Eli Whitney Museum

A.C. Gilbert began making toys in New Haven 100 years ago just as Europe stumbled into the conflict we now call World War I. On November 11th, Veterans celebrate the end of that war.

In 1916, German toys could not longer be sold in America. Gilbert bought Richter Anchor Stone Building Sets, the American division of the company that was closed during the war. These lovely blocks taught a very careful way of learning.

All wars are messy. The 1914 War introduced new messes. It was a war of new machines – the machine gun, the submarine, the tank, and the airplane. The War's generals had learned their strategies in the chessboard conflicts of cavalry charges, colorful uniforms, and a very different world.