MADE IN CONNECTICUT:
TOYS FOR AMERICAN KIDS
1850 - 2007

In early America, most children had simple playthings made at home from materials close at hand. By the second quarter of the nineteenth century, budding industrialization in central Connecticut changed all that. The clock making industry and tin makers spawned another industry – toy making.

Clockwork toys, “magical” toys that moved, made of tin, delighted adults and children alike – and they were made in central Connecticut.

The Wilton exhibition shows the relationship between Connecticut-made clocks, tin ware and toys. One particular clock, by George Brown, a clockmaker from 1845 – 1855, shows this progression. Credited with manufacturing the first clockwork toy in America, George Brown was a talented designer and artist. Three of his original sketches and the toys they represent are included in the exhibition, along with a number of his other works.

Many collectors have loaned toys for this exhibition, many rare and infrequently seen. The exhibit is wide ranging, from an early autoperipatictikos (walking doll) in its original box, to 20 th century toys. All the key makers, A & E Stevens, Stevens & Brown, Gong Bell, A.C. Gilbert and a wide selection of Ives trains and toys, are represented. In addition, the exhibit also includes some toys made in surrounding states, but played with in Connecticut.

Toys originally made to entertain boys and girls are now the “toys” of collectors, with values that would shock the original makers. The Wilton exhibition is designed to entertain the collector and to educate those interested in what American kids played with before plastics and electronics.
Call the museum for details, 203-762-7257.

Marilyn, Gould
Museum Director

Wilton Historical Society, 224 Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897

Phone 203 762-7257 • Fax 203 762-3297 • info@wiltonhistorical.org www.wiltonhistorical.org