Automatic Binding Brick Automatic Binding Bricks were developed by the LEGO Group in 1949 : “ With the cooperation of a tooling works in Copenhagen , we modified the design of the Kiddicraft brick , and moulds were made . The modifications in relation to the Kiddicraft bricks included straightening round corners and converting inches to cm and mm , which altered the size of the brick by approx . 0 . 1 mm in relation to the Kiddicraft brick . The studs on the bricks were also flattened on top . ” ( " Developing a Product Leaflet " . Billund : The LEGO Group , 1997 . pp 2 – 3 ) The LEGO Group purchased all of the residual rights to the Kiddicraft block in 1981 . The First LEGO Sets . The first " Automatic Binding Brick " sets were known as Gaveæske ( Gift Sets ) . In 1949 at least three different sets were released : 700 / 1 , 700 / 2 , and 700 / 3 ( listed in descending size ) . They had cardboard inserts in the bottom half of the box and enough space above to allow a single level of bricks . These # 700 / x sets had the bricks layed out in the box and displayed in a zigzag or checkerboard pattern in 4 or 5 different brick colours Red , White , Yellow , Light Green and as the sometimes 5th colour , Medium Blue . Because the early bricks had slots on 2 sides of the brick , it was easy to put a picture or postcard into the slots , and make a picture frame . " Automatic Binding Brick " sets came with several postcard type colourful pictures for this purpose . These colourful pictures were discontinued by 1953 . Automatic Binding Brick box tops show an example of bricks used as a picture frame with one of these colourful postcards . The First LEGO Bricks . The first LEGO bricks manufactured by the LEGO Group were the 2x2 and 2x4 slotted bricks for the " Automatic Binding Bricks " sets of 1949 . They were available in all the sets of 1949 , and only sold in Denmark . These bricks had no " LEGO " text embossed anywhere on the brick . These first LEGO bricks were available in Red , White , Yellow , Light Green , and Medium Blue . Windows and Doors with wings that slotted into the slots in the ends of the bricks , were also introduced in 1949 with the first bricks . These windows were available in 3 sizes : 1x4x2 , 1x2x3 , and 1x2x2 . The 1x2x4 door type introduced that year did not have a window . There was a new series of LEGO windows and a door released in 1954 with glass panes . These windows came in sizes 1x6x4 ( panorama ) , 1x6x3 ( 3 pane ) , 1x6x3 ( shuttered ) , 1x4x3 and 1x3x3 , and the door came in size 1x2x4 . LEGO parts were also sold by Danish LEGO retailers as individual parts . These individual parts were sold from colourfully painted wooden boxes that the Danish LEGO retailers had to purchase from The LEGO Company Group . This way of selling LEGO parts would continue until the late 1960 ' s , and many of the for the Town Plan line would also be sold this way . The " Automatic Binding Bricks " eventually evolved into the LEGO Mursten in 1953 . The slotted bricks were in production until 1957 . Automatic Binding Bricks Instructions & Idea Booklets . The Automatic Binding Bricks catalogs of 1950 - 53 showed some of the models that could be built with the first Automatic Binding Bricks sets . Box Artwork . The Automatic Binding Brick boxes of 1949 - 52 all had this same box top design . These were sold only in Denmark , and briefly in southern Sweden . unnumbered 10x20 thin baseplate 1 Part , 1950