Toys

author of “The Evolution of Toys,” and ” Toys in the Territory,” pp 148 – 153

numerous pictures of toys

Sock Monkey, Nelson Knitting, Rockford

Nylint, of Rockford, IL,  founded in 1937, by Bernard Klint and David Nyberg. In 2001, Funrise Toys of California bought them out.

Tonka Toys, founded in 1946 by Lynn Baker, Alvin Tesh and Avery Crounse, in Mound, Minnesota.  In 1991, Hasbro Inc. bought it out and moved it to China.

Structo Toys, founded in Freeport in 1908, as Thompson Manufacturing Co.  The name changed to Structo Manufacturing in 1911. The company sold in 1973 to a manufacturer of farm toys, Ertl.

Testor Corp., founded in Rockford, around 2930 by Nils Testor, as a producer of “Crystal Clear Household Cement.”  Circa WWII, Testor began producing static pinewood models of aircraft, and later added an engine. In the early 1970’s, Testor added plastic models.

Source: Northwest Quarterly magazine, Holiday 2014, Vol. 11, No. 6, pp 148-153