs and product sales centers. At the beginning of the twentieth century, museums, workshops and exhibitions supported by zemstvo self-government bodies, provincial and imperial authorities took a special place in the development of artisanal production areas (including toys).

The issues of handicrafts of the Russian zemstvo, the exhibition activities of zemstvos for handicraft production have recently been the subject of attention of researchers ^[1-4]. 

The history of exhibition and fair activities in Russia at different times attracted the attention of a number of historians, local historians, teachers, cultural scientists and artists, administrators ^[5-8]. From the end of the 19th century to the present day, the attention of a number of authors has been focused on the handicraft toy and its place in the exhibition space ^[9-18].

Basically, the production of zemstvo handicraft toys in the second half of the XIX century was supported by the Moscow provincial Zemstvo as a fading industry, which became possible thanks to the activities of individual craftsmen and artists who had enterprising ties with local authorities. In 1883, the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo, participating in the All-Russian Artistic and Industrial exhibition, showed the entire handicraft industry of the Moscow province. At the same time, the work of the exhibition revealed that the business with folk crafts is far from being in the best position, most of the products are of poor quality and in a small assortment.

On May 9, 1885, the zemstvo authorities of the Moscow province established the Handicraft Trade and Industrial Museum, which coordinated the work of artisans throughout the province and even a number of settlements in neighboring provinces. The Zemstvo made decisions to open loans for artisans, and at the museum - to organize the work of cooperative artels and warehouses; the museum also participated in organizing the process of providing artisans with high-quality and cheap material for their products.

At the end of the XIX century, an art and industrial school was established with its educational toy workshop in Troitse-Sergiev Posad (the largest center of toy production), where already in 1903 fifteen to seventeen craftsmen worked at the same time and dozens of teenage students (who reached the age of twelve) from the children of artisans of the Posad and neighboring villages studied for free for four years. At first, the workshop ordered various kinds of materials and samples of toys from European countries and Moscow (the Central State Historical Archive (hereinafter CGIA) of Moscow. F. 184. Op.4. d.409. l.5 vol.). A legend has been preserved that St. Sergius of Radonezh himself carved simple wooden toys and presented them to children who came to him (Moscow Provincial Zemstvo on the half-century anniversary of the founding of zemstvo institutions (1864-1914). Compiled by: member of the Moscow provincial zemstvo Council S.K. Rodionov. M., 1917. 116 p.)

At the turn of the century, the masters of Sergiev Posad district, with the help of the provincial zemstvo, combined their work with the Abramtsevo art and carpentry workshop, when they jointly decorated the Russian Pavilion of the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 with decorative carvings and presented a joint assortment of goods (toys, caskets, shelves, cabinets) (Report of the Main Committee on the Device of the Handicrafts Department and needlework of Russia at the World Exhibition in Paris on its activities in the period from January 8, 1899 to March 12, 1902 St. Petersburg., 1907. 40 p.)  

Later, the zemstvo opened an art carpentry workshop in Sergiev Posad with a drawing class, which was headed by the zemstvo figure Vladimir Ivanovich Borutsky and the artist Vladimir Ivanovich Sokolov. The skillful involvement of artisans in the work allowed 250 craftsmen to cooperate with zemstvo workshops. V.I. Borutsky, the owner of business and organizational skills and experience, attracting the most talented craftsmen, increased operations for the sale of toys, expanded sales markets, laid the foundation for strong relations with Western firms. Borutsky, as an active leader, interacted with the provincial zemstvo on an ongoing basis, rationally providing information about the workshop, areas of activity, craftsmen, turnover of income and expenses. Thus, in a note by V.I. Borutsky sent to the Moscow provincial zemstvo, it appears that in 1892 the turnover of the workshop amounted to 2,500 rubles, and in 1904 it was already 88,736 rubles, of which 48,036 rubles were only toys, in the subsequent period the workshop sold toys in the amount of 55-57 thousand rubles annually. For fifteen years of work, the workshop has produced more than a thousand samples of toys (TSGIA of Moscow. F. 184. Op.4. d.409. l.4, 8).

