 |
|
|
1840 - Silk
merchant, John Kirby Farnell, established business, made small
household items (pin cushions, tea cosies);
1906 -
manufactured first British teddy bear (source for
Winnie-the-Pooh, bear received by Christopher Robin as gift from
his mother, Dorothy Milne, for his first birthday in 1921);
1934 - premises
destroyed by fire; 1940
- premises destroyed by bombing;
1960s - ceased operations;
1996 - Farnell name taken over by
Merrythought.
1859 - Tin
smith Theodor Friedrich Wilhelm Märklin began making doll's
house accessories of lacquered tinplate;
March 1, 1888 - Eugen Märklin, Karl
Märklin founded unlimited trading company, incorporated parents'
business into it; 1891
- took over Ludwig Lutz tinplate toy factory in Ellwangen,
Germany (products prized for decades at home, abroad because of
their beauty); introduced first system railroad (windup
locomotive with cars, expandable track system);
1892 - renamed
Märklin Bros. & Co.; Emil Friz, of Plochingen, became joint
owner; offered whole layout system, at Leipzig Spring Fair,
which could be added to piece by piece, with rails of gauge
which enabled degree of standardization;
May 1, 1907 - Richard Safft joined
company as partner; 1908
- renamed Märklin Bros. & Cie;
1924 - introduced customer catalogues;
1914 - 600
employees; 1923 -
Fritz Märklin (son) joined company;
1926 - introduced 20-volt system; safe
for children; Max Scheerer (son-in-law) became third managing
director; 1929 -
900 employees; 1930s
- became market leader (Bing company ceased toy production);
1935 - Fritz took
over; compact dimensions allowed complete layouts as table top
railroads; available as ready-integrated system;
1948-1955 -
produced freight cars under this method;
1938 - first fully functional catenary
included additional, independently controlled track circuit;
1947 - Herbert
Safft (son) took over as managing director;
1950 - manufacture
of "wide-tracks" in lacquered tinplate stopped; ended tinplate
era; 1958 - TELEX
coupler for switch engines enabled remote controlled uncoupling
anywhere on layout; January 12,
1971 - Gebr. Marklin & Cie, GmbH registered "Marklin"
trademark first used in 1919 (building material for mechanical
toys, toy electric railways and building materials for making
the same, etc.); 1984
- launched Märklin Digital, digital signal processing with
electronic receiver circuits in each locomotive; made
independent, multi-train operation possible;
1985 - established
Märklin Club of North America; two-year production stage for
locos and cars; 2006
- acquired by Kingsbridge Capital Advisors.
Theodor Friedrich Wilhelm Märklin
and family - Marklin Inc.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/thumb/1/15/M%C3%A4rklin-family.jpg/98px-M%C3%A4rklin-family.jpg)
1860 - Milton
Bradley, draftsman and lithographer in Springfield, MA, invented
game, "The Checkered Game of Life"; April 3, 1866
- received patent for a "Social Game" ("called the 'checkered
game of life'...and is intended to forcibly impress upon the
minds of youth the great moral principles of virtue and vice");
May 22, 1866 - Lewis
Bradley and Milton Bradley, of Springfield, MA, received a
patent for "Improvement in Croqueterie" ("combination of arch
and sockets to form a croquet bridge or arch...iron croquet
bridge or arch coated with zinc, tin or other similar
metal...painting croquet-balls in which the light balls are
designated by black or dark stripes and the dark balls by white
or light stripes").
1864
- Joseph Binney founded Peekskill Chemical Works, in
Peekskill, NY (produced charcoal, lamp black); 1885
- Edwin (son), C. Harold Smith (nephew) formed partnership,
Binney & Smith (early products: red oxide pigment used in barn
paint, carbon black for car tires); 1902 -
introduced first dustless school chalk (won gold medal at St.
Louis World Exposition); incorporated as Binney & Smith Company;
1903 - produced first box of eight Crayola
crayons, sold for a nickel (Crayola name, coined by Edwin
Binney's wife Alice, came from "craie," French word for chalk,
"ola," from "oleaginous"); October 23, 1928 -
registered "Crayola" trademark first used June 10, 1903
(crayons, slate pencils, and chalk);
1984
- acquired by Hallmark; January 1,
2007 - renamed Crayola LLC.
Binney
& Smith
(http://a62.g.akamai.net/7/62/421/836ce8cca9c73d/www.binney-smith.com/images/content/company.gif)
November 20, 1866 -
James L.
Haven and Charles Hittrick, of Cincinnati, OH, received patent
for a "Whirligig" ("improved construction of the toy commonly
called a bandelore"); yoyo; suggested the first use of patents
to protect design improvements.
1867 - Elisha
Selchow established E.G. Selchow & Co., game wholesale company;
1868 - acquired rights to sell Parcheesi, The
Royal Game of India (one of oldest American game trademarks),
from John Hamilton for $500;
1880 - formed partnership with John Righter, name
changed to Selchow and Righter Co. (‘jobbers’, sold games from
other companies); October 8, 1918 - Essanar
Company, Inc. registered "Parcheesi" trademark first used in1869
(board and counter games); 1952 - took over
production of Scrabble from James Brunot (acquired rights from
creator Alfred Mosher Butts in 1949 after S&R passed);
1983 - acquired Trivial Pursuit; oldest privately held
game company in America; May 1986 - acquired by
Coleco; December 1986 - Coleco went bankrupt,
taken over by Hasbro.
April 17, 1875
- Sir Neville Chamberlain invented game "snooker" (variation of
pool).
1876
- Locksmith Andreas Brandstätter founded lock, metal fitting
company in Fürth, Germany; 1908
- Georg Brandstätter (son) took over company, changed name to
Metallwarenfabrik Georg Brandstätter;
1930s - manufactured telephones, cash
registers, various items for toy shops using sheet metal;
changed name to geobra (short for Georg Brandstätter);
1950s - Horst
Brandstätter, current owner, updated products, searched out new
markets and sales opportunities, focused production on plastic;
1958 - designed
machine that could mold soft plastic hoses into hoops (to make
hula hoops); created first prototype PLAYMOBIL® item, closed
racing car manufactured in single production step; expanded
rapidly with products in toy, leisure fields;
1970s - dramatic
rise in plastic costs, pressure from low-price countries,
increasing development expenses in Germany; directed attention
to small moveable figures with fitting accessories, good price
to value ratio, called PLAYMOBIL® (designed by Hans Beck, head
of R & D); 1974 -
introduced at International Toy Fair in Nuremberg (received
lukewarm greeting); on German retail shelves by fall;
March 24, 1981 -
Geobra-Brandstatter GmbH & Co. registered "PLAYMOBIL" trademark
in U. S. first used February 6, 1975 (Miniature Toy Figures and
Accessories); 2004
- nearly 2,500 employees worldwide.
Andreas
Brandstätter
-
Geobra-Brandstatter
GmbH & Co. (PLAYMOBIL)
(http://playmobil.toys.hu/images/playmobil/andreas-brandstatter.jpg)
1883 - George S. Parker
(16), Charles Parker (older brother) founded Parker Brothers;
1898 - Edward H. Parker (eldest brother) joined
company; December 12,
1901 -
incorporated
Parker
Brothers; second biggest game
company in United States;
1991
- acquired by Hasbro; part of Hasbro Games Group.
