Toys of the 1910's
Toys in the 1910's were directed toward kids. The boys had engineering and construction toys directed at them, like building sets. The girls had more domesticated toys aimed them, such as dolls. Most toys embodied the progress of America like in infrastructure. America was moving forward as a country and therefore toy inspired a new generation of engineers and workers.
Raggedy Ann was created by American writer Johnny Gruelle. He wrote short stories about the doll for young children. The doll is a rag doll with red yarn hair and a triangle nose. Johnny got the patent for Raggedy Ann in 1915.
Raggedy Ann impacted the dolls of today. First, they started off as rag dolls and later moved on to plastic and porcelain. Charles H. Pajeau designed Tinkertoy, a toy construction set, after seeing kids playing with sticks and empty spools of thread. The set contains natural wooden sticks and wooden spools with holes drilled in them.
This toy impacted the later generations by letting kids start inventing objects such as structures and aircraft's (later on.) |
Lincoln Logs were first created in 1916 by John Lloyd Wright. The toy was based on the architecture of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan. The building was constructed out of interlocking beams. In 1918, Lincoln Logs were introduced to the market.
These toys have been used by everyone for decades, they are still used today. Many kids were inspired to be architects, engineers, and construction workers. Erector sets were first introduced into the market in 1913 and it was first envisioned by Alfred Carlton Gilbert in 1911. While riding a train, he was inspired as he watched the steel girders be erected to carry the electrical currents. The toy consists of various metal beams with holes for assembly using nuts and bolts. What make this set so prominent from other building set? Well you can easily build something and take it apart and use it again.
The Erector set greatly impacted the toys of today. At the time, it was the only construction set that contained a working motor. In today's toys, most and almost all toys have a working motor. |
Most toys in this decade were directed towards inspiring children to come up with new ideas to help further the nations progress. These toys set the foundations for the next generation of toys. In the next decade, more contemporary technology was introduced into the toys such as film and music.