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Pull toy:ClownTinker

The Toy Tinkers, Inc.1925-1929

The Strong National Museum of Play

The Strong National Museum of Play
Rochester , United States

Tinker Toys appeared in the second decade of the 20th century along with several other (now classic) construction sets designed to introduce boys to the manly world of engineering and mechanics. With these toys, youngsters made the skyscrapers, bridges, towers, carousels and other structures that they saw in their own cities and towns. Tinker Toys were first envisioned by Charles Pajeau, a tombstone cutter and salesman. He fashioned his toys after the pencils and empty wooden spools his children used to build abstract forms. Initial reaction to Pajeau's invention was lukewarm; he sold his toys to one shop at a time in Chicago. Within a year, Pajeau went national, producing and selling more than one million sets of his construction toy. The toy has long endured: most Americans of the 20th century recall the Tinker Toys of their youth. Though primarily known for the construction sets it made, the Toy Tinkers of Evanston also made a variety of toys.

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  • Title: Pull toy:ClownTinker
  • Creator: The Toy Tinkers, Inc.
  • Date Created: 1925-1929
  • Location: Evanston, IL
  • Type: Baby and Toddler Toys
  • Medium: wood, paint, cord
  • Object ID: 114.5894
  • Credit Line: Gift of Anne Heuer Lewis
The Strong National Museum of Play

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