_My Life With Gilbert Science Kits_

My Experience with Gilbert Science Sets

Hi Lindy Hoppers!!! Boys Should be Boys!


Science and Magic Kits A.C. Gilbert Never Lost His Zest for Magic

Join Us on Facebook This page presents a brief summary of the marvelous Science and Magic kits sold by the Gilbert Company. In case you think that some of these things look "hokey" remember that there was no television or video games at the time they were sold. Click on a Box to Go There Some of you (i.e. folks coming in from Search Engines) have a very focused need for information. We have specially prepared the following list just for you. Science Kits [THIS Page] Overview of Chemistry, Microscope, Science, and Magic Kits The Gilbert Chemistry Set The Gilbert Atomic Energy Set The Gilbert Microscope Set The Gilbert Electric Eye Set The Gilbert Physics Set The Gilbert Metal Casting Set The Gilbert Air-Kraft Set The Gilbert Glass Blowing Set The Gilbert Hydraulics Set The Gilbert Communications Set The Gilbert Magnetism Set The Gilbert Optics Set The Gilbert Sound Experiments Set The Gilbert Soldering Set The Gilbert Erector Brik Sets The Gilbert Big Boy Tool Sets The Gilbert Elementary Electricity Set The Gilbert Lighting Set The Gilbert New Wheel Toy 66 Stunts With an Electric Motor Mysto Magic Sets Dexterity Puzzles Balloon-Making Kit The Gilbert War Toys The Gilbert Miniature Machinery Set The Gilbert Pak-O-Fun Moovy Sho The Gilbert String Riders Free Downloads of Science Stuff Contact me about something All About A.C. Gilbert [Separate Page] Who was A.C. Gilbert? How did A.C. Gilbert sell things to Boys? What was Gilbert's Competition like? How can I learn more about A.C. Gilbert? Rationale for the Erector Set in the 21st Century Mr. Gilbert Patents the Vibrator Contact me about something Erector Sets [Separate Page] What is this 1/2 Business? A Slide Show From the "How-to-Make-em books" Pictures of MY Erector Sets The 4 1/2 Set The 6 1/2 Set The 7 1/2 Set The 8 1/2 Set The 9 1/2 Set The 10 1/2 Set The 12 1/2 Set The Constructioneer #12 Set My Experience in Restoring Erector Sets Erector Patents Free Download Stuff Contact me about something The End of the Gilbert Company [Separate Page] The Last Days of the Gilbert Company The Gilbert Chemistry of Plating and Paints Set The Gilbert Pottery Set The Gilbert Slot Car Set Moon McDare Action Figure James Bond Action Figure Honey West Action Figure U.N.C.L.E. Action Figures Martian Magic Set Model Airlanes Contact me about something Those with a general interest should just keep scrolling down Chemistry Sets and Other Tools of the Devil Mr. Gilbert had a very strong belief in the educational value of Science Kits. He felt that a wide variety of educational toys could bring out the engineer or scientist in any Boy and made a very broad array of kits to offer something that would have a special resonance with The Boy. A Toy for Every Boy Finding the one true vocation... Click to Enlarge Here is the cover of a brochure that covers the range of science kits that were available in the late 1930s -- it is intitled "How to Become" and offers the Boy a wide choice of careers. You can click here to download a full copy of the booklet. How to Become The Boy could do it with some help from Dad... and Mr. Gilbert... Click to Enlarge He hired his friends on the Yale faculty to write the manuals and achieved just the right mix of fun and science to influence generations of Boys. Boy Engineering The Actual Hydraulics Set (1960s "Safe" Version) Imagine getting your kid to study Hydraulics or Weather... Click to Enlarge In addition, Mr. Gilbert never lost his enthusiasm for Magic. He continued to make Mysto Magic Sets and incororated illusion and entertainment into his science kits. The Chemistry Set Gilbert Chemistry Sets From the 1918 Catlogue Click to Enlarge Chemistry was a very big deal during the "Golden Age" of Gilbert Science Kits. In 1937-1938, Popular Mechanics ran an amazing four part spread on "Chemistry and You" that touched on all the marvelous ways that chemistry was making a better future for everyone. You might want to take a look at these articles to get an idea about what expectations that Parents and Boys had for Chemistry. Chemistry and You Popular Mechanics November 1937 through March 1938 Click to Enlarge We have scanned these articles and make them available to you for free download: click here for "Chemistry and You" Part 1 click here for "Chemistry and You" Part 2 click here for "Chemistry and You" Part 3 click here for "Chemistry and You" Part 4 Why is it that Boys can be very constructive with the Erector Set and become utterly destructive with a Chemistry Set? One would think that there is some male gene that wants to either make an explosion or a foul smell (or both...) I will plead guilty to this. On the day I got my Chemistry set, my friends and I became demolition experts. Gunpowder was fairly easy to make and we detonated home-made firecrackers, rockets, Molotov Cocktails, and pipe bombs with a regularity that might remind you of Baghdad today. The strange thing was that you could buy all the stuff you needed for gunpowder at the local drug store. If you got hold of a chemical catalog, you could send away for even more powerful substances. In fact, Experiment #1 in the Chemistry Manual indicates that Gilbert wanted to "get it over" before proceeding to Science: Experiment No. 1: Explosions Telling the Boy not to make it bigger is like waving a red flag at a bull... HOWEVER - at the time, the Gilbert Chemistry Set got the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval: The Good Housekeeping Seal Repair or Replacement Guaranteed In today's Homeland Security Crisis Mentality, I'm not even going to mention the ingredients that we used, only to say that by the 9th grade, we were making three-foot deep craters and clearing out large rooms with stink bombs. Today, this kind of behavior is grounds for arrest and commitment to a nuthouse. Back then, it seemed to be the norm. When I was a freshman at Carnegie Tech, it seemed that all the National Merit Scholars had a homemade bomb story. All of these people grew up to be responsible scientists and engineers. Gilbert Chemistry and Mineralogy Book Covers Left: the Manual for the Basic (Elementary) Set Middle: The Complete (199pp) Chemistry Manual from the 1930s and 1940s (identical content) Right: The Mineralogy Book Click to Enlarge I have scanned all three manuals shown above have placed them in the Free Download Section Gilbert's successful approach to Boys used a mixture of entertainment and knowledge. If you place "Gilbert Chemistry set" into a search engine, you will find a large number of citations from scientists who got their start with one of these outfits. On the left is an ad for some of the more elaborate sets that feature testimonials from promising young scientists; on the right is an ad that shows how the Boys were drawn into a serious study of Chemistry. Gilbert Chemistry Magic Booklet Once a magician, always a magician... You can have if for free regardless of what this dealer thinks it's worth... Click to Enlarge A recent (2010) online auction wanted $1,000 for this book, showing that there is no limits to the degree to which dealers believe in the gullibility of buyers. We have been able to obtain and scan a copy of Chemical Magic which you may download right now ABSOLUTELY FREE. It is a 62 page booklet which we have separated into four parts to minimize bandwidth usage. Please SAVE the file to your computer and then read it: Click here to download Part One Click here to download Part Two Click here to download Part Three Click here to download Part Four Mr. Gilbert always mixed a little entertainment in with his science. Here is another little booklet from the 1950s on tricks that can be performed with Chemistry -- it's largely the same material that is in Chemical Magic A.C. Gilbert Home Chemistry Booklet Click to Enlarge This is entitled Gilbert Home Chemistry. This 28-page softcover booklet was published in 1954 and is the size of a comic book (8" x 10"). As shown above, the booklet lists the chemical composition of various household items. Those of you with a science background will be somewhat amused at the number of "common household products" that are now listed as "hazardous substances." Additional sections describe how the Boy can put these compounds to good use, such as: Christmas Experiments (colored fireplace flames from blue vitriol, copper sulfate, potassium permanganate, boric acid, and more!) The Chemistry of Food Home Kitchen Chemistry (testing silver plate, coloring soap with cochineal solution, dissolving grease) Ink (recipes for blue, black, purple, carmine, green, and more inks) Fermentation -- every Boy needs to learn how to make beer... Essential Oils and Perfumes (making rose water, geranium water, lilac water, making incense) If the Boy were to engage in almost any of these experiments today, he would be hauled in by the goons at Homeland Security. Testimonials for the Chemistry Set We LOVE the "No. 15 Master Scientist Set"... Kids got started because it was fun... and they could capture the attention of their peers You could even get a "professional lab bench" Click to Enlarge To be fair to the Boys of 1957, there was never any intent to harm normal American people; our targets were clumps of dirt or the ruins of a building long