The workshop management understood the need to expand the framework of the toy workshop throughout its entire existence, giving the zemstvo weighty arguments. Firstly, the main problem was the insufficient number of workshop areas: lack of premises for receiving and releasing materials and goods, placement of exhibition copies of toys and their parts; lack of equipped places for the production of pilot copies of toys, because craftsmen worked in the main rooms to fulfill large-scale orders; lack of equipment and areas for working with drawings by artists whose works were the basis for the creation of toys (works by Bartram, Goloushev, Sheremetevsky, Oveshkov) the absence of a room for office work, settlements with artisans (Central State Library of Moscow. F. 184. Op.4. d.409. L. 4 vol.). Secondly, the growth in the number of pilgrims and tourists to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra raised the demand for toys not only educational, but also souvenir. Thirdly, the international and domestic exhibition activities of the zemstvo for handicraft production required special attention to the toy. Turning to the zemstvo, Borutsky, in his letter to the zemstvo, immediately suggested ways to solve the problem, for example, to send petitions for help organizing the work of the workshop to the Lavra.

There is a constant desire on the part of the workshop management to pay attention to the education of students in terms of technical knowledge (according to the Austrian and German models), drawing, sketching, wood carving, working with paper and cardboard. Borutsky advocated that the children study not only the subjects of the general course of the zemstvo school, but also have the opportunity to additionally improve their knowledge and skills in specialized libraries and museums.   

In 1891, the existence of the workshop itself and its successful activities owe much to Sergei Timofeevich Morozov, who was a trustee of the Moscow Handicraft Museum.

In 1904 In Moscow, the toy workshop of A.I. Mamontov stopped working at the Children's Education store, and its rich assortment was bought for its workshop by the Sergiev Posad district zemstvo, including the famous matryoshka doll, for which the zemstvo workshop soon received an order to produce a decent batch. Zemstvo artists and craftsmen were forced to learn turning, which allowed the assortment of matryoshka dolls to grow quickly, and more than twenty types of folding dolls were presented in the price list of the zemstvo workshop in 1911.  

The whole history of the zemstvo toy of the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo is inextricably linked with the zemstvo, art and museum activities of Nikolai Dmitrievich Bartram. Born into an artist's family, Bartram has been involved in folk art and creative issues for children since childhood (illustrated children's books, designed models of ethnographic and educational folk toys, etc.). Later, studying toys in the factory and handicraft industry, N.D. Bartram visited a number of centers of the toy industry in Western Europe (Nuremberg, Saxony, Switzerland and other territories). Throughout his career, Bartarm actively promoted folk toys (including the peoples of Russia); gave lectures; collaborated with artists and teachers, collectors and masters of folk art, local zemstvo authorities and the public. Since 1906, N.D. Bartram joined the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo as an artist.

The years 1906-1917 became the most productive for the Moscow provincial Zemstvo on the part of N.D. Bartram. During this period, he headed the artistic part of the Handicraft Museum of the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo; collaborated as an author and editor in the famous publications of I.D. Sytin, A.A. Levenson, brothers M. and S. Sabashnikov, A.A. Bobrinsky; studied museum business, the history of toys, organized art and industrial exhibitions at the Handicraft Museum (for example, the 1906 exhibition "How toys are made", 1908 exhibition "Art in the life of a child").

In 1910, at the Handicraft Museum, the Moscow Zemstvo opened a department of samples (the museum of samples), the purpose of which was to help toy artisans preserve the authentic features of folk art and popularize the best samples for production. In its organizational structure, the Handicraft Museum itself consisted of three departments: the art department (whose main function was to work with artisans and applied artists, the introduction of new designs, product quality issues and the organization of exhibitions) was headed by N.D. Bartram; the economic department (engaged in the study of handicrafts, including handicraft toys, statistics with the cooperation of artisans in the artel) was under the supervision of the oldest employee of the cooperative, E.P. Petrov; the commercial department (organized work within the country and abroad) was headed by S.K. Baker.

The building for the Handicraft Museum (along with the museum of samples, its own store and warehouse) was specially bought by philanthropist Sergei Timofeevich Morozov, located in Moscow in Leontievsky Lane. Communication with the artisans was carried out through the store, which was located on the ground floor of the building, and in the huge basement of the building there was a warehouse of finished products, which were sent to all cities of Russia and abroad. The warehouse occupied a special place in the entire chain of production, storage, distribution and marketing of goods. The head of the warehouse was I.I. Sokolsky, under whose leadership the artel of packers worked, the acceptance of finished goods and its shipment to customers was organized. The heads of all three departments worked closely with the warehouse and, in any controversial issues of compliance with artistic skill and quality, always took part in their solution.

