The History of Dayton Ohio Toy Makers: A Book Review

e*Train Issue: Jun 2020 | Posted in: Past e*Train Issues, Toy Train Paper & Auctions

By Lori Nyce, TCA Librarian

One of the many toy books in the library’s collection is The History of Dayton Ohio Toy Makers by William C. Gallagher and Dr. Richard C. Cummings. I have used this book on several occasions to help identify friction or flywheel-powered toys such as Hill Climber locomotives. It is a detailed and comprehensive look at the great toy industry that began in Dayton, Ohio at the turn of the 20th century.

The book examines toys made by 38 companies in Dayton, from the well-known friction toys of D.P. Clark and Schieble to Flips and Flops, a catapult toy patented by Orville Wright. Heavily illustrated, the book includes hundreds of photographs and patent information, based on in-depth research and the combined toy collecting experience of Gallagher and Cummings.

The library also owns two additional books written by Gallagher: Japanese Toys: Amusing Playthings from the Past, and Modern Toys from Japan 1940s to 1980s.

If you are interested in the development of friction toys, you may also want to read the article, “The Boyers’ Locomotive Toy,” written by Raymond A. Spong, former President of the Antique Toy Collectors of America (ATCA). In 1897, Israel Donald Boyer and his wife, Edith Boyer, patented an American toy using a flywheel as its motive power. This American patent was the foundation of the development of the friction toy industry in Dayton, Ohio.

The article was published in the journal Technology and Culture (Vol. 13, No. 3) and is available to read online on the JSTOR website. Individuals can sign up for a free personal JSTOR account and read a select number of articles online. To access this article and more, register for a free account here: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3102490.

From the website of the Antique Toy Collectors of America, you can also access the document, Flywheel Powered Toys, written by Raymond and Neldred Spong and a reproduction of a 1929 Dayton Friction Toys catalog.

For more information about The History of Dayton Ohio Toy Makers, check out the articles below from the Dayton Daily News:

“Dayton’s Toy-Making Past Lovingly Captured” by Sharon Short
Dayton Daily News (June 16, 2013)
“Toys Were Once a Serious Business Locally” by Lisa Knodel
Dayton Daily News (April 9, 2014)

Boy with Hill Climber
Image Source: Courtesy of the National Toy Train Library

Shop Amazon and Help TCA

TCA members who shop at Amazon.com can have each of their normal purchases generate a modest payment to TCA! And it won’t cost you anything!

The Train Collectors Association is now a participant with AmazonSmile, which is a special website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com.

The difference is that when customers shop at AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation donates 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers.

The process is simple. Just search for and select Train Collectors Association when you sign up and shop at smile.amazon.com.

You use your regular Amazon.com username and password, but when you log in to smile.amazon.com, you’ll see that you are supporting TCA with your purchases:

Note that if you just log in to the regular amazon.com, this benefit does not operate.

There are no costs to either you or TCA, but TCA benefits!

This is a great way for TCA to earn extra cash to offset costs, so sign up today to help support TCA.

* Note: TCA is not a party to any of your Amazon transactions, and does not endorse any products or vendors.

Helping TCA with your ebay purchases when you use PayPal

If you’re an ebay user and have a PayPal account you use to make payments, you can designate a donation for TCA when you’re checking out — any amount, small or large.
If you’re a regular seller on ebay, you can pre-designate a percentage of your sales to be donated automatically in your name to TCA as long as the purchaser pays with their PayPal account.

In both cases, you will receive a donation receipt from the PayPal Giving Fund, and enjoy applicable tax advantages.

How to do it:

Click on the image above, or use this link. This will take you to ebay, where you will see the following page (log in to ebay if you are not already):

This offers TCA as an option. Click on the “Add to My Charities” button where indicated with the red arrow. Thereafter, when you make a purchase, at checkout you will be offered the option to make a donation to TCA in any amount of your choosing. Small amounts add up, larger ones are great! It’s always up to you!

The option will appear at the lower part of your checkout page, something like this:

If you’re a regular seller on ebay, you can allocate a portion of your sales proceeds to be donated to TCA. Look at the green arrow marked “Optional” above to see how to do it. Details on how ebay calculates the donation may be read here. This is a wonderful way to share the financial benefits of your hobby with the organization that promotes it!

An added benefit to TCA is that these donations are not subject to normal processing fees, so that makes your donation work harder!

* Note. TCA is not a party to any of your eBay transactions, and does not endorse any products or vendors. PayPal issues the receipts to you for your donation, not TCA.

The History of Dayton Ohio Toy Makers: A Book Review

Search By:

Sort By:

Have Train Stories to Share?