abandoned on the old Harmony Short Line. Generally, these experiments were justified as practice for what we would when the Reds invaded Pittsburgh. Iraq would seem like a picnic if someone should try to occupy the USA -- even today's over-socialized male children would switch on their "destroy" gene and go to work. The Chemistry set MUST have been good because it was endorsed by SUPERMAN! SUPERMAN Visits the Gilbert Hall of Science SUPERMAN Gives a Pass to the Chemistry Set This little 32 page booklet sells for about $500 today.... Sometime during the 1960s, the Gilbert Company actually recognized the existence of girls -- but only as Lab Assistants. It should also be noted that this was the point in time when the Gilbert company began to go downhill... The Lab Assistant Kit Click to Enlarge Given this history, it was with some pleasure that I managed to find an old (c.1920) Gilbert Chemistry set in a wooden box. The box was in good shape and some of the chemicals were still present. However, someone had been using a candle and several test tubes and instruments were encased in wax. A 1920s Chemistry Set with Wood Box (left)The Exterior, as found (middle) the Box Latch (right) Next level higher set from the 1920s (not mine) The Melted Wax Mess Click to Enlarge With some amount of work, I was able to restore as much as was available. and had to "fill-in" places with modern test tubes. I did not want to replicate the chemicals that were in the original set. Rather, I scanned in a label and created the "Boys Ideal Chemistry Set" with Plutonium, d-Lysergic Acid, Trinitrotolulene,Tetrahydrocannabinol, and other unusual substances. You can find these "augmented" labels in the downloads section. There is also a blank label so that you can restore your set to full authenticity. The Boys' Ideal Chemistry Set Concerned Moms may faint.... Click to Enlarge Those of you who may wish to accurately restore a Gilbert Chemistry set are in luck. A company called H.M.S. Beagle is selling a set of "Bench Mark Legacy Chemicals" that will provide you with a nice quantity of all 56 chemicals specified in the manual. To appease the Homeland Security goons, they are also accompanied by a "Materials Safety Data" (MSD) sheet that is required by Uncle Nanny to protect us from Achmed getting hold of some sodium chloride. (possibly to ruin soup in the school cafeteria.) Concerned Moms should be thrilled. The package cost about $125 in 2010. In May, 2011, we got this very interesting note from our reader, Robert: "... I had a chemistry set when I was kid, and now my daughter (age 7) is interested in Chemistry. I've bought all the chemicals from H M S Beagle and I'm pretty well set up, but one question remains: What is a "measure"? I remember a small shovel shaped piece of metal that was used to define a measure, but I don't have one now and I don't know how big it should be. My daughter and I have tried some of the experiments in the old Gilbert manual, but they didn't work, I think because the measurements are wrong. Do you have any idea? ..." Indeed, Robert has hit on something, because the quantity of solids must match the quantity of liquids specified in the manual. This is what we are talking about: The Chemical Measure ... and spoon Click to Enlarge Fortunately, we have established a large network of Chemistry Set enthusiasts and we got this from Richard: "... I photographed the measure from my old 1920's Gilbert set. I actually have sets from several decades, but the measure didn't change much in size from set to set. As you can see, it's a little spoon approx. 1/4" wide x 5/16" long with a total length of about 2 7/8". The amount of material it holds is about the size of a lentil or a small pea. I'm glad to see that Robert bought fresh chemicals from HMS Beagle since the old chemicals are usually DOA. It's so great that they have put together the chemicals from the old Gilbert sets so folks can do the experiments. It's how I started with my son at about the same age. I use a "micro spatula" from Mountain Home Biological supply in my own lab and have included a photo of it, as well. Mountain Home is a very nice company with an easy to use web site, focused on schools and hobbyists, which is a good source for many basic laboratory needs. The scoop end of the spatula is approximately the same size as the Gilbert measure, is stainless steel, and only costs $1.25. ..." The Chemical Measure and Spoon Accurate scale photographs Click to Enlarge Click here to download the "legacy chemicals" brochure. It has a list of the 56 original (1936) Gilbert chemicals and their contemporary (2010) equivalent names. We were very pleased to hear from our reader Bill from Ohio who sent along this photo of his Chemistry Set collection and a scan of the ChemCraft manual Bill's Collection We greatly envy that Master Chemist Set (Blue).... Click to Enlarge The Porter Chemical Company (of Hagerstown, MD) sold a large number of chemistry sets under the brand ChemCraft. Later, this brand was sold to the Ideal toy company which later merged with View Master. Click here to download a copy of the Porter ChemCraft Manual (circa 1955) Click here to download a copy of the Idela/ViewMaster ChemCraft 400 Manual (circa 1987) -- thanks to Reader Bob for this manual Bill notes that there is a risk associated with giving kids a chemsitry set: "... [The Boy could] turn out to be a mad scientist! See what playing with these toys could result in? Of course every mad scientist should have a monster lab...[as shown in the photos below]...and, of course, a sufficient quantity of ray guns for defending against any aliens..... ..." Mad Scientist Inventory Checklist The Govenment may be regulating these ray guns if you are reading this in 2050... Click to Enlarge The Gilbert Atomic Energy Kit However, my "ideal" set is not that Far-Fetched -- the Gilbert Company actually sold a kit that included Uranium and Radioactive materials: The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab Just the thing for kids after a breakfast of high sugar cereal The "Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab" was introduced by A.C. Gilbert in the spring of 1950 and sold for $42.50, a sum that would be equivalent to about $500 in 2010. Our reader Bill from Ohio was kind enough to send in some photos of his unusually complete Atomic Energy set The Ruler in the Left Photo Shows the Relative Size of Items No Set is Complete Without the Packing Slip Layout of the Atomic Energy Set The Four Ore samples are (Clockwise from top left) Torbernite; Uraninite; Autunite; and Carnotite Click to Enlarge The components include: Three very low-level radioactive sources (alpha, beta and gamma particles) Four uranium-bearing ore samples: Torbernite; Uraninite; Autunite; and Carnotite Geiger-Mueller radiation counter. Wilson Cloud Chamber to see paths of alpha particles. "Nuclear Spheres" for making models of molecules Spinthariscope to see "live" radioactive disintegration. Electroscope to measure radioactivity of different substances. An "Atomic Energy Manual" "Learn How Dagwood Splits the Atom" comic book (below) A book on "Prospecting for Uranium" A Packing Slip Here are more details on the Spinthariscope and the Geiger Counter The Spinthariscope and Geiger Counter Concerned Moms may have a heart attack.... Click to Enlarge Here are some scans from the Manual showing the operation of the Wilson Cloud Chamber The Cloud Chamber This might have come from the lair of a Mad Scientist.... Click to Enlarge We don't want to overlook the Dagwood Comic Book in which Mandrake the Magician is the Expert while Gen. Groves of the Manhattan Project is just the Technical Advisor.. Dagwood Splits the Atom Click here to download pages 1-11 of this comic book (3.2MB) Click here to download pages 12-23 of this comic book (2.2 MB) Click here to download pages 24-36 of this comic book (2.5 MB) Here are some more excerpts from the Manual, which we have scanned and make available to you at no cost: The Manual Click to Enlarge Photos Click Here to download Part ONE of the Manual Click Here to download Part TWO of the Manual Click Here to download Part THREE of the Manual The "Nuclear Spheres" were just tinkertoy-type balls and sticks that could be joined together to make 3-d representations of molecules. In such a ball-and-stick model, each atom is represented by a ball, and chemical (usually covalent) bonds are represented by rods. Each ball is drilled with multiple holes, placed so that the rods can match the atom's bonding patterns typically seen in chemical compounds. Thus, for example, a sphere representing a carbon atom will have at least four holes directed towards the vertices of a tetrahedron, separated by angles of about 109 degrees. Ball-and-stick models clearly display the relative positions of the atoms and the chemical bonds between them. The photograph below (far left) shows a methane model constructed by Hoffmann in 1865. We have been fortunate to obtain a copy of the Instructions for making molecular models from the Atomic Energy Kit. We have scanned this document and make it available to you at no charge. The "Nuclear Spheres" Click to Enlarge Photos Click Here to download the Manual for Making Molecule Models None of this is the least bit harmful, but Concerned Moms and Product Safety Lawyers would have a field day if this set were to be offered today! I can