Cooperating with the Artisanal Museum and handing over their goods to Leontievsky was a very responsible and authoritative matter for artisans (Izergina A.N. About my father, the artist N.D. Bartram // Bartram N.D. Selected articles. The memory of the artist, M.: Soviet Artist, 1979. pp.61-143.). Bartram was proud that in the halls of the museum there were toys created by people who did not learn to draw, draw, sculpt specifically, but lived in the bosom of nature, skillfully transferring its beauty into the creation of toys. Bratram and his colleagues talked about this at their lectures, excursions, as well as the store clerk Felicata Nikolaevna Sukhova, who knew all the subtleties of each master's toy, as well as the classification of zemstvo toys (toys that are played; toys that narrate; souvenir toys; toys that teach). Until 1999, the museum continued to perform its functions under various names and to be located in its building.

A Special Commission for the promotion of handicrafts of nationalities and territories of Russia functioned at the Handicraft Museum of the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo.

Separately, Bartram encouraged the work of Bogorodsky craftsmen who worked closely with the zemstvo. Located not far from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where people from all over the country went on a pilgrimage, the village of Bogorodskoye became a supplier not only of crosses and icons, but also toys for children, which pilgrims bought with great joy for their relatives. Bogorodsky craftsmen preferred to work with the zemstvo on the issue of product sales in families where eight-year-old children were already confidently and skillfully carving wood products with a knife. For a hundred wooden soldiers, which were most often carved by children, the zemstvo paid 8 kopecks. Each family, as a rule, created their own toy and called it "cathedral", which meant the participation of the whole family in its carving: the father cut the most difficult part, the children cut small parts and drilled holes. Individual families specialized in toys – birds and animal toys (Boblovkins, Pronins), toys-human figures (Chushkins), toys-houses and toys - farms (Barashkovs).

Bogorodsky artisan toy makers had a special attitude to their ideas and the creation of toys. In the memoirs of Bartram's daughter, there is information that often, before creating a toy, it was important for the master to go through a ceremony similar to going to church (to wash in the bath and put on clean clothes) and communion, and only after that the master began to create. Bartram recognized that copying samples of toys from the West and stories from overseas children's magazines hindered the development of creativity of local craftsmen, even harmed the creative development of Bogorodsky artisan (Izergina A.N. About my father, the artist N.D. Bartram // Bartram N.D. Selected articles. The memory of the artist, M.: Soviet Artist, 1979. p. 114].   

Later, like most Zemstvo figures, Bartram joined the service of Soviet state institutions, where he continued to initiate activities in the field of folk art and children's toys. 

The cooperation of the Handicraft Museum, except for the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo, was most often observed with the zemstvos of Vyatka, Nizhny Novgorod, Kostroma and other provinces, and was related to the sale of products and the study of the experience of craftsmen. At the beginning of the XX century, the handicraft Museum functioned as a serious organization for its time, the staff included specialists in individual crafts, artisanal equipment and vocational education agents, heads of departments (toy department, basket department, packing box department, women's needlework department, etc.), curators of museum samples, art instructors, accounting service. On average, the salary of museum staff was 1,200-2,000 rubles, heads of departments - up to 3,000 rubles (Central State Museum of Moscow. F. 184. Op.4. d.373. l.1-4 vol.; d. 304. L.4-13.).

Attention is drawn to the accuracy of the office management of the Handicraft Museum in matters of registration of the issuance of materials and goods (invoices), payment of artisans, salaries to employees; participation in exhibitions, and mailing of goods within the country and abroad. The museum's brand is read, among other things, in the forms of each department, and the forms for sending goods abroad, which contain the opportunity to enter information in part of the customs declaration from the museum, where all items are indicated in Russian and French (address, name of attachments, weight) (TSGIA of Moscow. F. 184. Op.4. d. 304. l.4-13.). The museum printed its price lists with the conditions of shipment and payment of goods. This is how some prices attract attention: a set of furniture for dolls (table, sofa, two armchairs) – 1 rub. 60 kopecks; a handbag for a doll – 40 kopecks. All goods were carefully and securely packed and sent to the buyer (TSGIA of Moscow. F. 184. Op.4. d. 304. l.29.).    

Thanks to the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo, the production of handicraft toys was optimized quickly enough, and participation in exhibitions allowed us to respond to current requests. The experience of the central zemstvo was studied by local governments of other Russian territories; in this regard, the birth of new toy crafts began: nesting dolls, dolls in national costumes, movable toys with wheels, miniature dolls, doll furniture and others. The organization of the production of handicraft toys by zemstvos laid the foundation for the assortment of toy artels and factories not only in Sergiev Posad, but throughout Russia. Similar workshop schools were organized by zemstvos in the Vologda, Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod provinces, and artels and workshops were created one by one on the territory of the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo itself: "Toy sculptors", "Doll dressers" and others.      

