Images(2)

Toy Circus

PeriodCirca 1885

Place MadeWaverly, New York, U.S.A.

MediumBasswood, printed paper, steel

Dimensions9.75 × 5.5 × 17 in. (24.8 × 14 × 43.2 cm)

InscribedPrinted on two sides of the wagon, "CRANDALL'S IMPROVED BUILDING BLOCKS / Patented February 5th 1867. Re-issued March 30th, 1875, and May 4th, 1875. Patented October 11th, 1875. Patented January 25th 1876."

ClassificationsToys & Games

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Henry M. Post, Mrs. Lewis Waring, Mr. Amory L. Haskell, in memory of their mother, Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1944

Object number1955

DescriptionA rectangular box, mounted on four rotating wheels, serving as both storage box and circus wagon. A printed paper panel is glued to the sliding box side, proclaiming "CRANDALL'S HAPPY FAMILY" above a scene including lions, tigers, hyenas, wolves, bears, and monkeys.The outer panel slides out to reveal an inner frame fitted with cage "bars," which also slides out, revealing twenty five flat basswood figures printed in black. Lions, tigers, a rhinoceros, wolves, a baboon, and a circus performer. Many of the figures are jointed, with moveable arms and legs. Several of the animals have thin leather tails. Fancifully cut banners proclaim the circus offerings. Grooves cut into the top and sides of the wagon allows the user to arrange the figures and banners in a variety of poses.
NotesCelebrated toymaker Charles Martin Crandall was born in 1833 in Covington, Pennsylvania. As a boy, Crandall worked in his father's woodworking and furnituremaking factory, taking over the operations of the business at the age of sixteen after his father's death. By 1866, Crandall had moved his company from Covington, Pennsylvania to Montrose, Pennsylvania. His first toy products were sets of parlor croquet games. The company quickly added building blocks, dominoes, and other wood products. Crandall's use of interlocking tongue and groove parts and flat wood pieces allowed for easy-to-construct three dimensional forms that could pack flat. Crandall's most famous game was known as Pigs In Clover, a simple ball-and-maze game board. It was an almost immediate national success. One member of the United States Congress brought one of the games into the Senate, with fellow senators vying for a chance to try the novelty. Charles M. Crandall's accomplishments are sometimes confused with those of other Crandall cousins, also toymakers, including his cousin Jesse A. Crandall, who patented more than 200 toys during his career. Charles Crandall died in 1905 at the age of 72. Crandall's brief obituary mentioned his Pigs In Clover, noting at the end that "Crandall made a fortune in the business, but died comparatively poor."

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