assure you that (in 1957) if my friends and I had access to fissionable materials (and a heavy duty machine shop) there is absolutely no doubt that we would have built a thermonuclear device. There is some doubt as to whether we would have tested it... The Microscope Set I never did anything particularly destructive with the microscope set, although I looked at samples of almost everything. Insects were particularly attractive -- the Gilbert company gave you bees, flies, and fleas and the world of nature contained a vast number of new subjects. At age 9, a fly's foot is "hot" For a while, we had a fling with micro-dots as a method of communicating secret messages. However, the time and effort needed to reduce something in the darkroom restricted this technique to VERY important messages. Besides, we were never able to get anything readable that was less than an inch in diameter. Home photography was not advanced in 1957. This is not an exaggeration: here is a quote from the Microscope Manual on Home Photography and The Microscope: Limits, Limits, Limits Check Up on The Family Make Your Own Comparison Microscope The single antisocial act committed with the microscope involved the slide with the dog flea. We asked one of the guys' sister to donate a strand of hair for "scientific comparison" of Girls' hair with Boys' hair. Of course, her specimen was laid over the flea. And, of course, she took one look and ran away screaming. After she washed her hair fifteen times, we got a thorough scolding from her Mom. Nobody said that nine-year old Boys were nice. I was fortunate to find a Gilbert Microscope Kit from the late 1930s in fairly good shape -- the microscope still works! Some of the test tubes that held specimens have been lost, but by and large, it was all there. Here is what the Gilbert Company had to say about it: "... The No. 20 Microscope Set --Huge scientist's laboratory, featuring a powerful precision Microscope which magnifies objects 120, 200 and 450 TIMES ACTUAL SIZE! Turret mechanism permits magnifications to be changed at will You can see colors hidden from view with ordinary scopes. Two steel test tube racks contain variety of chemicals and specimens; slide-out drawers contain assortment of slides and parts. Equipment also includes top stage and substage light for illumination of specimens-just like professional 'scopes. Dri-Electric Power Pack provides power source. Hand lens and alcohol lamp complete apparatus. Two illustrated manuals included. ..." The No. 20 Microscope Set, as found (left) Exterior, (Green faux alligator) (middle) The Interior (right) Advetisement extolling the Polaroid Junior Click to Enlarge This set is really quite advanced. The Microscope has a turret that allows three levels of magnification. There are a number of light-polarizing (Polaroid) attachments that eliminate glare by assuring that all rays of light are normal (perpendicular) to the slide. The "Polaroid" attachment is touted in the ad shown above. Note that the Gilbert company offers a "weather flag" as an incentive to the child, giving him a method to use science to thwart parental control. It is only in the 21st Century that Mom's advice might have another meaning for elementary school children. Such is the way of social progress. The objective stage is also illuminated! To do this, Gilbert used a metal bracket that took the place of the objective mirror. A small socket for a 3.5 volt (flashlight) bulb was wired into the bracket. The patented "Gilbert Dri-Electric Power Pack" supplied electricity. This mysterious device was just a tube (like the handle of a flashlight...) that holds two "D" cells. Here are some photos of this miracle of science in action: The Power Pack in Action The Lighted Objective Stage The fully restored Microscope Set is shown below: The Restored Microscope Set The Drawers and Contents There are a wide variety of tools for preparing all kinds of specimens: The No. 20 Microscope Hand Lens The No. 20 Microscope Set Dissecting Tools The Microtome This is a fairly sophisticated set that trains the Boy in most of the fundamentals of Microscope lab proceedure. It has been very well thought out! The Manual is 110 pages long and reads like a college textbook. The Microscope Manual (left) 1950s (right) 1930s I have scanned the full manual, and it is available in the Downloads Section in six roughly equal parts of about 3.0 MB each. Postscript: I found a "Number 8" Microscope set from the same series at a flea market. Here is a photo of the box. The interior was pretty far gone. The Number Eight Set Here is a microscope set similar to mine from the wooden box era. The equipment is basically the same save for the lighted objective stage on the microscope. A 1920s Microscope Set with Wood Box, unrestored condition Click to enlarge The Electric Eye Set I never had an Electric Eye Set. I found this one at an estate sale and it is fairly old (probably from the 1930s) because it just uses photocells and relays. During the 1930s, photoelectric devices were brand new and a source of woner. To give you some backlground for the Electric Eye set, here is an article that appeared in the November, 1937 issue of Popular Mechanics with the alluring title "The Eye That Never Sleeps." (Compare this with the image on the Gilbert kit) "The Eye That Never Sleeps" November 1937 Popular Mechanics article on Photoelectrics Click here to download the whole article Click to enlarge The later ones used vacuum tubes and then transistors. This is a really nice set and would have been a real challenge to a Boy with interests in electronics. Considering that the Depression was raging, only a small number of well-to-do boys had this set. The Exterior, as found -- I LOVE the graphic Contents of the Set -- Looks Scientific The Instruction Manual -- the All-Seeing Eye Photocells and Relays -- no Amplification Using Tubes or Transistors The Circuit Diagram "Batteries Not Included" is an exaggeration here -- the thing needs a 22 volt dry cell! Two "C" Cells in the Power Pack operate the low voltage relay, but the 22 volt battery is required to operate any kind of apparatus. The switch between the low voltage (sensitive) relay and the operating (power) relay) is a primitive form of amplification. The Circuit Board (schematic) Support "Legs" for the Circuit Board Knife Switch for the 22V and 3.5 Volt Power Sources The 3 Volt Power Pack The 5 Inch Flashlight (Light Source for Some Experiments) The Exterior, after restoration The manual is a real hoot. Below, you will see some uses of the Electric Eye to make a Christmas Tree revolve or to automatically turn the radio on in the morning "..for your morning exercises.." Various Uses of the Electric Eye Jewish Kids Could Substitute a Menorah... I have scanned this fascinating document and it is available in the Downloads Section (Aids to Restoration). The Manual is about 3.1 MB, so if you'd rather get it as an attachment to an e-mail, please contact me. The set that I purchased contained another booklet entitled "Fun With Electricity" that described a wide variety of experiments involving electricity. Thanks to our reader John, we discovered that this booklet was intended to accompany a Gilbert Set that dealt with electricity. John's Elementary Electricity Set You had to have lots of batteries... Click to Enlarge I have scanned this brochure, and it is available in the Downloads Section (Aids to Restoration)in two roughly equal parts of about 3.0 MB each. Here is an older electric eye set that we found. It has a cardboard box instead of a metal case, butthe components are roughly equivalent. The manual is identical with the version shown above. Electric Eye Set The only difference is the box... Click to Enlarge Physics Set By the 1960s, the separate Optics and Hydraulics kits had been merged into a general Physics Set. Kudos to our friend Bill from Ohio who sent us these photos of a complete 1960s Gilbert Physics Set. As was the trend at that picture, a girl was shown on the box, although it looks like it is the Boy's younger sister. 