Exhibitions have definitely taken a central place in the popularization of artisanal toys supported by the zemstvos, even though the organizers of the exhibitions were put in the unenviable position of charging a high fee for participation. The Moscow provincial Zemstvo and Bartram personally have repeatedly tried to resolve this issue in various ways. For example, Bartram gave lectures in the Passage hall on Nevsky Prospekt on the topic "Toys in connection with artistic education" and attracted the media, which printed notes and articles about the zemstvo handicraft toy, and the weekly magazine Ogonyok in November 1908 wrote about Bartram not only as an employee of the Zemsky museum, but also as a master who presented a collection of ethnographic toys made by craftsmen (supported by the Zemstvo) according to their sketches (Exhibition of art in the life of a child, in the halls of the Passage in St. Petersburg // Ogonek, 1908, No. 48. St. Petersburg, 1908. pp. 10-12.).

At the 1908 exhibition "A Toy in the life of a Child" Bartram was awarded a gold medal. A year later, in November 1909, the Handicraft Museum of the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo hosted the exhibition "Russian Toy of the Past", in which Bartarm tried to draw attention to the importance of toys in the upbringing of children and the state of the entire toy industry in Russia.

At the initiative of Bartram, the Handicraft Museum, back in the late 19th century, appealed to the leadership of the Russian Museum, the provincial zemstvo boards of the Vyatka, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod provinces, public associations and individuals who had rare and valuable collections of toys of the peoples of Russia. The zemstvos responded to such a call from the museum and Bartram. So, in 1890, the Vyatka Zemstvo sent three dozen clay Dymkovsky toys to the Kazan Scientific and Industrial Exhibition, which contains information about three Vyatka craftswomen: Avdotya Andreevna Shvetsova, Natalia Antonovna Mikulina (Nikulina), Agrofena Timofeevna Latenitsina.

In 1896, the XVI All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, personally financed by Emperor Nicholas II and was the largest exhibition in pre-revolutionary Russia, hosted the tenth department of the "Art and Industrial" and the eleventh department of the exhibition "Handicrafts", including artisanal toy craftsmen sent by zemstvos from all over the country. Specially built according to the project of V.V. Suslov, the cruciform wooden building of about seventy-five meters in the middle had a high rotunda, and at the entrance on the sides of the turret in the Russian style (the XVI All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod in 1896. Exhibition plan and description of the exhibition pavilions. Compiled by the technical bureau of the process engineer N.P. Melnikov. Odessa, 1896. 96 p.).

It is worth noting that the handicraft department has never been so exhibited as at the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition of 1896. The handicraft Museum began its preparations for the exhibition in a year and a half, which it notified the organizers and the Moscow Provincial Council, actively participated in thematic meetings of the chairmen of the county councils and the economic bureau of the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo. Zemstvos from all over the province sent toys of their masters in special boxes, with a full description, to the address of the warehouse of the Handicraft Museum (TSGIA of Moscow. F.184. Op.4. d. 68. l.1, 9).

Of course, on the scale of the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition of 1896, the toy, compared with other handicrafts, was presented very modestly, but, nevertheless, the indexes contain information about the presented products of individual masters of the Vyatka Zemstvo, Nizhny Novgorod Zemstvo and the Museum of the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo (General index of the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition of 1896 in Nizhny Novgorod. 1st edition. Moscow: Tipo-litogr. Most highly approved. "The Russian Press and Publishing House. affairs", 1896. 646 p.)

 Toys were supplied to the exhibition from all over the country, the work of hotel artisans was especially noted. So, eighteen toys were presented by Vyatka craftswoman Dymkovskaya (Dymkovo village, now Kirov district) toys Anna Afanasyevna Mezrina (Nikulina). In the index of the Vyatka handicraft department, the name of A.A. Mezrina (1853-1938) is mentioned as the name of the very first Dymkovo craftswoman, whose work became so widely known in pre-revolutionary and Soviet Russia (Index to the exhibits of the Vyatka handicraft department at the All-Russian exhibition of 1896 in Nizhny Novgorod. Vyatka: Vyatka provincial Zemstvo, 1896. 99 p.).

