Figure 1.--This Massachusetts boy, Felix Bardou, was photographed in 1893 in a full dress and long locks standing beside a rustic bench with a set of alphabet blocks. This is a studio portrait. His blocks were brought to the studio.

We have noted various types of children blocks. Commonly they had letters and numbers on them and helped younger children learn their alphabet. These blocks were best known with letters on each face of the cube. Not all blocks came with letters, but this was the most common. Of course the standard was relativeky small square cubic blocks. Blocks in a variety of shapes, however, were made for older children to build more sophisticated structures. I seem to recall blocks with groves to aid in construction. Quite elaborate block sets complete with even Grecian coluns were available by the turn of the 20th century. We also note very large sized blocks in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Alphabet Blocks

It is alphabet blocks that we commonly think of when we think of children's toy blocks. These blocks were wooden. They are cubes. They have the letters of the alphabet letters or numbers carved into the sides, alternating with various patterns. The raised letters are painted in primary colors. The children after leaning their ABCs could begin spelling out basic words such as cat and dog. Some of these blocks had little teeth carved into the tops and bottoms, so that they can be interlocked. You can build a higher tower with these, because of the interlocking parts.

Building Blocks

The most basic of toys, building blocks are usually made of wood painted in primary colors. They come in rectangular, square, cylindrical, triangular shapes and arches. Their main purpose is for building such things as castles and skyscrapers that can then be knocked over. Elder siblings are usually theones who take on the job of knocking overwhatever you build, often before the structure has been completed. This sometimes results in the secondary use of the block: as a projectile weapon. These blocks are still being manufactured. They are just the same as they were 50 years ago. They cannot be improved upon as a toy, with the exception of empty cardboard boxes and pots and pans. I seem to recall blocks with ridges or groves to aid in construction.

Large Blocks

We have noted some images of children in the late 19th and early 20th century playing with very large-sized blocks. Most of the images are drawings. Thus we do not know if such large blocks really existed or if they were simly pictured for artistic purposes. Most photographic images, more reliable than drawings, show children with small blocks. We do have some photographs of the larger blocks, but these seem to be portraits from photographic studios rather than home scenes. Thus we are not sure how common these large blocks were.

Created: March 19, 2000
Last updated: 6:10 PM 10/21/2004