1886 - Plymouth
Iron Windmill Company (Plymouth, MI) manufactured iron windmills
for farmers; gave free "Chicago" air rifle (made almost entirely
of wood) as premium item; 1888
- close to liquidation - short by one vote (General Manager
Lewis Cass Hough); used metal air rifle as premium item;
1890 - 25
employees of Plymouth Iron Windmill Company produced 50,000
guns, distributed mostly with radius of o100 miles of factory;
1891 - Charles
Bennett hired as Company's first salesman (salary of $85/month
plus expenses); sold 10,000 guns to Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett &
Company (Chicago, IL) two days later; order filled in 6 months;
1895 - Plymouth
Iron Windmill Company exited windmill business, renamed Daisy
Manufacturing Company; 1900
- dominant force in burgeoning air gun industry; January
1903 - introduced
its first lever action repeater, (nickel plated No. 3,
1,000-shot rifle, hallmark product); sold over 36,000 units
first year; 1914 -
introduced Model 25 pump gun (dropped from line in 1979 after
8,000,000 produced, sold); 1933
- introduced Buck Rogers Rocket Pistol;
spring 1940 - launched Daisy Red Ryder
(based on popular comic strip western hero; sold more than 1
million units in 1949); June 26,
1958 - began production in new facility in
Rogers, AR; 1963 -
partnered with U.S. Jaycees, launched nation’s largest, most far
reaching youth Shooting Education Program;
1972 introduced Model 880 pump-up air
gun, first pneumatic air gun; late
1990s - became an assembly operation;
2001 - signed
contract with U.S. Navy to produce nearly indestructible drill
rifles (used by honor guards, color guard, drill teams
nationwide); January 1, 2004
- founded The Daisy Airgun Museum; world’s oldest, largest
manufacturer of airguns, ammo, accessories (produces in excess
of 5 million items/year, mostly airguns).
August 23, 1887
- Samuel Leeds Allen, of
Cinnaminson, NJ,
received a patent for a "Sled"; April 24, 1888 -
received second patent for a "Sled" ("related to that class of
sleds known as double runners"); August 13, 1889 -
received third patent for a "Sled"; Flexible Flyer; May 7,
1904 -
S. L. Allen & Co. registered "Flexible Flyer"
trademark.
February 10,
1891 - Elija J. Bond, of Baltimore, MD, received
a patent for a "Toy or Game" ("...I designate as a 'Ouija or
Egyptian Luck-Board'...by which two or more persons can amuse
themselves by asking questions of any kind and having them
answered by the device used and operated by the touch of the
hand, so that the answers are designated by letters on a
board"); assigned to Charles W. Kennard and William H.Maupin of
Baltimore, MD; formed Kennard Novelty Company to sell boards;
1892 - taken over
by William Fuld; name changed to Ouija Novelty Company;
1966 - acquired by
Parker Brothers.
December 19, 1899 - Granville T. Woods, of New
York, NY, received a patent for an "Amusement Apparatus"; small
scale or large scale electrically-driven cars on a closed track,
such as a figure-8 layout.
September
19, 1900 - Joshua Lionel Cowen, Harry C. Grant
founded Lionel Corporation in New York City.
November 30, 1901 - Frank Hornby received
British patent for "Improvements in Toy or Educational Devices
for Children and Young People"; named invention "Mechanics Made
Easy" (part-based construction system); 1907 -
formed Meccano Ltd. to manufacture, distribute products;
August 22, 1911 - Meccano Limited Corporation
(Liverpool, England) registered "Meccano" trademark (mechanical
toys).
February 15, 1903
-
Morris and Rose Michtom, Russian immigrants
and owners of a toy novelty store in Brooklyn, New York,
introduced first teddy bear in America; inspired by a Washington
Post cartoon in which President Theodore Roosevelt decided to
spare the life of a bear cub which had been orphaned during a
1902 bear hunt in Mississippi; upon being displayed as "Teddy's
Bear" in shop window, bear proved enormously popular with
public.
January 5,
1904 - Lizzie J. Magie, of Brentwood, MD,
received a patent for a "Game-Board" ("designated The Landlord's
Game...the object of the game is to obtain as much wealth or
money as possible, the player having the greatest amount of
wealth at the end of the game after a certain predetermined
number of circuits of the board have been made being the
winner"; precursor to Monopoly.
August 7, 1906 - S. L. Allen & Co.,
Philadelphia, PA, registered "Flexible Flyer" (sleds) trademark.
October 6, 1908
- Henry Simon Winzeler founded Ohio Art company, made
Etch-A-Sketch.
December 1909 -
Kewpie dolls debuted in Ladies’ Home Journal;
March 4,
1913 - Rose O'Neill Wilson, of Day, MO, received a
design patent for a "Doll";
Kewpie doll.
September 7, 1915
- John B. Gruelle, of Arcola, IL, received design patent for a
"Doll"; named it Raggedy Ann.
1917 - Antonio Pasin handcrafted wooden
wagons in rented one-room Chicago shop by night, sold them by
day out of a suitcase; 1923 - first wagon named No. 4 Liberty
Coaster (after Statue of Liberty); company named Liberty Coaster
Manufacturing, Co.; 1930 - renamed Radio Steel & Manufacturing;
world's largest producer of toy coaster wagons; created first
affordable steel wagon, named Radio Flyer (inspired by invention
of radio and wonder of flight); earned nickname "Little Ford";
October 16, 1956 - Radio Steel & Mfg. Co. (Chicago, IL)
registered "Radio Flyer" trademark (coaster wagons and
scooters).
1917
- Chandler Company (Indianapolis, IN) created "Chandler
gyroscope," toy gyroscope with pull string, pedestal; in
continuous production, considered classic American toy; sold
virtually tens of millions of gyroscopes all over country; 1982
- acquired by TEDCO, Inc. (founded by Ralph Teetor, patented
cruise control, as Teetor Engineering Development Company to
foster his inventions); expanded toy line.
1919 - John Lloyd
Wright, and one of five children of world-famous architect Frank
Lloyd Wright, invented Lincoln Logs, popular children's toy
building set that consisted of interlocking notched logs; 1920 -
received patent, sold logs through his toy company, the Red
Square Toy Company, 1943 - Playskool bought the rights; August
9, 1949 - Playskool Corporation, Inc. (Pawtucket, RI) registered
"Lincoln Logs" trademark (toys-namely building blocks and
figures).
1923
- Henry, Helal Hassenfeld founded Hassenfeld Brothers in small
office in Providence, RI ; sold textile remnants, soon moved
into manufacturing pencil boxes, school supplies; name later
changed to Hasbro; 1964
- introduced G. I. Joe, world's first "action figure" (poseable
figure for boys); 1968
- name changed to Hasbro Industries; went public;
1984 - acquired
The Milton Bradley Company, became biggest toy company;
1985 - name
changed to Hasbro, Inc.; 1991
- acquired Tonka Corporation.
1928 - Two women, former teachers,
employees of Schroeder Lumber Company in Milwaukee, founded
Playskool (notion of "learning through play"); based first
designs on educational tools used in their classrooms; earliest
catalogues featured folding wooden desk filled with fun learning
supplies (blocks, crayons, clay), collapsible wooden dollhouse,
shoemaker's bench; 1940
- acquired by Chicagoans Manuel Fink and Robert Meythaler; late
1960s - acquired
by Milton Bradley; late 1970s
- first brand to make electronic toys for preschoolers (Alphie,
a chunky and chatty robot); 1984
- Playskool and Milton Bradley acquired by Hasbro.