The first teacher of the craftswoman, as in most families engaged in handicraft business, were Mezrina's grandmother, mother and older sisters.

A detailed index of the Nizhny Novgorod Exhibition of 1896 states that toy production was mainly concentrated in the Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir provinces. Moscow, with the warehouse of the Artisanal Museum of the Moscow Zemstvo, was the main folding place for toys for Russia. All toy manufacturers in the country numbered from two to three thousand people, and the annual profit was up to 500,000 rubles nationwide (A detailed index of the departments of the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition in 1896 in Nizhny Novgorod. Department XI. Handicrafts. M.: Tipo-litogr. Most highly approved. "The Russian Press and Publishing House. affairs", 1896. 23 p.).  

The toys presented at the exhibition were created from a variety of materials, often provided by zemstvos, and with the use of various techniques: paper, mastic, wood (carved, turning, carpentry), bast, metal, textile, clay, mixed. For the most part, the products were made roughly, which is why they were quite cheap and were available to the poorest segments of the population, although expensive toys were also observed, qualitatively made by masters of the Moscow Zemstvo. In addition, all toy products were presented within the framework of handicrafts and artistic crafts of the exhibition, which often contributed to their isolation and loss in the overall scale of the event. The engineers of the exhibition recognized that "the zemstvo toy, as a commodity, is very inconvenient - due to its high cost, it cannot find mass sale" and the reason for this was the organization of the sale of goods by zemstvo workshops, the lack of originality in the novelty of the toy and, of course, prices (for example, a wooden rooster – 1 rub., and a ceramic pig – 40 kopecks. // Filippov N.A. Handicraft industry in the exhibits of the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition. Moscow: Printing house of K.A. Kaznacheev, 1896. 22 p.).

The work of the Artisanal Museum of the Moscow Zemstvo in Nizhny Novgorod was criticized in the press already during the exhibition for "cheating" foreign toys and for its high cost, while the zemstvo toys of other territories were marked differently. For example, "Vyatka fly" (at a price of 5 kopecks), as an original fun that the children of the capital did not see; dolls in national costumes, construction games, chests with biryulki – as original miniatures of domestic Russian life. The criticism was adopted by the museum in further areas of activity.   

In 1913, the II All-Russian Handicraft Exhibition was held in St. Petersburg, where 253 medals were immediately awarded to Semenovskaya toy, supported by the Nizhny Novgorod Zemstvo. In addition, the Nizhny Novgorod Zemstvo at the exhibition showed a wooden household toy (sleighs, carts, plows, harrows, barrels, etc. master Makar Shutov was awarded a commendatory list of the Nizhny Novgorod Zemstvo). The Vyatka Zemstvo presented wicker toys (master Berezkin Ivan Maksimovich), wooden turning toys (master Orchemkina Ekaterina Alekseevna, papier-mache toys (toy educational workshop of the Vyatka provincial Zemstvo)

Orchemkina Ekaterina Alekseevna showed wooden turning toys, with an annual production of 400 rubles, of which 100 rubles were given by the Vyatka provincial Zemstvo board from an artisanal warehouse, it was necessary to hand over the manufactured toy goods to the warehouse. The craftswoman had a foot lathe, and three people worked under her. In the catalog of the II All-Russian Handicraft Exhibition, there is information that Orchemkina's toys were awarded: at the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition of 1896 (with a certificate of commendation and a prize of 15 thousand rubles); at the Traveling Exhibition – with a commendation sheet; at the Kazan exhibition - with a large silver medal (All-Russian Handicraft Exhibition. Index of the Second All-Russian handicraft exhibition in St. Petersburg in 1913, organized by the General Directorate of Land Management and Agriculture / GUZ and Z. 1913. St. Petersburg: Anchor, 1913. 788 p.).

The toy educational workshop of the Vyatka provincial Zemstvo presented at the exhibition papier-mache toys and textbooks for their manufacture of toys with annual production of one thousand rubles, made from materials purchased in the artisanal warehouse of the provincial zemstvo in the amount of 400 rubles.  The workshop has existed since 1900, it employed twelve students and one intern and already had a silver medal from the First Agricultural Handicraft and Industrial Exhibition in Sarapul in 1907 and a small gold medal from the Kazan Exhibition of 1909 (All-Russian Handicraft Exhibition. Index of the Second All-Russian handicraft exhibition in St. Petersburg in 1913, organized by the General Directorate of Land Management and Agriculture / GUZ and Z. 1913. St. Petersburg: Anchor, 1913. 788 p.).

