Tinkertoys

Watching his children play with pencils, sticks, and empty spools of thread inspired Charles Pajeau of Evanston, Illinois, to create Tinker Toys in 1914. Pajeau and a partner, Robert Petit, established The Toy Tinkers company and developed several wooden parts, spokes and wheels, that children could assemble into shapes ranging from tall towers and windmills […]

Lincoln Logs

A third classic construction toy, Lincoln Logs, was introduced in 1916. The line of wooden, interlocking logs, green roofs, and red chimneys was invented by John Lloyd Wright, Frank Lloyd Wright’s son. Lincoln Logs, which could be assembled into cabins, forts, and bridges, were especially popular in the 1950s because of the popularity of stories […]

Erector Set

The Erector Set, invented by A.C. Gilbert in 1913, was a collection of steel strips with evenly spaced holes that could be connected with nuts and bolts. Children built models of ferris wheels, bridges, skyscrapers, railways, robots, and more. The sets included gears, wheels, pulleys, motors, and other accessories, and in 1924 parts that would […]

Legos

In 1949 Danish toy maker Ole Christiansen made a set of interlocking red and white plastic blocks with studs on top that could be locked together in different shapes. Christiansen’s company was named Lego. Lego blocks were soon one of the most popular toys in Europe. They were introduced in the United States in 1961 […]