Original Circa 1919 STRUCTO Toys Product Catalog (HIGHLY IMPORTANT)
Freeport, IL: Structo Toys, 1919. First Edition. Original wraps. 10 1/8 X 6 3/8 Inches. 16 PP. Very Good. Item #6521
"Structo Auto-Builder Outfit is a new creation and the most remarkable and unique toy ever invented. Nothing like it or even approaching this remarkable achievement in toys has ever before been produced." - Page 1
Extremely early, if not the first, catalog from Structo toys featuring the revolutionary "Auto-Builder" kits #10 and #12. Catalog produced circa 1919. Structo was founded by Louis Strohacker, his uncle Edward and C.E. Thompson around 1908. Structo toys began producing building toys aimed at boys starting in 1911. Louis Strohacker had dreamed for years of creating a toy that would teach a boy how to build and maintain an actual car during his adulthood. He tinkered with motor-driven models, but eventually settled on the wind-up mechanical models as the price of the motors would have eliminated most of his desired market. The importance of the Structo toys of the early 1900's cannot be overstated in my opinion. These toys were sophisticated, intricate and geared at "brainy" kids (even using this term in their catalogs). Structo essentially created the entire market for "building" toys. While Erector gets much of the credit in this toy line, Structo was actually producing building toys that were very similar to A.C. Gilbert's Erector set the year he says he first envisioned the toy line on a train ride (1911). Structo later sold many designs to Erector and focused more on vehicles.
Two original staples intact. Light wear to spine and corners. Some scuffing to covers. An exceptional copy of this catalog that OCLC locates "0" copies of. I would put this in the running for most important toy catalog available in commerce right now.
Price: $750.00