1928 -
Filipino-American, Pedro Flores (Santa Barbara, CA) opened Yo-yo
Manufacturing Company; promoted yo-yo with contests;
1929 - opened two
additional factories, employed 600 workers, produced 300,000
yo-yos each day; 1930
- acquired by Duncan Toys Company (Donald Duncan);
1932 - first Yo-Yo
Competition took place in London, England;
1955 - contracted with The Flambeau
Products Corporation to make first plastic yo-yos;
1957 - Donald
Duncan, Jr. took over company;
1962 - advertising on television;
1965 - lost legal
battle with Royal Tops Company over rights to "yo-yo" name;
1968 - acquired by
Flambeau Plastics (Duncan Toys Division);
1997 - Duncan signed licensing agreement
with Coca-Cola Company to produce 18 designs featuring its logo;
1998 - first
Donald F. Duncan Family Award for Industry Excellence awarded to
Tom Kuhn (introduced No Jive 3-in-1 patented yo-yo in 1978,
introduced SB-2 yo-yo with aluminum transaxle, first successful
ball-bearing yo-yo, in 1990s);
2002 - Duncan acquired biggest competitor,
became largest manufacturer of yo-yos worldwide.
Donald Duncan - Yo-Yo
(http://lifeinlegacy.com/2003/0614/DuncanDonald.jpg)
December 1929
- Edwin S. Lowe, toy salesman (established E. S. Lowe Company in
1928), discovered group of men at carnival in Georgia playing
Beano at a carnival (game on table shaped like horseshoe); cards
were numbered, covered with dried beans (variation of Lotto
games; began with 24-card sets,. sold game for $2;
1930 - retained
Carl Leffler, mathematics professor at Columbia University, to
devise 6,000 new Bingo cards with non repeating number groups
(to avoid multiple winners in same game); became way to raise
money at churches, charity events (saved church in Wilkes-Barre,
PA, Knights of Columbus Hall in Utica, NY);
1934 - estimated
10,000 Bingo games/week; 1,000 employees, 9 floors of New York
office space, 64 presses printed 24 hours/day;
1973 - E. S. Lowe
Company acquired by Milton Bradley for $26 million.
1930
- Herman Fisher, Irving Price illustrator and artist Margaret
Evans Price (wife), Helen Schelle founded Fisher-Price;
1931 - introduced wooden toys to American International
Toy Fair in New York City (Dr. Doodle first toy sold);
July 25, 1967 - Fisher-Price Toys, Inc. registered
"Fisher-Price" trademark first used March 1, 1931 (toys);
1969 - acquired by Quaker Oats Company; 1991
- spun off; went public; November 1993 - acquired
by Mattel; 2004 - worldwide gross sales of $1.9
billion.
Herman Fisher, Helen Schelle,
Irving Price -
Fisher-Price
(http://www.fisher-price.com/us/hr/img/found1.jpg)
1931- Architect
Alfred Mosher Butts (Poughkeepsie, NY) invented "Lexiko" board
game; name later changed to "Criss Cross Words";
1933 - turned down
by Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley;
1947 - sold rights to entrepreneur,
game-lover James Brunot; renamed game "Scrabble";
December 1, 1948 -
game copyrighted; 1949
- first year of production of 2251 games assembled and sold
(lost $450); April 25, 1950
- Brunot's Production and Marketing Corporation, Newtown, CT,
registered "Scrabble" trademark (game including board and
playing pieces); 1952
- rights acquired by game maker Selchow & Righter to market and
distribute standard game; 1953
- sold in Macy's; 1986
- rights for Scrabble in USA and Canada acquired by Milton
Bradley.
1932
- Maurice Greenberg established the Connecticut Leather Company
to make leather supplies for shoemakers;
1960 - plastic wading polls - principal
product; 1962 -
exited leather business; renamed Coleco Industries, Inc.; went
public; late 1960s
- world's largest maker of above-ground swimming pools;
1976 - entered
video game console business (Telstar); became largest maker of
portable electronic games; August
1982 - launched ColecoVision (home video game
system); acquired production rights to 'Little People' dolls
(created by Xavier Roberts of Cleveland, GA, in October 1978,
formed Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc.); renamed Cabbage
Patch Kids; 1983 -
released Cabbage Patch Kids at American Toy Fair;
June 1983 -
introduced Adam, first low-cost ($600) complete home computer,
word processing system; January
1984 - discontinued Adam (wrote off $118
million); 1985 -
posted record sales of $600 million;
1988 - filed for bankruptcy;
July 1989 - rights
to 'Kids', Coleco assets acquired by Hasbro for $85 million;
1994 - rights
acquired by Mattel.
1932 - Ole
Kirk Christiansen founded small carpenter’s workshop in Billund,
Denmark to make stepladders, ironing boards and wooden toys;
1934 - adopted name LEGO (abbreviation of two Danish
words "leg godt", meaning "play well"); now owned by Kjeld Kirk
Kristiansen, a grandchild of the founder; now owned by Kjeld
Kirk Kristiansen, a grandchild of the founder; 1949
- created set of interlocking red-and-white Automatic Building
Blocks; May 1, 1954 - LEGO officially
registered as trademark in Denmark; 1958 - LEGO
brick (in present form) launched (interlocking principle with
tubes); 2006 - world’s sixth-largest manufacturer
of toys (in terms of sales).
Ole Kirk Christiansen
- LEGO
(http://cache.lego.com/images/kirkfoundation/img127x127olekirk_1_0.jpg)
March 7, 1933
- Charles Darrow, of Germantown, PA, Â invented board game
Monopoly, modeled on Atlantic City; (1904 - Lizzie Magie of MD
received patent for real estate game, called "The Landlord's
Game" - players rented properties, paid utilities, avoided
"Jail" as they moved through board); Darrow color-coded
properties and deeds for them, allowed them to be bought, not
just rented; playing pieces modeled on items from his house;
1934 - brought MONOPOLY game to Parker Brothers, unanimously
rejected for 52 fundamental playing errors (took too long to
play, rules too complicated, players kept going around, around
board instead of ending at final goal); February 7, 1935 -
Charles Darrow first marketed Monopoly, with symbol of Rich
Uncle Pennybags. sales).
Charles B. Darrow
-
Monopoly
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Charlie_Darrow.png)
1935 -
Parker Brothers Inc., Salem, MA, bought rights to Monopoly game;
July 30,
1935 - registered "Monopoly" trademark first used March
20, 1935 (board game played with movable pieces); November
5, 1935 - Monopoly released;
December 31, 1935 - Charles B. Darrow, of Philadelphia,
PA, received patent for a "Board Game Apparatus" ("intended
primarily to provide a game of barter, thus involving trading
and bargaining") ; Monopoly board game; assigned to Parker
Brothers, Inc, Salem, MA.
1943
- Richard James, engineer at shipbuilding company in
Philadelphia, realized toy potential of torsion spring which
fell off a table, flipped end over end on ship's deck; invented
Slinky (80 feet of steel wire); named, from dictionary, by Betty
James (wife); thought it best described sinuous, graceful
movement, soft sound of expanding/contracting metal coil;
1945 - made 400
Slinkys, persuaded Gimbels department store in Philadelphia to
let them set up a ramp in toy department at Christmas time;
priced at $1, sold out in 90 minutes;
March 4, 1947 - registered "Slinky"
trademark first used December 17, 1945 (spring toys); more than
300 million Slinkys sold.
