The Toy that Built America

If you are a certain age, the Erector Set needs no introduction. From 1913 to the 1960s, the boy-centric construction toy was a Christmas morning staple. The man who invented it, A.C. Gilbert, became a household name by creating a world of contests, camaraderie, and boyish advice that nurtured millions of American kids. For a time, the A.C. Gilbert Company was among the largest toy manufacturers in the world.

Bruce Watson, seen recently on the History Channel’s “Toys that Built America,” will explain how Gilbert, a marketing genius, abandoned his Yale medical degree to become a lifelong boy at play in the world of toy manufacturing.

Watson is the author of four well-reviewed books and three dozen feature articles for Smithsonian. Now retired from freelancing, he spends his time in his one-man online magazine, The Attic.