1960s Physics Set The >Girl makes an appearance... Click to Enlarge There were 70 pieces of apparatus enabling the budding Physicist to show Sis "hundreds" of experiments involving Solar heat, Light and Optics, Fluid Dynamics, Water and Air Pressure, and "many, many others." How many experiments do you think Sis actually sat through? Metal Casting Set This toy will cause most Concerned Moms to have an unexpected bowel movement. It actually allows the child to play with molten metal. The typical Yuppie Mom would blanch at the thought that their precious lawyer-to-be might be melting lead (!) to make toy soldiers! This, and the glass blowing set would be run out of the market faster than you can say "tort reform." Here is a very early kit that shows a child that looks like he is between six and nine -- this one requires the Boy to use an open ladle of molten metal! Metal Casting Kit Number One Molten Metal in the Hands of a Nine Year Old... Click to Enlarge Regardless of current politically correct thinking, the casting set was quite popular and a generation of boys in the 1930s made whole armies of lead. In addition, the equipment uses a fairly sophisticated die casting technique in which metal is poured into reusable metal molds. The kit offered a machine that handled most of the chores such as melting the lead and pouring into the mold. Ad for the Metal Casting Set (Popular Science, November, 1937 Instructions and Accessories for the Set Click to Enlarge The casting sets initially allowed the Boy to cast solid figures. Later, a technology known as "Slush Casting" was used to allow the casting of hollow objects -- at a great savings in metal. Diagram of Casting Machine Most machines available today are pretty rusty Click to Enlarge The machine is fairly simple. With reference to the diagram above: A: arm to tip the melting pot to pour into the Mold B: lever to open and close the Mold Halves D: Mold Halves P: Clamps to hold the Mold Halves together N: Lip of ladle MP: Melting Pot VR: Electrically heated rod that conveys resistance heat to the melting pot Operation of the machine is shown in the Popular Science advertisement reproduced above. More Views of the Casting Machine Viagra for Tort Lawyers... Click to Enlarge The Molds (Gilbert spelled the word "mould") were metal plates with the appropriate opening to create a figure. The mold had to be "lubricated" with candle soot to allow the cast object to be released properly. Mechanism for the Molds Click to Enlarge Over the years, more than 50 figures were available including Military, Sports and Transportation subjects. The list of figures and prices in 1937 are shown below, along with an example of a casting of a mounted figure. List of Molds and Price in 1937 Cannon, Battleship, Airplane Molds Indian, Cavalryman, Infantryman Figure Molds The Airplane Mold casts parts which have to be assembled to make the complete figure Click to Enlarge And, speaking of airplanes... The Air-Kraft Set The Air-Kraft Set in the 1918 Catalogue Click to Enlarge A. C. Gilbert's fascination with transportation continued with the Air-Kraft set, produced from 1928 to possibly as late as 1935. The Air-Kraft Set Click to Enlarge With this set, one could build a variety of airplanes with one or two wings, wheels or floats, and one, two or three AC-powered engines. The Multi-Engine Float Plane Air-Kraft Set Click to Enlarge The airplane was designed so it could be hung from a ceiling mount or a pylon. The Monoplane Air-Kraft Set In "found" condition Click to Enlarge The motor drew power from a wall or ceiling receptacle. An ingenious pivot system prevented the cord from becoming tangled. In thinking about the "Air-Kraft" kits, you should remember that they were being marketed in the period 1910-1916. Actual airplanes were not that much more sophisticated than the planes in the kit! The Glass Blowing Set The Glassblowing Set Note the Boys playing in the foreground and Industry in the Background Click to Enlarge Here is another thing to give Mom agita. The Boy was encouraged to use molten glass to make a large number of interesting items and to perform 80 experiments. The Glassblowing Set Manual Just in case you ever wanted to know how to make windowpanes... Click to Enlarge The Manual used the standard Gilbert formula of about half "magic tricks" and half hard science to teach glassblowing. At the time, this was apractical skill and even useful in College. Most universities required that Chemistry students learn glassblowing to make apparatus. These skills would have come in very handy during Freshman year. There is a glass industry website that will let you read the entire manual on a page by page basis without the ability to download. Click Here to go to that site. However, we have also scanned our copy of the manual and have made it available for you to download in easy-to-digest 10 page segments of about 2 MB each: Glass Blowing Manual Pages 11-20 Glass Blowing Manual Pages 31-40 Glass Blowing Manual Pages 51-60 Glass Blowing Manual The Hydraulics Set Gilbert Hydraulics Set Click to Enlarge Apparently, it was possible to get The Boy interested in Hydraulics. The Boy Engineering book on this subject is a masterpiece that blends parlor tricks and gee-whiz military stuff like torpedoes, depth charges and zeppelins with some honest-to-gosh mathematical computations. This is a very well-written book and is probably above the heads of most non-engineering American adults in the 21st Century. Excerpts from the Gilbert Boy Engineering Manual for the Hydraulics Set "Hydraulics and Pneumatic Engineering Click to Enlarge Apparently, the Hydraulics Set was a perennial best seller because it was retained well into the 1960s in almost the same format as the 1920 original. Largely, only the graphics have been changed/ Gilbert Hydraulics Set in the 1960s Click to Enlarge The Hydraulics Boy Engineering Book may be read in its entirety by following these links: Gilbert Hydraulics Book Part 1 Gilbert Hydraulics Book Part 2 Gilbert Hydraulics Book Part 3 Gilbert Hydraulics Book Part 4 Gilbert Hydraulics Book Part 5 The obvious link between weather and the physics of water and air was not overlooked. In the late 1920s, one of the "Boy Engineering" books focused on Meterolology, as entitled The Gilbert Weather Bureau. The cover led the Boy to believe that he could set his own scientific Weather Station: Gilbert Weather Bureau Click to Enlarge We have scanned our copy and have made it available in the Free Downloads Section. Communications Sets Gilbert Wireless Sets From the 1918 Catalogue Click to Enlarge About the time of the First World War (1917-1919), the Gilbert company sold a number of sets devoted to communication, including Telephone, telgraph and Wireless. Perhaps the best of the sets is devoted to the process rather than the technology of communication. It aptly named the Signal Engineering Set. Gilbert Signal Engineering Set Click to Enlarge This is one of the very best Gilbert science kits, not because of the equipment provided, but the clarity of the little instruction booklet. Here's what Mr. Gilbert had to say: "...I remember how I used to watch army men at signal practice. It was mighty fascinating to see them at the camp with their apparatus and to observe the methods they used to send messages. It looked hard, but when I thought it over it seemed very easy.... "...Signaling will prove just as interesting to you as it did to me, and because I think it means a great amount of fun for you, I have had this book prepared by a man who was an expert in signals and who did very fine work in the Navy as a member of the Signal Corps. Every detail is explained with the greatest care. The facts are authentic and you can depend on this book to give you a thorough knowledge of signaling. You can learn about signals from the very beginning when firebrands were used in a primitive fashion many years ago to the present time when messages are flashed and sent by the most modern inventions..." Gilbert Signal Engineering Set Click to Enlarge The manual a real gem -- I'm proud to have it in my collection and I have gone out of my way to make sure that it is available to you. Through the magic of the Internet, you may read (only) the Signal Engineering Book by following these links: Gilbert Signal Engineering Book Part 1 Gilbert Signal Engineering Book Part 2 Gilbert Signal Engineering Book Part 3 Gilbert Signal Engineering Book Part 4 Gilbert Signal Engineering Book Part 5 We have the entire 144 page document on the site in case you would like to Download the Gilbert Signal Engineering Book for your own purposes. TO REPEAT: this is 144 pages long DO NOT "OPEN" THE FILE -- Save it to your hard drive and read it without eating up bandwidth! Of course, the Gilbert Company did not slight the actual technology of communication. First, we'll look at the Telegraph Set. By 1917, wire-transmitted telegraphy was fairly "old hat" although the ulra-modern "wireless" (see below) still used Morse Code. Certainly, a knowledge of Morse Code would have been useful and thus, the telegraph set was a fairly big seller. With the Tele-Set, Boys could pretend that they were running a real telegraph office since the kit was supplied with replicat Wetern Union telegram blanks. The "Teleset" and telegraph key... Click to Enlarge However, Gilbert was not one to rest on his laurels -- he plunged ahead with both current (telephone) and futuristic (wireless) technology. Here is an ad that appeared in Boys Life, the official publication of the Boy Scouts of America. Gilbert Ad in the October 1918 Issue of Boys LIfe Communications Technology for the Boy Click to Enlarge The wireless set uses an actual spark transmitter with a fairly limited range. Nonetheless, the technology in the Gilbert kit was virtually the same as used in commercial activities (with the sole exception of size). The 65 page instruction book would bring the Boy who had the patience to read it to the state of the art in 1918. Some time later, probably in the mid 1920s, the Gilbert company also sold a crystal radio receiver for Boys. At that time, home sets were not that much different from the Gilbert set, as tube amplifiers were just coming onto the scene. Telephone and Wireless Click to Enlarge The Gilbert Company offered the Boy the ability to build communications sets well into the 1960s, tailoring the projects to advances in technology. Here is something called the Erec-Tronics kit from 1959 that offered the Boy the opportunity to work with the [then] new transistor. The name is a portmanteau of "Erector" and "Electronics" propelling the Erector set into the space age. The set uses "plug board" technology so that the Boy did not have to do any