Betty James
-
named 'Slinky'
(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/11/25/business/25james-inline1-190.jpg)
1945
- Ruth Handler, stenographer at Paramount Pictures, Elliot
Handler (husband) industrial designer, foreman Harold "Matt"
Matson founded Mattel Creations (combination of first names) in
garage workshop in Hawthorne, CA; first products - picture
frames; made doll houses from picture frame scraps;
1946 - Matson
interest acquired by Handlers;
1948 - incorporated; launched music box sold
(based on 'Musical Toy Vehicle" patent received in 1953 by
Theodore R. Duncan); sold 20 million units by 1952; first toy
company to make toys from variety of materials;
1959 - launched
'Barbie Teenage Fashion Model' (named for Handlers' daughter) at
American Toy Fair; patterned after German adult doll with
woman's body, "Lilli"; 350,000 sold by end of year; best-selling
toy of all time; 1960
- went public; 1963
- listed on Fortune 500; July 30,
1963 - registered "Mattel" trademark first used
March 15, 1951 (Card, Board, and Parlor Games, and Toys-Namely,
Music Boxes, Pull Toys, Music Maker Books, Ge-Tars and Ukes, and
Dolls); 1981-1997
- sales rose from $200 million to $1.9 billion; world's largest
toy company; 1993 - acquired Fisher-Price;
January 1997 - Jill Barad named CEO;
May 1999 -
acquired The Learning Company for $3.5 billion (4.5 times annual
sales); February 3, 2000
- Barad resigned under pressure of poor operating results (stock
from $45 to $11); October 2000
- The Learning Company acquired by Gores Technology for
percentage of future profits;
August 2007 - huge product recalls of
Chinese-made toys (lead-based paint, detachable magnets); sued.
1947
- Mound Metalcraft Company, manufacturer of garden tools,
manufactured TONKA ("great" in Sioux) brand toy trucks designed
by E.C Streater Toy Company in small schoolhouse basement near
Lake Minnetonka in Mound, MN; 1949 - first TONKA dump truck
introduced; 1952 - Russ Wenkstern took over production;
ultimately bought company; turned Tonka into largest volume
manufacturer of vehicles of any type in world; May 21, 1963 -
registered TONKA trademark first used November 1961 (toys -
namely, miniature metal trucks, steam shovels, road graders, and
trailers).
1947
- Leslie and Rodney Smith founded Lesney Products as industrial
die casting company; 1953 - co-owner Jack Odell started Matchbox
series of die cast cars for his daughter whose school only
allowed children to bring toys that could fit inside a matchbox
(measuring approximately 2.5 inches in length); 1982 - Lesney
declared bankruptcy; 1997 - Matchbox acquired by Mattel.
1948 - Arthur "Spud" Melin and
Richard Knerr founded Wham-O as leading designer/distributor of
innovative, high-quality recreational activity products;
introduced Slingshot, original product from which the company
derived its name
(sound a slingshot made
when its projectile struck a target);
1955 - bought
design rights to "Pluto Platter", plastic flying disc created in
1948 by
Los Angeles building inspector Walter
Frederick Morrison,
partner
Warren
Franscioni
(watched Yale University students toss pie tins from the Frisbie
Pie Company of Bridgeport, CT founded in 1895 by William Russell
Frisbie); January 13, 1957 - began production of
"Pluto Platter"; August 1958 - Frisbie Pie Company
closed; modified saucer, renamed Frisbee; introduced Hula Hoop
(after a bamboo ring used by Australian children for exercise).
Walter Frederick Morrison
- Pluto
Platter
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/
Walter_Frederick_Morrison.jpg/180px-Walter_Frederick_Morrison.jpg)
Arthur "Spud"
Melin, Richard Knerr - Wham-O
(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/01/18/business/18knerr.span.jpg)
1949
- George Lerner, of New York City, invented and produced
plastic push pin face pieces, in shapes of noses, ears, eyes
mouth parts, to be pushed into fruits or vegetables to make food
into array of playmates; sold toy to cereal company as premium;
bought it back; 1952 - sold Mr. Potato Head to
Hassenfeld brothers (Hasbro); first toy advertised on
television.
1949
- Berry Pink, Sellers Peltier acquired St. Marys, WV plant of
Alley Agate marble manufacturing company (Pink had become known
as "Marble King", sold more marbles than Peletier's glass
company could produce; Peltier managed deceased father's
opalescent glass works, founded by Victor J. Peltier in 1886 in
Ottawa, IL, since 1911); changed name to Marble King, Inc.;
June 2, 1959 -
Berry Pink Industries, Inc. registered "Marble King" trademark
first used July 15, 1949 (marbles);
1963 - Marble King, Inc., Berry Pink
Industries acquired by Roger Howdyshell, Duncan V. (Don) Peltier,
Cornell Medley; 1965
- Berry Pink Industries dissolved, became Berry Pink Industries
Division of Marble King; manufactured first American made Cat's
Eye marbles (clear glass marble with swirls of color through
center), developed process called "veneering" marbles; used
marble games, board games, decorative vases, spray paint cans,
other industrial applications; one of two marble manufacturers
in U. S.
February 1950
- Peter Hodgson,
marketing
consultant, introduced Silly Putty (name he chose) at New York
Toy Fair (discovered by GE
engineer in 1943 researching methods of making synthetic rubber;
learned of it through
Ruth
Fallgatter, owner of Block Shop Toy Store in New Haven, CT); got
distribution in Neiman Marcus, Doubleday bookstores; formed
Arnold Clark Company, shipped 1-oz. Silly Putty in plastic eggs
in surplus egg boxes supplied by Connecticut Cooperative Poultry
Association; March 6, 1950 - introduced
Silly Putty as a toy; packaged one-ounce portions of the
rubber-like material in plastic eggs; August 1950
- article in New Yorker mentioned product, orders for more than
quarter-million eggs of Silly Putty received in three days;
July 1, 1952 - registered "Silly Putty" trademark
first used in July 1949 (plastic known as organo silicone
designed and sold for use as a modeling clay and amusement
device for children); 1955 - market for product
changed: from 80% adult novelty item to plaything for kids 6-12;
1977 - Binney & Smith acquired rights; 1987
- 2 million eggs sold annually; 2000 - displayed
in Smithsonian exhibit of of significant 1950's objects that
changed American culture.
March 28, 1950
- United States Playing Card Company (Cincinnati, OH) registered
"Bicycle" trademark (playing cards).
June 6, 1950 -
Parker Brothers, Inc. registered "Clue" trademark first used
December 20, 1948 (equipment for use in playing board game).
1952 -
Hasbro, Inc. created Mr. Potato Head; contained only parts
(eyes, ears, noses, mouths to be applied to real potatoes);
May 17, 1955 - Hassenfeld Bros., Inc. registered "Mr.
Potato Head" trademark first used March 1, 1952 (educational toy
kits containing a plastic toy figure with removable head, and
detachable plastic body parts for affixing on a fresh potato or
other fresh fruits and vegetables to form various human
caricatures); 1960 - hard plastic potato "body"
included (replaced need for real potato); first toy advertised
on television.
