Erector Sets, Trains and New Haven’s Toymaker A.C. Gilbert

We did it!!  This is our 200th episode of Grating the Nutmeg! Thanks to our listeners, we have travelled across the state during every time period to bring you vivid, fascinating stories from our state’s history. Become a podcast subscriber to get notified every time there’s a new episode!

During this holiday season, it seemed like the perfect time to bring you the story of Connecticut’s biggest toymaker! 

Of all the toys that are enshrined in the National Toy of Fame, two stand out as having solid Connecticut connections, the Cabbage Patch doll and the Erector Set. In this episode, we’re going to find out how A.C. Gilbert, a Yale educated doctor, became a millionaire with an idea he got while riding the Metro North train from New Haven to New York City. His construction toy, the Erector Set, sold in the millions and helped to educate generations of scientists and engineers. He came up with dozens of best-selling toys that were all manufactured at his factory in New Haven, Connecticut. We’ll also interview Walter Zawalich, Gilbert Trains Curator, at the Eli Whitney Museum about their holiday Gilbert train show. Co-host Patrick O’Sullivan will share his information on 1965’s James Bond slot car toy that helped to push the company into closing.

Much of today’s information comes from the book The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made, The Life and Times of A.C. Gilbert, the Man Who Saved Christmas by Bruce Watson and the website of the Eli Whitney Museum in Hamden, Connecticut. The Whitney Museum collects and studies the products and legacy of A.C. Gilbert and his company.

Find out more here: https://www.eliwhitney.org/museum/-gilbert-project/-man/a-c-gilbert-scientific-toymaker-essays-arts-and-sciences-october

The information on the Eli Whitney Train Show is here: https://www.eliwhitney.org/exhibitions/train-display-2024-25

Other museums with train shows:

Connecticut River Museum

https://ctrivermuseum.org/events/steve-cryans-31st-annual-train-show/

Wilton Historical Society

https://wiltonhistorical.org/events/great-train-holiday-show/

To get information about how to  visit Erector Square, the A.C.Gilbert Factory complex now adaptively reused as artist studios, go to their website at https://erectorsquarestudios.com/

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This episode of Grating the Nutmeg was produced by Mary Donohue and engineered by Patrick O’Sullivan at https://www.highwattagemedia.com/   Follow GTN on our socials-Facebook, Instagram , Threads, and BlueSky.

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