Adopt an Artifact: Erector Archival Boxes

The National Building Museum’s Architectural Toy Collection includes an expansive range of building toys dating from the mid-nineteenth century through the 1980s, built in large part through the generosity of George Wetzel, one of the most prolific toy collectors in the United States. Among the most richly represented brands in the collection are Erector Sets, a line of building toys distinguished by remarkable variety and lasting historical significance.

Founded in 1911 by Alfred Carlton “A.C.” Gilbert, the Erector company set the benchmark for national-scale toy production in the United States. As early as 1913, Erector Sets became the subject of the first-ever national advertising campaign for a toy, filling the pages of the Saturday Evening Post and Popular Mechanics with calls for boys to play, build, and develop engineering skills. By 1935, Erector had become one of the most successful toy products in the world, offering complex, motorized kits that introduced an unprecedented level of sophistication to building toys.

Erector Sets were rigorously based on real industrial construction techniques, introducing steel components and electrical elements to an industry mostly limited to wooden blocks. Gilbert later claimed that his vision for a truly modern building toy was inspired by electric power infrastructure. An Olympic athlete and accomplished sleight-of-hand magician, Gilbert moved from his native Oregon to study at Yale University at a moment when New Haven’s railroads were converting from steam to electricity. Watching the city’s first power lines take shape, he recognized their modular system of metal girders and bolts as the ideal model for a new kind of construction toy.

Within a few years of patenting his toy concept, Gilbert became the head of a $20 million dollar corporation. As his enterprise grew, Erector evolved from a basic system of steel beams and bolt connections into a wide array of specialized components, including pulleys, gears, lights, and the first ever motorized parts in a building toy. By encouraging children to not only assemble prescribed sets, but also to use the modular Erector system to bring their own visions to life, Erector set the precedent for expandable, creative brands to come like LEGO® bricks and K’Nex.

Gilbert was a public figure in the early twentieth century due to his prolific advertising presence. At the height of his popularity during World War I, he was a prominent “Four Minute Man,” delivering brief public speeches that encouraged Americans to purchase war bonds. Most famously, he petitioned for the United States Council of National Defense to allow for the continued production of toys instead of converting his factories to ammunition production. His plea succeeded, and he was celebrated and dubbed “The Man Who Saved Christmas” by the press.

Gabriel, Co. purchased the Erector brand in 1967, after sales dramatically declined by the midcentury. Since then, Erector has changed hands several times, but remains active under the ownership of Meccano, a British competitor also represented in the Museum’s Architectural Toy Collection. Early Erector and Meccano sets are now valuable collector’s items, and dedicated associations like the A. C. Gilbert Heritage Society exist specifically for continuing the legacy of these iconic building toy lines.

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Click here to Adopt an Artifact and help protect this legacy.

The National Building Museum is home to the nation’s foremost archive of American architectural and design heritage. The Adopt an Artifact program allows you to directly support the proper care and preservation of objects with critical conservation needs, helping the Museum continue its mission to inspire curiosity about the world we design and build. To support this initiative, click here.