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Page 28 The Antique Shoppe June, 2018
CONSTRUCTION TOYS

ERECTOR TOYS

YESTERDAY’S CHILDHOOD FAVORITES

by Roy Nuhn

One of the finest names in the long history of In 1909, after graduation from college, he
American toy making is that of the A.C. Gilbert started up the Mysto Magic Co. to turn out
Co. Anyone who is old enough to remember when kits and equipment for professional and
toys were made of metal instead of plastic will amateur magicians. Slowly, new products
remember their famous Erector sets. were added.
From its renown Erector Square address in New
Haven, Connecticut, the A.C. Gilbert Co. produced
a steady stream of innovative, educational and fun
toys for the children of America. Alfred C. Gilbert ↑Box Top-Erector No. 1-1/2, manufactured in 1935.
- a long-time presence on the American amateur With each Erector set came a manual
sports scene, holder of an M.D. degree from Yale, describing all the wonders that could
and professional magician - was the guiding genius be fashioned and put together. These
behind the firm that bore his name. manuals, most of them written by A.C.
Gilbert himself, were 50 to 70-page
booklets of model plans and loads of
helpful hints. They also included a
parts list and ordering information for
replacement items. Today, the manuals
are nearly as collectable as the toys they
↑A.C. Gilbert with a
Ferris Wheel made A popular seller and one which Gilbert describe. Beginning around 1950, a
from one of his consistently advertised was No. 7. Selling common manual with applications for all
Erector sets for $10, it had 473 parts and built 563 No. 1 to No. 6 Erectors was used.
(Circa late 1940s). models, but its appeal centered on the After the end of World War II, a new
boiler and sand shovel that came with line of Erector sets, numbered with the
the standard complement of base plates, 1/2 designation, began showing up on
←1950s instructional curved girders, perforated strips, and die- store shelves. Model 6-1/2 could be
booklet for Erector cast, beveled solid brass gears. All of this used to build a motor-driven lift bridge
sets. was packed into a sanded, stained, and or windmill pump. Model 12-1/2, the
varnished hardwood box equipped with highest, was an atomic era marvel,
Then, in the fall of 1911, the By the 1920s, this numbering system had brass finished handle grips and suitcase making it possible for the mechanical-
idea of the Erector toy came to become firmly established - perhaps a bit catches. It made a handsome gift for a engineer-to-be to construct his very own
him. He fashioned a prototype set too rigidly. In later years the company young lad. “Giant Power Plant.”
and worked with it for a long time, began assigning half-numbers to new Top of the line in the mid-1920s and Though the A.C. Gilbert Co. went out
continually adding refinements. In sets to ease them into the nomenclature. early 1930s was No. 10, whose price tag of business in the 1960s, a few years after
1913, the Erector line was displayed for Eventually the system broke down and of $50 made it more of an investment in a its founder’s death, Erector sets continued
the first time at the summer Toy Fair in collectors today cannot rely upon the fact child’s education than a mere toy. T h i s to be made by other firms who picked up
New York City and Chicago. It was an that a higher number indicates a more one was for the serious, mechanically the patent rights.
instant hit with store buyers and later complex model. inclined child. In addition to nearly 2500 Collecting Erector toys is a popular
with consumers during the Christmas The smallest and cheapest was No. 1, parts, it’s fascinating extras included a hobby and it takes on many shades.
season. In June 1916, Mysto Magic which in 1915 sold for only $1. Containing dredge bucket and a giant fly wheel. Besides the obvious - boxed sets and
Co. disappeared forever, and the A.C. 104 parts, mostly girders and locking miscellaneous parts - a serious
Gilbert Co. came into being. nuts, a minimum of 278 models could collector might seek, there are
The major attraction of the Erectors be built from this simple collection, several other possibilities.
was their flexibility: they had square including a tea wagon, push cart and Instruction manuals are
girders that could be put together with parcel truck. favorites and most sell for
only two bolts, and most of all, the models All Erector sets numbered from around $15 to $35. These
could move! All construction toys before 4 upwards, costing $5 and up, were “How to Make ‘Em Books,”
them built only stationary models and equipped with electric fractional as they were called, are priced
usually relied upon stone or steel parts. motors. No. 4, for instance, consisted higher if they date back to the
The tantalizing mechanical aspect, along of 235 parts, permitting 500 possible 1920s or earlier.
with the Erector’s ability to make dozens, models to be constructed, many of The least expensive
even hundreds of models made it the them mechanical. Erector collectibles fall into
country’s top selling the ephemera category and
construction toy of include full-page magazine
all time. advertisements, the company’s
Erectors came promotional “Erector Tips” publications, and the many
in a variety of ↑A.C. Gilbert Co. was famous different sales booklets handed out by retailers that
progre ssi ve ly world-wide for its American emphasized the educational value of Gilbert products.
complex, and Flyer toy trains and accesso- Age alone is not the major determinant of an Erector
h i g h e r - p r i c e d ries. This advertisement was set’s value today. Most in demand are those that have all
varieties. Numbered located on an inside page of their parts, packaged as originally sold and in near mint
1 to 12, they offered a 1950s Erector instructional condition - especially the more technically sophisticated
parents and children booklet. models of the 1913-1933 years.
many choices. Erector toys are not only highly collectable, but they
←Cover of “How to Make ‘Em represent an important footnote in the history of happy
Book” for No. 1-1/2 Erector set childhoods of the past.
manufactured in 1935.