soldering The Erec-Tronics Set The Ad (top left) is from "Science leads the Way" which may be downloaded for free" click here for Part One click here for Part Two Click the photos to enlarge them The Magnetism Set Gilbert Magnetism Set Click to Enlarge Gilbert introduced his first magnetism set in 1923 and produced variations through the 1950s. By coincidence, A.C. Gilbert could trace his ancestory to William Gilbert (1544-1603), the English physician whose De Magnete was the first modern study of magnetism in nature. The book Magnetic Fun and Facts encouraged The Boy to explore magnetic phenomena, although no theory is presented. Here's a quote: "...Magnetism is one of the fundamental elements of our society today. Magnets can be found in any electric motor, refrigerators, tools and utensils, and even some games. Magnets have two poles, the north and south poles. When two like poles are put together, they repel, but when unlike poles are put together, they attract each other. In the atoms (the smallest particles of matter) of all materials, there are electrons revolving around the nucleus of the atom. Each electron is a small magnet. However, in unmagnetized materials, the electrons are all jumbled up. In a magnet, the electrons are all lined up, creating a magnetic force. In magnetic materials, like iron, the electrons can be lined up when in the presence of a magnet..." Variety of Gilbert Magnetism Sets sold in the 1920s Click to Enlarge The "high value" portion of the set is the manual, entitled "Magnetic Fun and Facts" (Written by Carleton Lynde). Here are a few illustrations from the book. Note that the Boy is pictured on the cover of the set as he pushes his "magnetic navy" around while simultaneously learning about polarity. Simple Magnetic Experiments Click to Enlarge Here are the cover and Table of Contents of the book Magnetic Fun and Facts Use the Table of Contents to select what you want to download (below) Click to Enlarge We have scanned Magnetic Fun and Facts into small easty-to-download bits, which you may select from the following list: Click Here for Part One (pp 1- 13) Click Here for Part Two (pp 14- 29) Click Here for Part Three (pp 30- 45) Click Here for Part Four (pp 46- 61) Click Here for Part Five (pp 62 - 77) Click Here for Part Six (pp 78-94) Click Here for Part Seven (pp 94- 106) The War Toys Gilbert War Toys From the 1918 Catlogue Click to Enlarge Yes, Mr. Gilbert of "save Christmas" fame made War Toys. Concerned Moms may dump a load when they find out that he made a very realistic Toy Machine Gun. The Machine Gun The ad says: Has all the features of Real Machine Guns - Detachable Magazine, Clip for 13 Cartridges, Air-cooled Chamber, Firing Crank, Automatic Traverse Elevation, Elevating Crang, Full Circle Swivel, etc. Works fast as lighning - 10 shots per second. Gun is mounted on a heavy tripod. Manual, free with every gun, contains instructions for organizing a Machine Gun Company Click to Enlarge At the height of World War I -- perhaps the greatest carnage man has ever known, the Gilbert Company sold a working machine gun that fired wood bullets! Contrast that with today: On July 5, 2009, the Washington Post ran a letter from a Concerned Mom who objected to the printing of a picture of a firearm. She didn't want her "two year old son" to be unduly influenced. Literary Digest Ad for the Machine Gun And Patent for the Machine Gun (No 1,310,613) Click to Enlarge The other major surprise here is that the advertsement for the Machine Gun was printed in The Literary Digest! If you want to make your own, use this link to download the Complete Patent Description. Beware of the ATF and Concerned Moms. Literary Digest Ad for the Submarine And Patent for the Submarine (No 1,351,565) Click here to download the full patent for the Submarine Click to Enlarge The Gilbert company also manufactured a very realistic submarine. These things were made of pressed metal and were intended to be operated in water. Due to the nature of rust, very few of these are available today. The Miniature Machinery Set 1920s Catalogue Page featuring the Miniature Machinery Set They actually worked just like thereal thing! The complete set cost $25 in 1922 - equialent to $800 in 2011 Click to enlarge The Gilbert Company offered a set of miniature machine tools -- a lathe, drill press, punch press, grinder, and scroll saw -- that actually worked like their real-world counterparts. The lathe was about six inches long and three inches high as an example. The tools could be driven by an electric motor. Shafting, held by "A-Frames," was used to interconnect the machinery, again much like a real world machine shop. This is one of the most astounding of the Gilbert toys and is one of the rarest. The Miniature Machinery Set (left) a complete set (right) Set offered for sale, missing the "A-Frames" Click to enlarge If you are thinking of buying this set, please make sure that you have all the parts! The Optics Set Large and Small Optics Sets from the 1920s Optics Set from the 1940s Click to Enlarge This was not kid stuff. Here are some sample pages from the manual entitled "Gilbert Light Experiments For Boys." There was no "dumbing down" in Gilbert's view of the Boy. In the 1920s, there were no "Self-Esteem" trophies. Every Boy was assumed to be capable until he proved otherwise. The popularity of these kits proved that 10 year olds are capable of a whole lot more than is generally assumed. From the Optics Set Manual They got the Subs right They got the "ether" wrong (pink)... Click to Enlarge The manual raised the possiblity of detecting submarines from the air when both subs and planes were in their infancy. Mosst of this stuff is still correct today. The glaring error is mention of the "Ether" (pink) as the stuff that filled all the spaces between the atoms. Alas, the Michelson-Morley Experiment disproved this notion once and for all, and paved the way for modern theories of how light operates. Click Here to download a copy of the Manual for the Optics Set. The Gilbert Telescope Click to Enlarge In conjunction with the Optics sets, Gilbert also sold fairly high quality reflecting telescopes. The Sound Experiments Set In 1920, Gilbert produced a science kit that taught the fundamentals of Sound. These kits were elegantly designed, but very few survive -- I have never even seen a photograph of one. The kit sold for $10 in 1920 which would be equivalent to something like $320 in 2010 purchasing power. In other words, they were beyond the reach of most Boys. The Gilbert Sound Experiments Set (left) Ad from Boy's Life, October 1920 $10 was a lot of money in 1920 Click to Enlarge The fortunate few boys who did get a "Sound Experiments" set had the opportunity to read a very well-written manual and to perform some very interesting experiments. In keeping with Mr. Gilbert's philosophy, straight science is also accompanied with "Boy Fun" things like ventriloquism or breaking a glass with sound. Right now, you can read the manual because we have scanned it and now make it available to you for free in six easy-todownload parts: Download the Free copy of Gilbert Sound Experiments Click here to download Part 1 Click here to download Part 2 Click here to download Part 3 Click here to download Part 4 Click here to download Part 5 Click here to download Part 6 The Soldering Set The Soldering Set From the 1918 catalogue Click to Enlarge Here's another one to turn Concerned Moms' hair gray. This kit actually equipped the Boy with a red-hot soldering iron. The Soldering Set Set Click to Enlarge In those times, soldering was avery useful skill in a lot of trades such as roofing, tinsmithing, jewelry and electrical work. In fact, this kit gave many a Boy a leg up in search of a trade. Little lawyers wouldn't know one end of the soldering iron from the other. Lots of Chinese kids know about this stuff. Erector Brik Set Gilbert Block Building Systems From the 1918 Catalogue Click to Enlarge The Gilbert Company made a "block-building" set from its earliest days until the mid-1950s. Gilbert Block Building Systems Sort of like Lego Click to Enlarge Originally, they were called "Brik-Tor" sort of a portmanteau for "Brick Consructor". Later, they were called "Erector-Brik" capitalizing on the famous "Erector" marque. Erector Briks Click to Enlarge In the early days of the Gilbert Company, it appears that the Boy was encouraged to buy a Brik-Tor set to cover the outside of models constructed with the Erector set, hoping to duplicate the process of construction in the real world. Erector Briks Click to Enlarge The bricks themselves did not lock together and large structures were somewhat unstable. The bricks were made of a composition material that tended to crumble over time. Lego was a great improvement over this system; sincle Lego tiles lock together, models of almost infinite size have been made. The Gilbert Company experimented with locking tiles and briefly old a system called "Anchor Blocks" as shown below. These sets are fairly rare and were only made for a few years in the 1920s. Anchor Blocks Click to Enlarge Big Boy Tool Set Gilbert Carpentry Sets From the 1918 Catalogue Click to Enlarge "BOYS! Here's your chance to give Mother and Dad a real surprise. Build furniture, airplanes, toys, birdhouses, and hundreds of other things... A.C. Gilbert Company Ad for the Big Boy Tool Set Click to Enlarge "...Lift the