Play set | magician's properties:Mysto Magic Exhibition Set

Alfred Carlton Gilbert was something of a 20th-century Renaissance Man. He received a medical degree from Yale University, won an Olympic medal for pole vaulting, and earned money for college performing as a magician. In 1909 he became a partner in the Mysto Manufacturing Company, producing magic sets. Gilbert's true forte, however, lie in toy making. In 1913, he introduced the famous Erector set, an American version of the popular British-made Meccano toys. Three years later, Gilbert bought out his Mysto business partners and founded the A. C. Gilbert Company. The company, guided by Gilbert's strong belief in importance of science, technology, and invention, created toys to introduce and interest children in these fields. Even though Gilbert's company is best remembered for its Erector set, it continued to make the Mysto Magic sets into the 1950s..