1953 - Art
Clokey made short film, in stop-motion animation, starring clay
balls, clay cones, other geometric clay shapes; added music,
called the film Gumbasia (reference to Disney's Fantasia and to
clay soil in Michigan that Clokey's father called "gumbo"
whenever it rained); 1956 - Sam Engel, producer
and president of Motion Picture Producers Association,
commissioned Clokey to make, animate clay figures to
improve the quality of television for children; short films of
Gumby first appeared on Howdy Doody; Tom Sarnoff, at NBC and
Hollywood, gave contract for seven years to produce a Gumby
series, put on a Gumby show; 1957 - Gumby spun off
into weekly network show; all episodes of Gumby, Pokey and their
friends created from 1956 to 1991;
February 16,
1965 - Clokey Productions, Inc. registered
"Gumby" trademark first used December 8, 1963 (plastic doll).
August 14, 1953
-
David
Mullany Sr., of Fairfield, CT, invented the wiffle ball, curved
when thrown, for his 13-year-old son; February 1, 1966
- Wiffle Ball, Inc. (Shelton, CT) registered "Wiffle" trademark
first used in 1959 (bays and a device for tossing a ball).
1955
- Noah W. McVicker and Joseph S. McVicker (Cincinnati, OH)
invented Play-Doh Brand modeling compound; 1956 - first
demonstrated, sold in toy department of Woodward & Lothrop
Department Store in Washington, DC; founded Rainbow Crafts to
manufacture product; August 13, 1957 - registered "Play-Doh"
trademark first used May 26, 1955 (plastic type modeling
compound for children's use); January 26, 1965 - received patent
for a "Plastic Modelling Composition of a Soft, Pliable Working
Consistency"; assigned to Rainbow Crafts (Cincinnati, OH); 1965
- acquired by General Mills; 1987 - acquired by Tonka
Corporation; 1991 - acquired by Hasbro.
1956
- Edwin S. Lowe acquired rights to Yahtzee for the price of
first 1,000 games produced (invented in 1954 by Canadian couple
to play aboard their yacht - Yacht game');
March 19, 1957 - E. S. Lowe Company,
Inc. registered "Yahtzee" first used April 3, 1956 (poker dice
games); 1973 - E.
S. Lowe Company acquired by The Milton Bradley Company for $26
million.
May 21, 1957
- George B Hansburg (Walker Valley, NY) received patent for
first "Pogo Stick" ("relates to the art of amusement devices and
more particularly to devices known as pogo sticks").
September
30, 1958 - Walter Frederick Morrison, of La Puente, CA,
received a design patent for a "Flying Toy", frisbee.
1959
- Andre Cassagnes, electrical technician in factory in
Vitry-Sur-Seine, France,which made Lincrusta, deeply embosssed
covering applied to walls, surfaces to mimic sculptural
bas-relief, introduced L'Ecran Magique
at 1959
International Toy Fair in Nuremburg, Germany; Paul Chaze, owner
of MAI, small plastic injection molding company, invested,
produced initial tracing devices;
1960 - rights
acquired by Ohio Art Company (Bryan, OH); renamed
Etch-A-Sketch by VP William Casley Killgallon; July 12,
1960 - went on sale;
December 26, 1961
- Ohio Art Company registered "Etch a Sketch" trademark first
used April 1, 1960 (Toy Self-Contained Opaque Screen Sketching
Device); September 25, 1962
-
Arthur Granjean (Paris, France), Chaze's accountant, received a
U.S. patent for a "Tracing Device" ("...adapted to
trace on a transparent surface all the lines, symbols, drawings,
letter-press which may be desired and to wipe them out
instantaneously"); assigned to Paul Chaze; September 25, 1973 - Earl D.
Clark (Bryan, OH) received a patent for a an improved "Tracing
Device"; assigned to the Ohio Art Company.
Andre
Cassagnes
- Etch-a-Sketch
(http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2013/02/04/arts/04ALTOBITCASSAGNES2/
04ALTOBITCASSAGNES2-articleInline.jpg)
March 9, 1959 -
Barbie doll debuted (3-dimensional doll little girls could play
with); created by Ruth Handler, founder of Mattel; used her
daughter's nickname; December 1, 1959 - Mattel
Incorporated registered "Barbie" trademark first used May 9,
1958 (doll).
October 16, 1962
- Wham-O Mfg. Co. (San Gabriel, CA) registered "Hula-Hoop"
trademark first used May 21, 1958 (plastic toy hoops).
March 5, 1963
- Arthur K. Melin, of Pasadena, CA, received a patent for a
"Hoop Toy" ("...toys in the form of a hoop for use about the
body of a user"); Hula Hoop.
June 4, 1963
- Robert Patch (6) received a U.S. patent for a "Toy Truck";
could separate into a chassis, driver's cab, truck body, wheels
and four axles so it could be reassembled in either a closed van
body or dump truck form.
February 2, OR
February 9, 1964
- GI Joe, debuted as popular American boy's toy; October
11, 1966 - Samuel F. Speers, of North Attleboro, MA, and
Hubert P. O'Connor, of Warwick, RI, received a patent for a "Toy
Figure Having Movable Joints" ("amusement device...that closely
simulate the movable portions of the human anatomy"); GI Joe;
assigned to Hassenfeld Bros.
January 26, 1965
- Noah W. and Joseph S. McVicker, of Cincinnati, OH,
received patent for a "Plastic Modeling Composition of a Soft,
Pliable Working Consistency"; Play-Doh.
December 26, 1967
- Edward E. Headrick, of La Canada, CA, received a patent for a
"Flying Saucer" ("related to aerodynamic toys to be thrown
through the air and in particular to flying saucers for use in
throwing games"); frisbee; assigned to Wham-O Manufacturing Co.
May 26,
1969
- Wham-O Mfg. Co. registered "Frisbee" trademark
fist used July, 8, 1957 ("toy flying saucers for toss games").
November 17, 1970 - Parker Brothers registered
"Nerf" trademark first used December 9, 1969 (lightweight
children's playball); 'Non-Expanding Recreational Foam'
(Nerf) invented in 1969 by Reynolds Guyer as part of an indoor
volleyball set.
1974
- Erno Rubik, lecturer at the Department of Interior Design at
the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts in Budapest, introduced
Rubik's Cube in Hungary; September 1979 - Stewart Sims, Vice
President of Marketing of the Ideal Toy Corporation, ordered one
million cubes; March 29, 1983 - Erno Rubik, of
Budapest, Hungary, received two patents for a "Spatial Logical
Toy" ("having a total of eighteen toy elements which form a
regular or irregular spatial body, preferably an oblong body, in
the assembles state"); and for a "Spatial Logical Toy"
("comprising a total of eight toy-elements, e.g. eight cubes or
eight other solids with a spherical outer surface, which form a
large cube, sphere or other geometric solid in an assembled
state"). June 21, 1983 - Ideal Toy Corporation
registered "Rubik's Cube" trademark first used March 18, 1980
(puzzles).