lid of the big red brass-bound Tool Chest and you open up a new world of exciting thrills. Call in your pals. Oh, boy! How their eyes will pop!..." Thus began the opening sales pitch for the Gilbert "Big Boy" tool chest. Actually, the chests came in "Boys Sizes" ($1-$5) and "Dad Sizes" ($10-$25) It should be noted that the "red brass-bound chest only came with the $25 set (#790). Boy Carpenters Click to Enlarge According to our analysis of costs in the 1920s, the #790 set would cost about $750 today. The Boys sets would cost from $30 to $150, so we are talking some serious money here. If you wanted to get the "Motor Driven Machine Shop" (something that looks like an electric drill/lathe combination), you would have to shell out an additional $35 ($900 today!) There was also a jigsaw (see below) This was serious money then and is serious money now. The Big Boy Tool Set Probably #765 Click to Enlarge Of all the Gilbert products, the Tool Chests raise the most questions in my mind, because during the "Golden Age" most households had a full complement of tools, especially hammers, saws and screwdrivers. No doubt, the "Boys Sets" had tools that were sized correctly for kids younger than 10; presumably the "Dad Sized" Big Boy chests had the adult version of the tools. If you wanted to spend the money, you could even get a set that looked like a workbench. The Biggest Sets Had a Workbench You could also get a jigsaw... Thanks very much to our friend Laurie for sending these pictures! This is a very rare item! Click to Enlarge The graphics thoroughly overstate the contents of the smaller sets. In fact, the carpenter's apron featured so prominently in the ads is only included in the "Dad Size." The "Brass-Bound chest" that will have impact on the eyes of the "pals" isn't included until you get near the top of the line. Ads for Comparable Tool Sets Sold by Sears From the 1930 Catalogue Click to Enlarge I wondered what the possible benefits of buying the Gilbert Tool Chests would be over, say, just buying the individual tools. So, I took the #701E set (13 pc) and used the 1930 Sears Catalogue to get an estimate of the retail price of the individual components. This is shown below. Retail Cost of the components in the Big Boy Tool Set For Set 701E Click to Enlarge The ad (above) is for 1929 and I only had the 1930 Sears Catalogue, so there is some error in the comparison. However, the 1920 costs are not that much different, so we can be relatively sure that it would have cost about $3.00 to buy (at retail) the adult equivalent of a Gilbert tool set that cost $1.50. Since retail markups are about 100%, my guess is that the wholesale value of the tools is about $1.50. The following pictures should help you judge the quality of the tools in the "Big Boy" sets (left) against actual carpenter's tools from that period (right). Planes and Braces Levels and Pliers Hand Saws and Coping Saws Miscellaneous Tools Click to Enlarge Mr. Gilbert's profit lay in the difference between regular Sears "Craftsman" grade tools and the "Boys" tools actually included in the set. It should be noted that my analysis is severely limited by the fact that I do not have an exact listing of the contents for each of the various tool chests. If any of my readers have this information, I would be delighted to hear from them -- feel free to Contact Me. The Model 765 Big Boy Tool Set Tool Set is not complete Click to Enlarge This is the Model 765 tool set, the top of the line for the "Boy's Sizes". The 1929 ad states that the chest should be red, and the natural wood version might be from an earlier period, since it is clearly labeled "765". "Dad's Size" Big Boy Tool Sets Tool Sets are not complete Click to Enlarge Above, you'll find some photos of a "Dad Sized" chest, possibly #780, the beginning of that series. I note that the chisels have socket handles which is desirable, because the handle will fit tighter as the tool is used. This is a desirable feature and is generally more costly than the tang handle. In my opinion, these are not the highest quality tools. On the other hand, the apparatus in the chemistry or microscope sets was not of the highest quality either. I still have trouble understanding why a Boy would want to spend money on something like this when Dad probably had all these tools to begin with. Big Boy Tool Sets in Metal Cases Blue, Red and Green Click to Enlarge Above are some photos of Big Boy tool sets in metal cases, probably from the 1940s. It appears that documentation of the Tool Sets is slight compared to the Erector sets. If you have scans of manuals, parts lists, etc, please think about sending them to me so that I can make them available on the site. If you know how to authenticate Gilbert tools, agan, please let me know! You can really help the next guy who wants to buy one of these things! I don't charge anything for the downloads or information. Pages from the Carpentry Manual Cover, Woods, Tools and Plans Click to Enlarge One of our readers responded to the challenge and sent us the manual for one of the tool sets. We have scanned it and it is now available for download. Since it has 83 pages, we are making it available in small bits so that you can download it faster. Part One: Introduction, Types of Wood (pp 1-13) Part Two:Finishes, Chisels, Saws, Planes (pp 14-27) Part Three: Drills, Hammers, Fasteners, Joinery (pp 28-41) Part Four: Plans: Doll Bed, Bird House, Trellis, Automobile Cart, Checker Table, Foot Bench (pp 42-55) Part Five:Plans: Camp Stool, Magazine Rack, scooter, wheelbarrow (pp 56-69) Part Six:Marking Gauge, Armchair, Animal Trap, Workbench (pp 70-83) Part Seven:End Notes and Ads (pp 84-End) Occasionally, files held on the server may be corrupted-- if you find that this is the case with your download, please contact me and I'll send you the correct file. The Elementary Electricity Set The Elementary Electricity Sets From the 1918 Catalogue Click to Enlarge In 1916, the Gilbert company satd that:".. With a Gilbert Electrical Set and a fine book on electricty, boys can do elecroplating, install electric bells, elecric lights, make a real electric motor, and perform many feats of electrical magic...". All this for kits ranging in price from $2 to $20 (about $60 to $600 today) The Elementary Electricity Set Feats of Electrical Magic! Click to Enlarge This is a very simple kit that shows the Boy how to connect a number of useful and educational circuits. The 1916 manual for the set is highly prized and often sells for more than $100 in online auctions. The Virtues of the Electricity Set Advertisement from Everyday Engineering, December 1918 Click to Enlarge Just in case you can't read the ad, here is the text: Gilbert Chemical and Electrical Outfits Telegraph, Telephone and Wireless Sets The wonders of electricity and chemistry � the things that have made the reputation of Edison, Bell, Marconi and other great men � can be learned by the boy who has a Gilbert telephone, telegraph or wireless set, or an electrical or chemistry outfit. New discoveries and inventions, as great as those of the past, are going to be made by boys who commence to study these things now. They are going to be the Edisons of tomorrow. These Gilbert sets are practical working outfits with which you can learn a great deal, and at the same time have great fun. Perform Experiments Learn the Secrets of Electricity GILBERT CHEMISTRY OUTFITS-A real wonder set with chemistry manual and laboratory apparatus. With it you can make disappearing ink, fire without matches, pour milk from a bottle full of water, make soap and many other things. Prices $2.50 to $5.00. In Canada $3.75 to $7.50. GILBERT ELECTRICAL SETS-Complete with manual. With it you can make your own electric motor, do electroplating, install electric bells, wire for telephones, etc. Sets from $1 to $10. In Canada $1.50 to $15.00. GILBERT TELE-SET-A complete working telegraph outfit and manual of instructions. Price $2.50. In Canada $3.75. GILBERT PHONO-SET-A practical electrically operated telephone set that can be used from house to house or over longer distances. Price $5.00. In Canada $7.50. The Gilbert Sets are thoroughly made and are for sale by all dealers. Write for the Gilbert Catalog which illustrates and describes fully these and many other Gilbert Toys. Prices subject to change without notice. The Erector Illumination Set The Erector Illumination Set Click to Enlarge It looks like the Gilbert company put together a few wires, sockets and light bulbs to convince Boys that they could light up their Erector models. Smoke and Sound Add-on for Erector Sets Click to Enlarge Building on knowledge and technology from the American Flyer Trains, the Gilbert folks came up with a kit that would add realistic sound and smoke to Erector projects. The Gilbert New Wheel Toy A.C. Gilbert New Wheel Toy From the 1918 Catalogue Click to Enlarge Mr. Gilbert looked around and saw that Boys would cobble together almost any old parts to make a scooter, coaster, wagon or other "vehicle". Most likely, the wheels came off a discarded item like a perambulator. In many cases, the wheels didn't even match in size. Gilbert invented an "all purpose wheel" that bore a strange resemblance to baby buggy wheels. He then packaged these along with axles, cotter pins, brackets and the like that would enable the Boy to make any number of fanciful vehicles. The Toy and the