Crandall’s Improved District School playset made by Charles M. Crandall
date: label: date made
content: 1876
notes: label: Description
content: By the 1830’s, the concept of a community supported public education, or Common School, was becoming popular beyond New England. As the population expanded, so did the number of local schools and the development of the teaching profession. Schools created a path for opportunity and an improved way of life. Common school curriculum focused on the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, good citizenship, and rewarding ethical and moral behavior. By the late 19th Century, the educational curriculum had expanded, and schools had also become a place for testing social change. The growth of tax supported public schooling through the university level and compulsory education laws were factors that encouraged a great immigration wave but also promoted a more literate, educated society.
label: Description
content: Crandall’s District School playset is a wooden manipulative used by primary age students for “playing school” long before the Fisher Price and Playmobile plastic playsets. During this period, children were beginning to be subjects of early childhood studies, resulting in age-appropriate curriculum and toys. The teaching profession also was developing standards and was an occupation that welcomed young women. This educational toy was created in 1876 by Charles Martin Crandall (1833-1905), who took over his father's wood working factory and became one of the preeminent American toymakers of the 19th century.
label: Description
content: This well used playset consists of extra figures from 2 other partial sets of the toy. It includes wooden figures of 3 schoolmasters- the original to the set and two extra with 3 schoolmaster desks. The carved, hand painted student figures include two standing figures with a dunce cap, 8 additional boys standing and 9 seated boys and desks. The boys are dressed in grown, grey,red, and navy shirts and dark pants. There are a total of 10 girl figures: 3 tall girls standing and 6 younger girls standing with 1 girl seated, dressed in red or blue blouses with grey skirts. Many of the seated figures are holding small wood books that are topped with printed paper. The set is missing the DUNCE stool or chair and the advertising sheet that was originally packaged with the set but does include Mary's little lamb from the nursery rhyme plus an additional broken lamb. The wooden figures are placed on slotted wooden stands and designed to have a side silhouette view, with movable arms and legs. Setting the figures on the grooved stands helped promote manual dexterity, though some of the figures have broken feet or hands. The playset came in their original wood box with lithographed labeling. The toy was patented originally by Charles M. Crandall in 1867 and then renewed March 30, 1975, May 4th 1875, October 11, 1875, and January 25, 1875.
label: Description
content: Charles Martin Crandall was born May 30, 1833. His father owned a wood working and furniture factory in Covington, Pennsylvania and Charles began inventing toys in the shop by age 12. At the age of 16, his father died, and Charles took over the business; after the Civil War though he began to focus on creating and selling toys. He took advantage of new tools developed during the Industrial Revolution, and produced a line of jig saw puzzles that oddly became popular in the U.S. Senate. In 1866, he moved to Montrose, Pa. His son Jesse went to work with him designing toys until Jesse opened a second shop in Brooklyn, New York. In 1885, industrialist Moses Lyman financed the Waverly Toy Works with Crandall in Waverly, NY so Charles moved to New York, leaving his other son Fred W. Crandall to manage the shop in Pennsylvania. Charles returned to Pennsylvania after the shop burned a year later, and in 1887 Charles developed a large and very successful toy factory in Elkind, Pa. Charles died in 1905, but the company remained in business a couple more years, closing in 1907.
label: Description
content: By the time of his death, Charles M. Crandall Toys had become one of the preeminent American toymakers of the 19th century, obtaining over 400 patents for innovation on toys, and specializing in wooden toys, building blocks, alphabet blocks, puzzles, animals, jointed circus figures, games such as "Pigs in Clover" and the Crandall’s District School playset.