Erno Rubik
- Rubbik's Cube
(http://www.rubiks.com/i/world/history/Erno_Rubik2.jpg)
December 15, 1979
- Scott Abbott, sports editor for Canadian Press, Chris Haney,
photo editor for Montreal Gazette, created board game based on
trivia (pieces of their
Scrabble game missing); raised $40,000 from 32 investors;
April 1981 -
Abbott, Haney, John Haney, Ed Werner formed
Horn Abbot Ltd. to market game;
November 1982 - signed distribution
agreement Selchow & Righter (New York) to market game in
U.S.; released; May 3,
1983 - Horn Abbot Ltd. (Toronto, ON) registered
"Trivial Pursuit" trademark (Equipment Including a Playing
Board, Die, Rules of Play, Question and Answer Cards, Card
Boxes, Player Tokens and Scoring Wedges Sold as a Unit for
Playing a Board Game); 1984 - 20 million games
sold ($256 million); 2008 - rights acquired by Hasbro for $80
million.
1982
- Kransco Group Companies bought Wham-O for $12 million;
1994 - Mattel bought WHAM-O from Kransco; 1997
- Mattel sold assets of Wham-O (sales of $18 million) at auction
to group including Charterhouse Group and Seven Hills Partners;
2006 - Charterhouse Group sold Wham-O (sales of
$80 million) to an affiliate of Cornerstone Overseas Investments
Ltd. (Hong Kong).
August 19, 1993
- Mattel, Fisher Price toys merged.
February 17, 1996
- World chess champion Gary Kasparov defeated Deep Blue,
IBM's chess-playing computer, by winning a six-game match 4-2,
in a regulation-style match held in Philadelphia, as part of the
ACM Computer Science Conference; May 3, 1997 -
Garry Kasparov began chess match with IBM supercomputer Deep
Blue;
May 11,
1997 - Deep Blue defeated Kasparov; Russian master
conceded defeat after 19 moves in the sixth game of the
tournament, losing the match 2.5 to 3.5; first time the
grandmaster ever lost a six-game match in championship play.
Chess was born in India in the 6th century as a war game called
Chaturanga.
2000 - LEGO
named "Toy of the Century" by both Fortune magazine, British
Association of Toy Retailers.
November 19, 2002
- David L. Pickens of Honolulu, HI, received patent for
"Registered Pedigree Stuffed Animals" ("designed to simulate the
biological laws of inheritance both for educational,
recreational and aesthetic purposes"); pair of opposite sex
"parent" toy animals are sold with a serial number to identify
parent's genotype and phenotype, then "bred", "offspring in
litter" sold.
December 25 -
Legendary holiday-season successes: 1983-Cabbage
Patch Kids; 1990s-Beannie Babies; 1996-Nintendo-64;
1998-Tickle Me Elmo; 1999-Pokemon;
2000-Playstation 2; 2002-Nike Air
Force 1; 2004-iPid Mini, Nintendo DS; 2005-Xbox
360, iPod, iPod nano
(S. S. Adams Company), William V.
Rauscher (2002).
S.S. Adams, High Priest of Pranks and Merchant
of Magic. (Oxford, CT: 1878 Press Co., 154 p.). Adams, Samuel
Sorenson, 1879-1959; Magicians --United States --Biography.
Adams's entrepreneurship, ceaseless efforts, eventual financial
rewards; lonely man who accumulated wealth, disowned his family,
left legacy of nonsense products still sold today.
(S. S. Adams Company), Kirk Demarais;
Foreword by Chris Ware (2006).
Life of the Party: A Visual History of the S.S. Adams Company
Makers of Pranks & Magic for 100 Years. (S.S. Adams
LLC: 198 p.). Adams, Samuel Sorenson; magic -- history.
Commemorates 100th anniversary of Samuel Sorenson (S. S.) Adams
company.
S. S. Adams
- S. S. Adams Company
(http://www.dribbleglass.com/subpages/Ssadams.gif)
(Cabbage Patch Kids), William Hoffman (1984).
Fantasy: The Incredible Cabbage Patch Phenomenon.
(Dallas, TX: Taylor Pub. Co., 217 p.). Doll industry--United
States; Cabbage Patch Kids dolls.
(Chess), David Shenk (2006).
The Immortal Game: A History of Chess or How 32 Carved Pieces on
a Board Illuminated Our Understanding of War, Art, Science, and
the Human Brain. (New York, NY: Doubleday, 327 p.).
Chess--History. Interaction between chess, cultures in which it has been
played; microcosm for wider social issues; remarkably
omnipresent factor in development of civilization.
(Class Struggle), Bertell Ollman (2002).
Ballbuster: True Confessions of a Marxist Businessman.
(Brooklyn, NY: Soft Skull Press, 300 p.). Wilf Family Department
of Politics (New York University). Ollman, Bertell; Board game
industry United States History.
(Creative Playthings Inc.), Theresa Caplan
(1999).
Frank Caplan: Champion of Child's Play. (New York,
NY: Vantage Press, 567 p.). Caplan, Frank; Creative playthings,
Inc.--History; Businessmen--United States--Biography; Toy
industry--United States--History.
(Doom), David Kushner (2003).
Gamers: The True Story of How Two Guys Created a Video Game
Empire, Transformed Pop Culture, and Unleashed Doom.
(New York, NY: Random House, 335 p.). Romero, John, 1967- ;
Carmack, John; Computer games--History; Computer
games--Programming--History; Computer programmers--United
States--Biography.
(Frisbee), Fred Morrison, Phil Kennedy (2006).
Flat Flip Flies Straight: True Origins of the Frisbee.
(Wethersfield, CT: Wormhole Publishers, 436 p.). Creator of
Frisbee. Frisbee; Flying toy.
(A. C. Gilbert Company -1913 first erector
set), Bruce Watson (2002).
The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made: The Life and
Times of A. C. Gilbert, the Man Who Saved Christmas.
(New York, NY: Viking, 244 p.). A. C. Gilbert (1884-1962);
Erector Set; Toy industry--History.
Alfred Carlton Gilbert
(http://bluebook.state.or.us/images/notable/big/gilbertac.jpg)
(Hasbro), John Michlig; with a preface by Don
Levine (1998).
GI Joe: The Complete Story of America's Favorite Man of Action.
(San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 208 p.). Hasbro, Inc.; G.I.
Joe figures--History; Action figures (Toys)--United
States--History.
Alan G.
Hassenfeld
- Hasbro
(http://www.uri.edu/news/releases/html/images/Hassenfeld.jpg)
Stephen D.
Hassenfeld
- Hasbro
(http://www.aidsresponseeffort.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/hassenfeld.jpg)
(Hasbro), G. Wayne Miller (1998).
Toy wars: The Epic Struggle Between G.I. Joe, Barbie, and the
Companies that Make Them. (New York, NY: Times Books,
348 p.). Hassenfeld, Alan Geoffrey, 1948-; Hasbro, Inc.; Toy
industry--United States; Businessmen--United States--Biography.
(Jenga), Leslie Scott (2009).
About Jenga: The Remarkable Business of Creating a Game that
Became a Household Name.
(Austin, TX Green Leaf Book Group Press, 192 p.). Creator of
Jenga, Co-Founder of Oxford Games. Jenga; games -- development.
Building-blocks game, invented in Ghana in
1970s, has sold 50 million world-wide (second-best
selling game in world, Hasbro sells almost 2 million sets/year); how certain ideas transform themselves
into successful products; basic business concepts with
unconventional linkages: what African cattle, medieval heraldry
can teach about branding, keys to market differentiation by
examining a coral reef; signed her
rights away in the mid-1980s.
(Lionel Corporation), Roger Carp (1998).
The World's Greatest Toy Train Maker: Insiders Remember Lionel.