Wheel Ad from the June 1920 issue of Boys Life Design Patent D-55,136 for the All Purpose Wheel Click to Enlarge Apparently, the Boy was supposed to supply the wooden parts. The toy was heavy and came in a thin wooden box that breaks easily. As a result, there are very, very few mint condition "New Wheel Toy" sets. This is an expensive and hard-to-find item, suitable only for the most avid collector. If you have one, insure it. A.C. Gilbert New Wheel Toy From the 1918 Catalogue Click to Enlarge I don't know how, but Mr. Gilbert managed to get patents for things like a scooter, a wheelbarrow and a wagon. It has to do with the nature of the connectors and parts rather than the overall design, but it does seem odd. A.C. Gilbert New Wheel Toy Patents Toy Cart Patent No. 1,527,973 Toy Sled Patent No. 1,424,011 Toy Scooter Patent No. 1,472,164 Toy Wheelbarrow Patent No. 1,457,972 Click to Enlarge Just in case you are curious about how Mr. Gilbert was able to patent these mundane toys, we are making the complete patent description available to you at no cost. Click Here to download the Patent for the Special Wheel Click Here to download the Patent for the Cart Click Here to download the Patent for the Sled Click Here to download the Patent for the Scooter Click Here to download the Patent for the Wheelbarrow 66 Stunts with an Electric Motor A.C. Gilbert Electric Motors From the 1918 Catalogue Click to Enlarge The original motorized Erector Sets required the Boy to assemble the electric motor from parts. This appears to be akit that features just the motor and not the girders. Stunts With an Electric Motor Click to Enlarge The same graphic on the box is used in the ad from an engineering publication. Mysto Magic Set Magic and Puzzles From the 1918 Catalogue Click to Enlarge Gilbert started out in Magic and never lost his flair for it. He continued to manufacture Mysto Magic Sets, and never failed to include some form of entertaining illusion in his Science sets. (see the Electricity set, below). Magic and Coin Tricks Click to Enlarge Gilbert even included in his basic kit a checklist of the tricks that might be prformed at "Parties, Smokers and Stage Entertainment", indicating that the Boy could be ready for the Big Time in no time if he bought and mastered the kit. More Mysto Magic Books right: Magician's Checklist Components of the Mysto Magic Set Click to Enlarge You may learn more about the Mysto Magic Set by downloading the Mysto Instruction book (free of charge, of course.) All you have to do is Click here. The Knots and Splices Set Click to Enlarge Mr. Gilbert also sold some more specialized magic kits, such as the "Knots and Splices" set shown above. These kits are fairly rare. However,we have been very fortunate to obtain a copy of the manuals for these sets, including not only Knots and Splices but also Handkerchief Tricks and Coin Tricks. We do not have a copy of the instruction manual for the very rare Card Tricks set. If you have such a manual, please consider scanning it and sending it to us, so that we may make it available to the public. For the time being, we are including an article on "Simple Card Tricks" that appeared in the May, 1937 issue of Popular Mechanics. The Card Tricks Set Very rare... For the time being, you can download the Popular Mechanics article on Card Tricks Click to Enlarge We have scanned the three manuals that we have and offer them for your reading pleasure; we have split them into four sections each so that they will download quickly. Click on the hyperlinks below to download each of the various sections. The Knots and Splices book Knots and Splices Book Section One Knots and Splices Book Section Two Knots and Splices Book Section Three Knots and Splices Book Section Four The Handkerchief Tricks book Handkerchief Book Section One Handkerchief Book Section Two Handkerchief Book Section Three Handkerchief Book Section Four The Coin Tricks book Coin Tricks Book Section One Coin Tricks Book Section Two Coin Tricks Book Section Three Coin Tricks Book Section Four Card Tricks article from Popular Mechanics Gilbert was very good about giving names to the tricks, such as the "Multiplying Coin Protoplasmic Mystery", "Responsive Mystery Block", "Buddha Money Mystery","Hiding Chessman", "Galloping Dime, "Topsy Turvy Match", and "Pencil in the Buttonhole." The tricks advanced the Boy's vocabulary as well as developing manual dexterity and understanding of people. Gilbert also used magic in promotional items -- here is a trick designed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Gilbert Company called the "Holetite Pencil" A.C. Gilbert Company Holetite Pencil Fifty years of Gilbert Products Click to Enlarge Gilbert also includes some of his twisted wire puzzles (see below) with his magic kits. Gilbert "Puzzles" The Party Puzzles Set Sold as a group or individually. (right): Click here to download the instructions for the Party Puzzles set Click to Enlarge Mr. Gilbert never lost his interest in entertainment. The Boy had to have fun as well as learn something. These puzzles were an exercise in manual dexterity -- and (unitendedly) prepared the Boy for the various occupational tests that were administered by Industry. Several of these puzzles actually appeared on the Army General Classification Test used to screen recruits. Individual Puzzles Click to Enlarge The puzzles involved separating wires or nails that appeared to be inextricably twisted together. Fortunately, Mr. Gilbert also provided "The Trick" to solving the puzzle. This is sort of "SAT Coaching" 1910 style. Excerpts from the Puzzle Manual Click to Enlarge In addition to twisted wires, the Gilbert company also offered "Hand Puzzles" -- this was a glass-topped cardboard box with some loose items inside. The object was to carefully maneuver the box to cause the objects into slots or holes or onto pegs. This typoe of hand puzzle is quite similar to the "Game Boy" portable video game of today. Gilbert Hand Puzzles The "Atom Bomb" is the middle of the middle row Click to Enlarge Our favorite is the "Atom Bomb Puzzle" in which the Boy was supposed to cause a capsule-like token to fit into holes corresponding to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in a map of Japan. No political correctness in 1945.. At the end of the Gilbert Company's life, the hand puzzles remained, but it looks like a large committee of Concerned Moms go told of them. However, the "Atom Bomb" puzzle managed to sneak through amongst the remaining insipid items. Latter-Day Gilbert Hand Puzzles The "Atom Bomb" is the middle of the first row now targeted at a battleship since the Japanese are our BFFs... Everybody hum the "One World" song from Sesame Street Click to Enlarge Contemporary (c. 2010) versions of the hand puzzles might include: "Nuke the Ayatollah", "Seal the Border", "Plug the Oil Leak", and "Perfect Date for Ms. Career Woman." Gilbert Balloon-Making Kit This is a very rare kit that enabled the Boy (and his Sister, if the pictures are right) to "Make Balloons from Liquid Rubber." Click to Enlarge Our reader Dewey wrote to us with this explnation: "... It contains a pamphlet of instructions, two balloon molds, two jars of liquid latex, one can of talcum powder, two stands (one plugs into a light fixture so that it heats the balloon mold and latex), a stirring rod and a tweezer-like tool. The jar is opened and the latex is stirred slowly to mix the coloring agent. Talcum powder is rubbed on the balloon mold. This will help the balloon to be removed later. The balloon mold in dipped into the liquid latex and then placed upright on the heater stand. The heater stand is plugged into a light bulb fixture so that the stand/mold/latex gets heated. The heat causes the latex to vulcanize and become rubber. At the appointed time, the rubber balloon is removed from the mold. ... Below is a photo of Dewey's own set and a copy of the patent drawing for the process that underlies the kit. Dewey's Balloon-Making Kit Faber and Seal Patent No 790,941 Click to Enlarge Gilbert "Pak-O-Fun Moovy Sho" This is a very unusual toy from the 1920s. It is one of the very few Gilbert toys that does not use proper spelling. In addition, the typography on the box suggests a kid who is having trouble forming letters. At that time one of the techniques for showing that something was for (or done by kids) was to use phonetic spelling and mal-formed letters (such as a mirror-image letter "N") - it is, however, unusual that Gilbert would use such a device because he always wrote for an audience of Boys who could read, write and spell. (as we have seen above, some of the manuals are written at college level.) Pak-O-Fun Moovy Sho This form of "animation" wasn't that much different from the Penny Arcades -- the "films" are just shorter Click to Enlarge The set has all the fundamentals of animation -- the only problem is that the "films" are only four frames long. YES, it is a "moovy" albeit a very short one. The system uses cellophane "slides" that have four slightly different image. Each image is illuminated by its own 1 Watt bulb. The cellophane strip is placed in a curved chamber so that each image is projected on to the same spot on a cloth screen. The bulbs are lit by using a probe to touch each of four contact points laid out as sectors of a circle. Pak-O-Fun Moovy Sho Technology Just run the probe around the contact Click to Enlarge