place: label: place made
content: United States: Pennsylvania
topic: label: used
content: Education
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Education
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Dr. Richard Lodish American School Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2014.0244.331
label: accession number
content: 2014.0244
label: catalog number
content: 2014.0244.331
objectType: label: Object Name
content: toy
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paint (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (box, books material)
label: Measurements
content: component a: 23 cm x 4.5 cm x .5 cm; 9 1/16 in x 1 25/32 in x 3/16 in
label: Measurements
content: component b: 17.5 cm x 13 cm x 1.5 cm; 6 7/8 in x 5 1/8 in x 19/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component c: 17.5 cm x 13 cm x 1.5 cm; 6 7/8 in x 5 1/8 in x 19/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component d: 17.5 cm x 13 cm x 1.5 cm; 6 7/8 in x 5 1/8 in x 19/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component p: 9.7 cm x 6.6 cm x 1.2 cm; 3 13/16 in x 2 19/32 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component q: 12.1 cm x 3 cm x 1.2 cm; 4 3/4 in x 1 3/16 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component r: 12.1 cm x 3 cm x 1.2 cm; 4 3/4 in x 1 3/16 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component s: 12.1 cm x 3 cm x 1.2 cm; 4 3/4 in x 1 3/16 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component t: 17.6 cm x 4.5 cm x 1.2 cm; 6 15/16 in x 1 25/32 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component u: 17.6 cm x 4.5 cm x 1.2 cm; 6 15/16 in x 1 25/32 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component v: 12.9 cm x 3.5 cm x 1.2 cm; 5 3/32 in x 1 3/8 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component w: 12.9 cm x 3.5 cm x 1.2 cm; 5 3/32 in x 1 3/8 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component x: 11.2 cm x 7.8 cm x 1.2 cm; 4 13/32 in x 3 1/16 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component y: 11.2 cm x 7.8 cm x 1.2 cm; 4 13/32 in x 3 1/16 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component z: 11.2 cm x 7.8 cm x 1.2 cm; 4 13/32 in x 3 1/16 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component aa: 11.9 cm x 9.8 cm x 1.3 cm; 4 11/16 in x 3 27/32 in x 1/2 in
label: Measurements
content: component ab: 11.9 cm x 9.8 cm x 1.3 cm; 4 11/16 in x 3 27/32 in x 1/2 in
label: Measurements
content: component ac: 11.9 cm x 9.8 cm x 1.3 cm; 4 11/16 in x 3 27/32 in x 1/2 in
label: Measurements
content: component ad: 11.6 cm x 8.8 cm x 1.3 cm; 4 9/16 in x 3 15/32 in x 1/2 in
label: Measurements
content: component ae: 11.6 cm x 8.8 cm x 1.3 cm; 4 9/16 in x 3 15/32 in x 1/2 in
label: Measurements
content: component af: 11.6 cm x 8.8 cm x 1.3 cm; 4 9/16 in x 3 15/32 in x 1/2 in
label: Measurements
content: component ag: 15 cm x 3.8 cm x 1.4 cm; 5 29/32 in x 1 1/2 in x 9/16 in
label: Measurements
content: component ah: 15 cm x 3.8 cm x 1.4 cm; 5 29/32 in x 1 1/2 in x 9/16 in
label: Measurements
content: component e: 5 cm x 5.4 cm x .5 cm; 1 31/32 in x 2 1/8 in x 3/16 in
label: Measurements
content: component f: 5 cm x 5.4 cm x .5 cm; 1 31/32 in x 2 1/8 in x 3/16 in
label: Measurements
content: component g: 18 cm x 3.7 cm x 1.2 cm; 7 3/32 in x 1 15/32 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component h: 13.2 cm x 4.2 cm x 1.2 cm; 5 3/16 in x 1 21/32 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component i: 13.2 cm x 4.2 cm x 1.2 cm; 5 3/16 in x 1 21/32 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component j: 13.2 cm x 4.2 cm x 1.2 cm; 5 3/16 in x 1 21/32 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component k: 13.5 cm x 9 cm x .5 cm; 5 5/16 in x 3 17/32 in x 3/16 in
label: Measurements
content: component l: 13.5 cm x 9 cm x .5 cm; 5 5/16 in x 3 17/32 in x 3/16 in
label: Measurements
content: component m: 14.5 cm x 4.5 cm x 1.2 cm; 5 23/32 in x 1 25/32 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component n: 14.5 cm x 4.5 cm x 1.2 cm; 5 23/32 in x 1 25/32 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: component o: 14.5 cm x 4.5 cm x 1.2 cm; 5 23/32 in x 1 25/32 in x 15/32 in
label: Measurements
content: box: 2 3/4 in x 10 in x 5 in; 6.985 cm x 25.4 cm x 12.7 cm