(Waukesha, WI: Kalmbach Books, 112 p.). Lionel
Corporation--History; Railroads--Models.
Joshua Lionel Cowen
(http://www.invent.org/images/images_hof/search/inventors/Cowenjoshua2--h.jpg)
(Lionel Corporation), Ron Hollander (2000).
All Aboard!: The Story of Joshua Lionel Cowen and His Lionel
Train Company. (New York, NY: Workman Pub., 288 p. [rev.
ed.]). Cowen, Joshua Lionel, 1880-1965; Lionel
Corporation--Biography; Railroads--Models--History.
(Lionel Corporation), Dan Ponzol (2000).
Lionel: A Century of Timeless Toy Trains. (New York, NY:
Friedman/Fairfax Publishers, 160 p.). Lionel
Corporation--History; Railroads--Models--United States--History.
(Lionel Corporation), Robert J. Osterhoff
(2008).
Inside The Lionel Trains Fun Factory: The History of a
Manufacturing Icon and The Place Where Childhood Dreams Were
Made. (Winfield, IL: Project Roar, 248 p.). Retired
executive of the Xerox Corporation. Lionel
Corporation--Biography; Railroads--Models--History.
Rise, fall, rise again of Lionel, one of
manufacturing, pop icons in modern American life; history of
Lionel's trains, factories, employees, business practices from
late 19th century until today.
(Mattel), M. G. Lord (1994).
Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll.
(New York, NY: Morrow, 326 p.). Barbie dolls. Barbie doll
conceived in 1959 as a teenage fashion model.
Ruth
Handler - Mattel
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/images/who_handler_image.jpg)
(Mattel), Ruth Handler, with Jacqueline
Shannon (1994).
Dream Doll: The Ruth Handler Story. (Stamford, CT:
Longmeadow Press, 230 p.). Founder of Mattel & Creator of the
Barbie Doll in 1959. Handler, Ruth; Mattel, Inc.;
Dollmakers--United States--Biography; Barbie dolls.
(Mattel), Robin Gerber (2009).
Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World’s Most Famous
Doll and the Woman Who Created Her. (New York,
NY: Collins Business, 288 p.). Lawyer, senior faculty
for the Gallup Organization, senior fellow in Executive
Education at Robert H. Smith School of Business
(University of Maryland, College Park). Handler, Ruth;
Mattel, Inc.; Dollmakers --United States --Biography;
Barbie dolls. How one visionary woman built biggest toy
company in world, created global icon; how two women
forever changed American business and culture.
(Mattel), Jerry Oppenheimer (2009).
Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel.
(Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 299 p.). Mattel, Inc.; Toy industry
--United States. Dark side of toy land; Mattel's
take-no-prisoners, shark-infested
corporate style,
corporate culture; eccentric, often bizarre, cast of
characters; how dangerous toys are not new to Mattel;
scandals that have been part of company; why today's toy
business isn't always fun and games
(Mattel's fearsomely litigious
approach to competitors).
(Meccano Limited), Kenneth D. Brown (2007).
Factory of Dreams: A History of Meccano Ltd, 1901-1979.
(Lancaster, UK: Crucible, 230 p.). Meccano Limited.--History;
Railroads--Models--History.
(Milton Bradley), James J. Shea as told to
Charles Mercer (1960).
It's All in the Game - A Biography of Milton Bradley, The Man
Who Taught America to Play. (New York, NY: Putnam, 284
p.). Bradley, Milton, 1836-1911; Milton Bradley Company.
Milton
Bradley
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/
Milton_bradley_portrait.jpg/200px-Milton_bradley_portrait.jpg)
(Parker Brothers), Ellen Wojahn (1988).
Playing by Different Rules. (New York, NY: AMACOM, 306
p.). General Mills, inc.; Parker Brothers, inc.; Consolidation
and merger of corporations -- United States -- Case studies;
Corporate divestiture -- United States -- Case studies.
George S.
Parker
(http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/
names/images/georgeparker.gif)
(Parker Brothers), Philip E. Orbanes (2004).
The Game Makers: The Story of Parker Brothers from Tiddledy
Winks to Trivial Pursuit. (Boston, MA: Harvard Business
School Press, 245 p.). Former Executive (Parker Brothers).
Parker Brothers, Inc.; Board game industry United States
History.
(Parker Brothers), Rod Kennedy, Jr.; text by
Jim Waltzer in association with The Atlantic City Historical
Museum (2004).
Monopoly, The Story Behind the World's Best-Selling Game.
(Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 96 p.). Monopoly (Game)--History;
Atlantic City (N.J.)--History.
(Parker Brothers), Philip E. Orbanes (2006).
Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game-And How it Got that Way.
(Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 288 p.). President of Specialty
Games Company Winning Moves, Former Senior Vice President of
Research and Development at Parker Brothers. Monopoly
(Game)--History; Parker Brothers, Inc. Origin, growth, global impact of
game that has become cultural icon (over 200,000,000 copies
sold worldwide since 1935.
(Radio Flyer Inc.), [edited by] Robert Pasin
and Paul Pasin (1999).
My Little Red Wagon: Radio Flyer Memories. (Kansas City,
MO: Andrews McMeel Pub., 143 p.). Radio Flyer Inc.;
Wagons--Anecdotes; Toys--United States--Anecdotes.
Antonio Pasin
- Radio Flyer (http://www.toyassociation.org/App_Themes/tia/images/HOF/AntonioPasin.jpg
(Sony Playstation), Reiji Asakura (2000).
Revolutionaries at Sony: The Making of the Sony Playstation and
the Visionaries Who Conquered the World of Video Games. (New
York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 241 p.). Kutaragi, Ken, 1950- ; Sony
Computer Entertainment--Management; Sony Computer Entertainment;
Sony video games--History; Electronic games
industry--Management--Case studies; Sony Playstation.
(Margarete Steiff GmbH), Gunther Pfeiffer
(2002).
100 Years Steiff Teddy Bears. (Konigswinter, Germany:
Heel, 184 P.). Margarete Steiff GmbH--History; Teddy
bears--Germany--History--20th century; Soft
toys--Germany--History--20th century.
(Wham-O), Tim Walsh (2008).
Wham-O Super-Book: Celebrating 60 Years Inside the Fun Factory!
(San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 192 p.). Wham-O, Inc.; Toys
--History; Games --History. Amazing toys (Frisbee, Hula Hoop, SuperBall, Slip 'N Slide, Silly String, Hacky Sack), wide array
of entertaining and downright odd playthings dreamed up by
company started by two childhood friends; history of each
plaything, colorful vintage packaging, ads, photographs of toys.
Anne Allison; foreword by Gary Cross (2006).
Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination.
(Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 356 p.).
Professor and Chair of Cultural Anthropology (Duke University).
Toys--Japan; Games--Japan; Animated films--Japan; Video
games--Japan; Consumer goods--Japan; Toy industry--Japan;
Toys--Japan--Marketing; Philosophy, Japanese; Japan--Social life
and customs. Global popularity of Japanese youth goods; make-up of fantasies,
capitalistic conditions of
play involved.
Kenneth D. Brown (1996).
The British Toy Business: A History Since 1700. (London,
UK: Hanmbledon Press, 278 p.). Toy industry--Great
Britain--History.
Chris Byrne; foreword by Judy Ellis (2003).