The animation subjects are fairly mundane: a Cowboy twirling a lasso, a big fish eating a little fish, a man getting bitten by a mosquito... On the other hand, the set illustrates the basic nature of animation, including "Critical Flicker Frequency" (about 19 frames/sec) by which the eye perceives motion and not separate images. The kid could amuse himself by running the probe around the contact at different speeds, running it backward, etc. With blank cellophane and India ink, the Boy could make his own animations. [Right now, I am thinking that the definition of "microsecond" is the time after opening the box that it took for the Boy to hit on the idea of making a pornographic animation....] This toy is often compared with the Kenner Give a Show toy (above). This would be inaccurate, because the Gilbert Toy explores true animation while the Kenner toy is just a slide projector. Gilbert "String Riders" In 1938, the Gilbert Company bought the rights to the American Flyer electric trains from the American Flyer Manufacturing Co. in Chicago. The company had begun in 1906, manufacturing Clock Work trains and later Wide Gauge and "O" Gauge Electric Trains. Declining sales and profitability forced the sale to Gilbert. Along with the trains, Gilbert acquired a number of other toys, among which are these colorful "String Riders". In Operation and Size "Roosevelt Bear", Boy, Girl Policeman, Turtleneck, "Charlie Chaplin" Gilbert String Riders They are very colorful and collectable Click to Enlarge The String Riders do just that -- they ride down a stretched piece of twine -- the arrangement causes the feet to appear to be pedaling. Although their colors are very charming, I fail to see how a toy like this managed to hold the attention of a child for very long... FREE DOWNLOADS INSTRUCTIONS Click on a hyperlink from the list below. The items are XLS, PDF or JPG files; some are quite large, so please consider file size before downloading. Occasionally, files held on the server may be corrupted-- if you find that this is the case with your download, please contact me and I'll send you the correct file. Gilbert Toy Catalogues The 1918 Catalogue The 1958 Catalogue The 1948 Catalogue featuring Superman! Science leads the Way Advertising Comic Book Science Leads the Way, Part One Science Leads the Way, Part Two Adventures in Science Advertising Comic Book (Whole File), Easy-to-download parts below Adventures in Science Advertising Comic Book Part One Adventures in Science Advertising Comic Book Part Two Adventures in Science Advertising Comic Book Part Three Erector Set Downloads Template for the 4 1/2 Set (193 KB) Template for the 6 1/2 Set (187 KB) Template for the 12 1/2 Lower Box (Left Half) (289 KB) Template for the 12 1/2 Lower Box (Right Half) (354 KB) Template for the 12 1/2 Top Shelf (Left Half) (122 KB) Template for the 12 1/2 Top Shelf (Right Half) (97 KB) Template for the Tread Box and MX Box (128 KB) Part OF - Two Carousel Horses (896 KB) Part NU - Front and Back for 4 Parajumpers(667 KB) Eight Parts Can Labels (619 KB) Covering for the Constructioneer Parts Box (277 KB) Part AJ - The Erector Flag (64 KB) Kneeling Boy Outer Box Label (249 KB) Handy Tags for Your Sets (249 KB) The No. 7 1/2 "White Truck" Manual Part One (2.4 MB) Part Two (3.0 MB) Part Three (3.1 MB) (Includes Price List for 1928) The No. 8 1/2 Hudson Locomotive and Tender Manual Hudson Manual Part One Hudson Manual Part Two The Skyscraper Panels Part NA (Front) Part NA (Back ) Part NB (Front) Part NB (Back ) Part NC (Front) Part NC (Back ) Part ND (Front) Part ND (Back ) Part NE (Front) Part NF (Back ) Part NG (Roof) Download the Manual for the Skyscraper Panels Chemistry Set Items Box Label for the Chemistry Set (204 KB) Test Tube Labels for Chemistry Set (272 KB) Blank Chemistry Set Test Tube Label (15 KB) Blank Chemistry Set Envelope Label (71 KB) Gilbert Chemistry Manual for Kit No. 1 (1,440 KB) Complete Chemistry Manual (199 pp) Click here to download the Cover and Title Page Click here to download the Table of Contents (16 pages!) Click here to download Pages 24-41 Click here to download Pages 42 - 61 Click here to download Pages 62 -79 Click here to download Pages 80-97 Click here to download Pages 98-117 Click here to download Pages 118-135 Click here to download Pages 136-153 Click here to download Pages 154-171 Click here to download Pages 172-190 Click here to download Pages 191-199 Gilbert Chemical magic Click here to download Part One Click here to download Part Two Click here to download Part Three Click here to download Part Four Legacy Chemicals Brochure: a list of the 56 original (1936) Gilbert chemicals and their contemporary (2010) equivalent names. Chemcraft (not Gilbert) Manuals Porter ChemCraft Manual (c. 1955) Ideal-ViewMaster ChemCraft 400 Manual (c. 1987) Microscope Set Items Box label for Microscope Set (1684 KB) Test Tube Labels for Microscope Set (434 KB) Blank Microscope Set Test Tube Label (25 KB) Gilbert Microscope Manual Manual for the Microscope Set (pp 1-19) (2,670 KB) Manual for the Microscope Set (pp 20-37) (2,870 KB) Manual for the Microscope Set (pp 38-57) (3,803 KB) Manual for the Microscope Set (pp 58-77) (3,820 KB) Manual for the Microscope Set (pp 78-97) (3,112 KB) Manual for the Microscope Set (pp 98- 109) (1,570 KB) Dagwood Splits the Atom Click here to download pages 1-11 of this comic book (3.2MB) Click here to download pages 12-23 of this comic book (2.2 MB) Click here to download pages 24-36 of this comic book (2.5 MB) Manual for the Atomic Energy Set Atomic Energy Manual Part One Atomic Energy Manual Part Two Atomic Energy Manual Part Three Click Here to download the Manual for Making Molecule Models Click Here to download a compendium of Science and Construction kit ads from the 1930s December 1936 Issue of Gilbert Thrills Part One (1.8 MB) Part Two (1.2 MB) Part Three (1.4 MB) Part One (1.1 MB) Part Five (1.8 MB) Gilbert Boy Engineering (128 pp) Part One pp 1-13 (1.9 MB) Part Two pp 14 - 33 (1.2 MB) Part Three pp 34 - 49 (1.0 MB) Part Four pp 50 - 65 (1.7 MB) Part Five pp 66 - 81 (2.1 MB) Part Six pp 82 - 97 (1.9 MB) Part Seven pp 98 - 113 (1.8 MB) Part eight pp 114 - 128 (2.2 MB) Gilbert Sound Experiments Click here to download Part 1 Click here to download Part 2 Click here to download Part 3 Click here to download Part 4 Click here to download Part 5 Click here to download Part 6 The Gilbert Weather Bureau (Boy Engineering Series) Part One (2.6 MB) Part Two (3.2 MB) Part Three (1.7 MB) Part Four (2.1 MB) Part Five (2.0 MB) Electric Eye Set Box Label for the Electric Eye Set (204 KB) Instruction Manual for the Electric Eye Set (3,104 KB) Gilbert Mineralogy Handbook Click here to download Part One of the Mineralogy Book Click here to download Part Two of the Mineralogy Book Fun With Electricity Fun With Electricity (pp 1-19) (3,002 KB) Fun With Electricity (pp 20- 33) (2028 KB) The Glass Blowing Manual Glass Blowing Manual Pages 1-10 Glass Blowing Manual Pages 11-20 Glass Blowing Manual Pages 21-30 Glass Blowing Manual Pages 31-40 Glass Blowing Manual Pages 41-50 Glass Blowing Manual Pages 51-60 Glass Blowing Manual Pages 61-64 Gilbert Hydraulics Volume from the "Boy Engineering" Series Gilbert Hydraulics Book Part 1 Gilbert Hydraulics Book Part 2 Gilbert Hydraulics Book Part 3 Gilbert Hydraulics Book Part 4 Gilbert Hydraulics Book Part 5 Gilbert Signal Engineering NOTE: This is 144 pages long DO NOT "OPEN" THE FILE -- Save it to your hard drive and read it without eating up bandwidth! Gilbert "Magnetic Fun and Facts" Click Here for Part One (pp 1- 13) Click Here for Part Two (pp 14- 29) Click Here for Part Three (pp 30- 45) Click Here for Part Four (pp 46- 61) Click Here for Part Five (pp 62 - 77) Click Here for Part Six (pp 78-94) Click Here for Part Seven (pp 94- 106) Gilbert "Boy Carpentry" Part One: Introduction, Types of Wood (pp 1-13) Part Two:Finishes, Chisels, Saws, Planes (pp 14-27) Part Three: Drills, Hammers, Fasteners, Joinery (pp 28-41) Part Four: Plans: Doll Bed, Bird House, Trellis, Automobile Cart, Checker Table, Foot Bench (pp 42-55) Part Five:Plans: Camp Stool, Magazine Rack, scooter, wheelbarrow (pp 56-69) Part Six:Marking Gauge, Armchair, Animal Trap, Workbench (pp 70-83) Part Seven:End Notes and Ads (pp 84-End) Mysto Magic Instruction Book Party Puzzles Instruction Book (1MB) The Handkerchief Tricks book Handkerchief Book Section One Handkerchief Book Section Two Handkerchief Book Section Three Handkerchief Book Section Four The Knots and Splices book Knots and Splices Book Section One Knots and Splices Book Section Two Knots and Splices Book Section Three Knots and Splices Book Section Four The Coin Tricks book Coin Tricks Book Section One Coin Tricks Book Section Two Coin Tricks Book Section Three Coin Tricks Book Section Four Tin Can Toys - by Edward Thatcher This book is also available from Google Books and we are providing it free of charge Click here to download the whole 7.1 MB file PLEASE -- save it on your computer and don't try to open it from the website (conserve bandwidth!) Nov 18, 1946 LIFE Magazine Article about A.C. Gilbert (pp 20- 33) (893 KB) Nov 14, 2002 Washington Post review of a Gilbert Biography (207 KB) Click on a Box to Go There Join Us on Facebook Counter for JUST THIS PAGE website counter Counter for the Entire Site (not just this page..) website counter

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