Black Haired Girl Making Soap Bubbles Down By The Lake

Use in play
17th century Flemish paintings show children blowing bubbles with clay pipes. This means that bubbles as playthings are at least 400 years old. The London based firm of A. & F. Pears created a famous advertisement campaign for its soaps in 1886 using a painting by Millais of a child playing with bubbles. A Chicago company called Chemtoy began selling bubble solution in the 1940s, and they have been popular with children ever since. According to one industry estimate, retailers sell around 200 million bottles annually, perhaps more than any other toy.