Oh, i think people have always had recreational activities in some form, but they were different in nature/scope. For example before music became industrialized, playing musical instruments and especially singing were much more common skills. People would sing to each other, to their family, to their animals, to themselves, in what little spare time there was, or at work. Imagine a workshop where people are singing instead of listening to the radio. Sometimes, singing would also set a common pace at the site of work. Also a lot of people knew a lot of little crafts that were less essential to their livelyhood. It sometimes had a utilitarian end, though they didn't make money on it. Carving spoons, embroidering shirts, drying immortelles for decoration, and whatnot.
(doesn't make it any less right that hobbies increased in span, seriousness and increased respectability among the concerned citizen types, along with the industrial development).
Interesting passage from wikipedia:
Quote:
The origins pursuits that others thought somewhat childish or trivial. However, as early as 1676 Sir Matthew Hale, in Contemplations Moral and Divine, wrote "Almost every person hath some hobby horse or other wherein he prides himself."[7] He was acknowledging that a "hobby horse" produces a legitimate sense of pride. By the mid 18th century there was a flourishing of hobbies as working people had more regular hours of work and greater leisure time. They spent more time to pursue interests that brought them satisfaction.[8] However, there was concern that these working people might not use their leisure time in worthwhile pursuits. "The hope of weaning people away from bad habits by the provision of counter-attractions came to the fore in the 1830s, and has rarely waned since. Initially the bad habits were perceived to be of a sensual and physical nature, and the counter attractions, or perhaps more accurately alternatives, deliberately cultivated rationality and the intellect."[9] The flourishing book and magazine trade of the day encouraged worthwhile hobbies and pursuits. The burgeoning manufacturing trade made materials used in hobbies cheap and was responsive to the changing interests of hobbyists.
The English have been identified as enthusiastic hobbyists, as George Orwell observed. "[A]nother English characteristic which is so much a part of us that we barely notice it … is the addiction to hobbies and spare-time occupations, the privateness of English life. We are a nation of flower-lovers, but also a nation of stamp-collectors, pigeon-fanciers, amateur carpenters, coupon-snippers, darts-players, crossword-puzzle fans. All the culture that is most truly native centres round things which even when they are communal are not official—the pub, the football match, the back garden, the fireside and the ‘nice cup of tea’.
A
hobby horse is a figurative expression, not a literal one, but stems from a hobbyhorse originally being a small ponyhorse (perhaps unfit for work).