Toys · 1923
Jazz Age Playtime and Steel-Built Dreams
In 1923, the Roaring Twenties transformed playrooms with innovative manufacturing and soaring popular crazes. From life-like porcelain baby dolls to stamped-steel wagons and nationwide Mah-Jongg fevers, children and adults alike embraced new parlor pastimes.
- Doll | George Borgfeldt & Co.
Bye-Lo Baby Doll
Sculpted by Grace Storey Putnam to resemble a real three-day-old infant, this realistic doll became an instant commercial sensation known as the Million Dollar Baby.
- Tile Game | Parker Brothers
Mah-Jongg Craze
Sweeping across North America in 1923, this traditional Chinese tile game became a booming parlor game craze with custom bone and bamboo sets.
- Ride-On Toy | Radio Steel & Mfg.
Radio Flyer Steel Wagon
Italian immigrant Antonio Pasin introduced stamped-steel mass production techniques to build affordable, iconic red toy wagons for adventurous kids.
- Construction | John Lloyd Wright
Lincoln Logs
Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright's son, these notched wooden interlocking timber sets allowed children to construct frontier cabins and pioneer forts.
- Construction | A. C. Gilbert Co.
Gilbert Erector Set
Featuring real miniature electric motors and steel girders, these popular engineering sets inspired aspiring young builders across the nation.
- Doll | Lenci (Italy)
Lenci Pressed-Felt Dolls
Crafted in Turin by Elena Scavini, these exquisite molded felt art dolls featuring side-glancing eyes captured high-society playrooms worldwide.
- Model Trains | American Flyer
American Flyer Electric Trains
Featuring detailed cast-iron locomotives and colorful enamel passenger cars, these O-gauge electric train sets dominated holiday catalog displays.
- Construction | The Toy Tinkers
Tinkertoy Construction Set
Wooden spools and flexible wooden rods allowed children to construct windmills, ferris wheels, and geometric structures limited only by imagination.
Enjoyed your trip back in time?