The letter from M.D. of Davenport, Iowa, read: “My mother has a small collection of Tinker toys that apparently pre-date what everyone knows as Tinkertoys.
“Two examples are a baby rattle and a bowling game identified as Tinkerpins. We cannot find any information on these toys. … P.S. We’ve even contacted the Evanston Chamber of Commerce — no help.”
The last sentence set me off.
The Tinkertoy originated in Evanston, Ill. The Evanston Historical Society has the world’s largest collection of Tinker toys, a tidbit of information that I learned when conducting an appraisal clinic there several years ago.
If I know this, why doesn’t the staff of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce? Chambers of Commerce tend to be present- and future-oriented. Maybe they also should be concerned about the industrial past of their communities as well. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” — George Santayana in “The Life of Reason”.
A call to Melinda Kwedar, acting archivist at the Evanston Historical Society (225 Greenwood St., Evanston, Ill. 60201) produced not only the answer to M.D.’s question, but also a wealth of information about Tinkertoys.
Since there is little in print on the subject, I thought it would be fun to share the information with you.
Sometime early in 1914, Charles Hamilton Pajeau, a 39-year-old Evanston tombstone cutter, supposedly saw a child playing with an empty spool of thread and a pencil. He was struck by the child’s imagination.
In the basem*nt of his Evanston home, 325 Greenwood Ave., he developed the idea of the Tinkertoy, based on a geometric principle of the progressive ratio of right triangles.
Production began in a one-room shop. Competition at the time came from inexpensive imported toys. Buyers were reluctant to try something new and many contended that no one would be interested in buying a toy in a can.
During the 1914 Christmas season, the majority of outlets for the Tinkertoy consisted of cigar stores and newsstands.
Pajeau’s attempt to market his toy nationally met initially with limited success. He went to New York, rented a hotel room, set up an elaborate display, but failed to attract a single toy buyer.
As with most verbal accounts, what happened next is open to interpretation. One story says Pajeau leased a window in a drugstore on the way to the New York docks. In it he constructed a model windmill, used an electric fan to put it into motion and attracted a crowd that included some toy buyers.
Another report said there were two window displays — one at Grand Central Station and another at 34th and Broadway. Macy’s liked the concept and did its own a window display. Several gross of toys were sold and the Tinkertoy was launched. An Eastern show room was opened at 200 Fifth Ave. in New York City.
Growth was slow, but steady. In 1924, Pajeau incorporated The Toy Tinkers Inc., giving each department head a stock bonus in the new corporation.
In 1929, he began giving free coffee and milk to all employees at lunch time. Tennis and handball courts were constructed on the roof of the factory for employee use. A strong bond of loyalty developed between employer and employees.
Pajeau’s generosity is legendary. An active sailor and member of the Sheridan Shores Yacht Club, he bought a new Star boat each year. He sold his old boat, usually at $1,000 or more below market value, to a friend. Pajeau’s personally designed Christmas cards always contained money as well as a printed greeting. When employees married, they received a monetary gift from their employer.
An early catalog, possibly from the late 1920s, shows a wide variety of toys in addition to the regular and double Tinkertoy set: Baby Doll Tinker, Circus Pup, Drag-on Tinker, Follo-Me Tinker, Goat Tinker, Life Guard Tinker, Necklace, Pony Tinker, Tinker Beads, Tinker Dogs, Tinker Mule, Tinkerpins, Tom Tinker and Tom Tinker’s sister Belle.
The regular Tinkertoy set claimed that 1,000 different objects could be built from it; the double set increased the possibilities to 10,000. Tinkerpins was patented on June 20, 1916.
A Toys From Tinkertown catalog from about the same time period lists: Beads in Jars, Belle, Choo-Choo, Clown, Dragon, Follo-Me, Jump Rope, Lanky, Marathon, Necklace, Pony, Rowly Boat, 7 in 1, Siren, Surf Boat, Ten Pin, Tinkerpins, Tom and Whirly.
The toys retailed between 50 cents and $1.50. Tinkertoy sets were not shown, but obviously were very much in production.
A 1931 advertisem*nt contains the following offerings: Auto Racer No. 2, Baby Doll Tinker, Belle Tinker, Bunny Tinker, Double Tinkertoy, Gym Tinker, Puppy Tinker, Siren Tinker, Tinker Chicks, Tinker Rabbit, Tinkertoy and Tom Tinker.
One interesting aside is that none of the building instruction books for the Tinkertoy ever contained a model for a gun or rifle. Pajeau did not like firearms.
Around 1937, Toy Tinkers Inc. made the decision to concentrate solely on the manufacture of the Tinkertoy and discontinued the rest of the line of Tinker Toys. The first major change in the Tinkertoy occurred thereafter when color rods were added to give new life to the product.
A. G. Spalding & Brothers Inc. bought The Toy Tinkers Inc. in November 1952 from Charles and Grace Pajeau, Mrs. Robert Pettit, and the employees, who owned 20 percent of the stock.
Corporate headquarters were at 807 Greenwood Ave. Pajeau felt the sale would “perpetuate the existence of the business.” The sale proved timely.
Charles Pajeau died on Dec. 17, 1952, survived by Grace Pajeau, his wife, and Grace P. Ross, his daughter. His will stated that since he felt that children were responsible for his estate, they should share in it. The Charles H. and Grace F. Pajeau Children’s Foundation, administered by Northern Trust, was created for underprivileged and needy children.
In 1964, The Toy Tinkers Inc. celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Tinkertoy. During that time, more than 55 million sets were sold. Scholarships worth $1,000 and a trip to New York were offered for the most original Tinkertoy model.
Questor Education Products bought Toy Tinkers Inc. from Spalding and closed the Evanston factory on Jan. 1, 1973. In January 1978, Gabriel Industries acquired the Tinkertoy when buying Questor’s Child Guidance line. In August 1978, CBS Inc. acquired Gabriel.
This brief history of The Toy Tinkers Inc. barely scratches the surface. I have written it to encourage someone living near Evanston to go to the Evanston Historical Society, public library and other area sources, do the necessary research and write a major feature article about the history and evolution of the Tinkertoy and other products of The Toy Tinkers Inc.
Few children escaped playing with a Tinkertoy. Learning more about the company’s history and its products will bring back many happy memories.
