Tinker Toys

I still Play With Tinker Toys!

Inspired by watching children play with pencils, sticks and empty spools of thread, Charles Pajeau and Robert Petit created Tinker Toys in 1914.

Tinker Toys originally sold for 60¢ and were first called the “Thousand Wonder Builder.”

The distinctive “mailing tube” package was selected to help reduce shipping costs. The back of the package included an address label with a space for postage.

By 1918, over 2.5 million sets were sold. Up until the 1960’s, the company averaged sales of over 2.5 million sets per year.

Red spools were added in 1932. Red sticks were introduced in 1953. Green, blue and yellow sticks were added in 1955.

Other Toy Tinker products included the Tilly Tinker and Tip-Toe Tinker dolls, Flying Tinker propeller toy and the Dachshund Tinker pull toy.