Homes, Trades and Games of Long Ago · Drawing 35 of 40
The spinning top
The 19th century
In the nineteenth century, children already played with wooden tops. Wind a string around the top, launch it, and it spins on its point before falling.
Look together
What will the top do when it slows down?
An idea to try
Use a finger to trace the movement of a top spinning, leaning and stopping. Make up a little sound for each stage.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
The drawing evokes a game documented by an archaeological discovery in Montréal. In 2017, archaeologists found a nineteenth-century wooden top, iron tip and all, in the old latrines of the Petit Séminaire de Montréal, a college built by the Sulpicians from 1804 to 1807 for boys aged 8 to 21. Lost or thrown away between 1807 and 1870, it waited underground for more than a century. A top was launched by winding a string around it and pulling sharply: it spun balanced on its point before wobbling and falling.
Look at the point, the string on the floor and the motion lines. Ask your child to imagine what comes before and after the moment drawn; they can answer with words, a sound or a gesture. The drawing is original and does not copy the museum object.
Sources and illustration notes (1)
Original simplified illustration for colouring; not a historical document.
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. References identify the institution and the related lesson; some linked pages are in French.
- Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec — ToupieToupie de bois du 19e siècle, Montréal; jeu tournant sur sa pointe.
Source review: 2026-09-19. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.