The II All-Russian Handicraft Exhibition in St. Petersburg in 1913 presented handicraft toys, the production and supply of which were organized by other zemstvos: Perm provincial zemstvo (toys of the master A.I. Komelin); Kazan provincial Zemstvo (toy steamer, master A.M. Sinitsyn, toys from the commercial and industrial handicraft warehouse of the Kazan provincial Zemstvo); Tambov provincial Zemstvo (wooden toys of the master E.F. Vdyukov);  Vladimir provincial Zemstvo (collections of various handicraft toys by the masters of Bogorodskaya village) (All-Russian handicraft exhibition. Index of the Second All-Russian handicraft exhibition in St. Petersburg in 1913, organized by the General Directorate of Land Management and Agriculture / GUZ and Z. 1913. St. Petersburg: Anchor, 1913. 788 p.).

Of course, the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo presented its toy on the largest scale at the exhibition in St. Petersburg. The exhibition presented a collection of handicraft toy makers from Sergiev Posad with an annual production of 20,000 rubles; collapsible toys (master N.F. Grachev, Zvenigorodsky District); burnt wood-painted toys (master V.A. Chvatov with his family and an employee, master R.S. Busygin); stucco toys (master I.M. Moskvin (All-Russian handicraft exhibition. Index of the Second All-Russian handicraft exhibition in St. Petersburg in 1913, organized by the General Directorate of Land Management and Agriculture / GUZ and Z. 1913. St. Petersburg: Anchor, 1913. 788 p.).

The importance of exhibitions for the development of production and sales markets of handicraft toys presented by zemstvos from all over the country was obvious. If we consider that at the end of the XIX — beginning of the XX centuries, about 15-20 different exhibitions were organized annually in Russia, then at least the public got acquainted with the exhibited products, new markets for toy goods were found, new inventive designs were put into practice, toy samples improved in the fight against competitors, similar (in terms of production technique) toys forced in their activities, the masters come closer.

Studying the experience of the Moscow Provincial Zemstvo in terms of activities and the Sergiev Posad workshop, zemstvos of other territories began to focus their attention not only on exhibition activities, the issue of organizing schools and workshops for the production of toys was also important. Zemstvo handicraft workshops (educational and industrial) and schools functioned in a number of provinces of the Russian Empire, but only periodic active toy production was observed at schools. In 1916, the Nizhny Novgorod Zemstvo in Semyonov sent master Georgy Petrovich Matveev to create a school of artistic wood processing (HOD), and the educational workshop of the Kursk provincial Zemstvo was opened by N.D. Bartram himself.

During its half century, the Moscow Zemstvo organized the production of a wide variety of toys made of paper and mastic, wood and metal, porcelain and mixed materials and extended its experience to other territories. Wooden turning toys were mainly created in about twelve villages of Podolsk district, five villages of Zvenigorod district and, of course, in Sergiev Posad. The center of production of porcelain toys was the village of Novo-Kharitonovo in the Gzhel parish of Bronnitsky district. The focus of the creation of metal toys was the Olginskaya and Ilyinskaya volosts of the Dmitrovsky district. Paper, mastic, wooden carved toys, as well as toys made of different materials, were distributed in Sergiev Posad and a dozen more settlements and villages in the neighborhood. The main place of sale was Moscow and large Russian cities (St. Petersburg, Kharkov, Kiev, Odessa, Nizhny Novgorod), as well as shopping centers in England, Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Turkey, the "Slavic lands", America. The cost of the toy product, which was created by artisans of the Moscow province, reached 900,000 rubles a year by the fiftieth anniversary of the zemstvo.

From the mid-80s of the XIX century. before the Bolsheviks came to power, many zemstvos supported handicrafts, including toys, even though the share of crafts in the economy was only decreasing. The popularization of the "a la rus" style by Emperor Alexander III himself did not ignore the folk toy, there was public interest in native history and culture throughout the country, which fueled artists and artisans in the development of toy samples, which allowed them to convey, among other things, the peculiarities of national self-expression of the peoples who inhabited Russia. In the works of toy artisans, the zemstvo supported especially the creation of those products based on their own national trend. The Zemstvo promoted the toy industry, which was expressed: in taking care of organizing the improvement of technology and increasing the volume of toy production; in organizing the sale of goods and the supply of raw materials to craftsmen; in creating cooperative partnerships and artels of toy craftsmen.