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Vintage Gilbert Erector Set No. 4, 1929 - $400
condition:
good
make / manufacturer:
A.C. Gilbert Co.
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"The toy like structural steel"
"The only construction toy with the square girder"
Includes original box (in poor condition), parts shown, motor, manual of instructions, various print
A.C. Gilbert Co., New Haven, Conn., USA
1929
Gilbert Erector sets were produced from 1913 until 1988. Actually, the sets from 1913-1916 were sold under the Mysto Manufacturing Company name. The business was renamed the A.C. Gilbert Company in 1916. The A.C. Gilbert Company went out of business in 1967 and was sold to Gabriel. Sets were sold by Gabriel under the Gilbert name through 1976. However, the Gabriel, CBS Toys, GAF Viewmaster and Ideal Toys sets that followed continued to use parts originally produced by the Gilbert Company.
Type II sets, from 1924-1962, are characterized by their 5/8” wide trussed look girders. Many specialized parts designed to build specific models were introduced from 1924-1932. The Great Depression put a damper on elaborate sets during the early to mid-1930s. By the late 1930s, sets were on the increase in size again. Very few metal sets were produced during World War II, most likely sets put together from leftover parts. After WWII, sets started small again, but gradually increased starting in 1948 with the introduction of the No. 12 1/2 Walking Giant set. Sets and models remained mostly unchanged until 1958 when Musical Sets hit the scene for this year and 1959. The end of the toy was in site as the quality of the sets started to deteriorate until the final demise in 1962.
300K