Toys: Celebrating 100 Years of the Power of Play. (New
York, NY: Toy Industry Association, 279 p.). Toys--United
States--History--20th century; Popular culture--United
States--History--20th century.
Paul Budnitz (2006).
I Am Plastic: The Designer Toy Explosion. (New York, NY:
Abrams, 368 p.). Founder and Creative Director of Kidrobot and
kidrobot.com. Plastic toys. Visual history of designer toy
phenomenon, has energized toy world, global art community.
Howard P. Chudacoff (2007).
Children at Play: An American History. (New York, NY:
New York University Press, 269 p.). George L. Littlefield
Professor of American History (Brown University).
Children--United States--History; Play--United States--History;
Children--United States--Social life and customs.
Activities that genuinely
occupied children's time vs. what adults thought children should
be doing; chronological history of play in U.S. from point of
view of children (6-12); transformations of play that have
occurred over last 200 years.
Eric Clark (2007).
The Real Toy Story: Inside the Ruthless Battle for America’s
Youngest Consumers. (New York: Free Press, 272 p.). Toy
industry--United States.
M. P. Gould (1975).
Frank Hornby: The Boy Who Made $1,000,000 with a Toy.
(London, UK: New Cavendish Books, 141 p. [orig. pub. 1915]).
Hornby, Frank, 1863-1936; Meccano Limited; Meccano models;
Inventors--Great Britain--Biography.
David D. Hamlin (2007).
Work and Play: The Production and Consumption of Toys in
Germany, 1870-1914. (Ann Arbor, MI: University of
Michigan Press, 286 p.). Assistant Professor of History (Fordham
University). Toy industry--Germany--History.
Valuable tool for understanding
influence of consumerism on Wilhelmine society at time of
extreme social transformation; how this new industry helped to
lead way toward German modernity.
Deborah Jaffe(2006).
The History of Toys: From Spinning Tops to Robots.
(London, UK: Sutton Publishing, 288 p.). Toys--History.
Nostalgic exploration of toys through the ages.
One of few consumer markets in which purchaser is generally not same person as user.
Marvin Kaye (1973).
A Toy Is Born. (New York, NY: Stein and Day, 190 p.).
Toy industry--United States.
Woodrow Phoenix (2006).
Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys Conquered the World.
(New York, NY: Kodansha International, 112 p.). Plastic toys;
Plastic toys--Japan; Action figures (Toys). Plastic toys based on Japanese
comics, movies, TV shows have had powerful effect on
imaginations, markets of the West, have kick-started trends in
design and pop culture.
Sydney Ladensohn Stern and Ted Schoenhaus
(1990).
Toyland: The High-Stakes Game of the Toy Industry.
(Chicago, IL: Contemporary Books, 339 p.). Toy industry--United
States.
Tim Walsh (2004).
The Playmakers: Amazing Origins of Timeless Toys.
(Sarasota, FL: Keys Pub., 298 p.). Game-inventor and
toy-industry veteran; co-invented TriBond; inducted into the
Games Magazine Hall of Fame. Toys--History; Games--History;
Board games--History.
Christine L. Williams (2006).
Inside Toyland: Working, Shopping, and Social Inequality.
(Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 252 p.).
Professor of Sociology (University of Texas). Toy
industry--United States--Employees; Clerks (Retail
trade)--United States; Discrimination in employment--United
States; Consumers--United States; Equality--United States.
New look at what selling
and buying for kids are all about.
_________________________________________________________
Business History Links
Brighton
Toy & Model Museum
http://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/
Over 10,000 toys and models on display with a priceless model
train collection and many period antique toys. Founded and
registered as a charitable trust in 1990. The trust was
originally known as the Sussex Toy & Model Museum and was based
on several important collections. Since 1990 these collections
have been refined and enhanced to bring the Museum to a point
where it houses one of the finest displays of model trains,
tinplate toys and other related exhibits on public view anywhere
in the world.
History of Toys and Games
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/toys/
Exhibit on toy and game history features a timeline (4000 B.C.
to the 1990s), essays on inventors (such as Parker Brothers and
Milton Bradley) and toys (Barbie dolls, crayons, and teddy
bears), and a quiz. From the website for the History Channel.
History of Toys and Game
http://www.ideafinder.com/features/everwonder/toys.htm
Founders and founding dates associated with many favorites.
Museum of Yo-Yo History
www.yoyomuseum.com
National Farm Toy Museum
http://www.nationalfarmtoymuseum.com/
Iowa museum houses "thousands of toys and exhibits. ... of
tractors, implements, trucks, miniature farm dioramas, toy
manufacturing information, and pedal tractors. Features photos
of dozens of toy tractors from the museum's collectors tractor
series, a "Kids Corner" with a tractor-part identification
guide, and links to related sites.
National Toy Hall of Fame
http://www.museumofplay.org
Established in 1998, the National Toy Hall of Fame, housed at
Strong National Museum of Play, recognizes toys that have
inspired creative play and enjoyed popularity over a sustained
period. The prestigious hall annually inducts and showcases new
and historic versions of classic toys beloved by generations.
Anyone can nominate a toy to the National Toy Hall of Fame.
Final selections are made on the advice of historians,
educators, and other individuals who exemplify learning,
creativity, and discovery through their lives and careers.
National Yo-Yo Museum
http://www.nationalyoyo.org/
Worlds largest public display of yo-yo's and yo-yo memorabilia.
Featuring displays of yo-yos from the earliest commercial
production to the current performance yoyo's used by todays top
competitors and performers.
Nebraska Toy Stories
http://www.nebraskahistory.org/sites/mnh/toystory.htm
Companion to an exhibit at the Museum of Nebraska History that
"showcased a selection of toys dating from the 1860s through the
1960s grouped by theme." Provides images of some of the exhibit
items, such as building blocks, marbles, tin planes and cars,
dolls and dollhouses, and rocking horses. From the Nebraska
State Historical Society.
Pastimes and Paradigms: Games We Play
http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/games/
This exhibition of "the evolution of games since 1800 ...
includes a wide variety of antique and contemporary games, as
well as rare books on rules, strategies, and recreation.
Featured items include early nineteenth-century geographical
board games; a Civil War game; suffrage games that garnered
support in the battle for women's votes; a vintage Monopoly
game; gambling punchboards; and a selection of games inspired by
television programming.
Rogers Daisy
Airgun Museum
http://www.daisymuseum.com/
March 2000 - refurbished,
expanded museum opened in Rogers, AR; attracts over 1700
visitors a year from almost every state in the continental U.S
and several foreign countries to see the collection of antique
airguns dating to the 1600s.
Toy and
Miniature Museum of Kansas City
http://www.toyandminiaturemuseum.org/
1979 - Mary Harris Francis, an avid collector of dollhouses, and
Barbara Marshall, who made her first of many miniature purchases
in the 1950s, formed a not-for-profit corporation; 1982 - Toy &
Miniature Museum opened in 38-room house that boasts largest
collection of nostalgic toys, fine-scale miniatures and world's
largest collection of marbles, a busy schedule of events and
programming, and frequent special exhibits.
The Toys of Our Childhood
http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/toys/
This holiday exhibit features "historical images and film clips
... that span different eras and reflect on the changing nature
of toys and of times gone by." Browse toy catalog pages,
archival holiday videos, and letters to Santa from the 1800s
through the 1970s. Also includes printable coloring book pages,
and introductory material. In English and French. From the
Archives of Ontario, Canada.
|
