LEGO System
Construction Toy
ca. 1969-1970 (manufactured)
ca. 1969-1970 (manufactured)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
LEGO is one of the most popular and enduring toys of our time. It won the Toy Retailers Association's "Toy of the Year" award in Britain in 1974, 1975 and 1979, and was voted "Toy of the Century" in 2000.
The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, a Danish carpenter turned toymaker. The name LEGO comes from the Danish words "Leg Godt" which means "play well". The toy is based on traditional wooden building bricks, which have been used by children since the eighteenth century. Wooden blocks were robust and could be used in many different ways. However the scope for large or complex structures was limited because they fell apart easily. The emergence of new technologies, manufacturing techniques and materials, in the mid-twentieth century revolutionised toy design. In 1939, the British toy maker Hilary Page designed a set of colourful plastic bricks as part of his "Sensible Toy" range. The bricks used a system of studs and tubes so that they could be locked together. Page released the bricks under the name Interlocking Building Cubes, and went on to introduce Self-Locking Building Bricks in the late 1940s. The LEGO Group followed with Automatic Binding Blocks in 1949. These were a forerunner of the LEGO bricks we recognise today. LEGO bricks were officially launched in 1955 and their stud and tube coupling system was patented in 1958.
LEGO wasn't immediately popular as many people still preferred metal or wooden toys. However the introduction of the LEGO System in the mid-1950s proved to be very popular, and became central to its success and longevity as a construction toy. The idea behind the LEGO System was that a basic set of bricks could be continually expanded with related, interchangeable parts. This allowed The LEGO Group to develop many other components such as wheels, windows, and the minifigure, so that its customers could create a complete LEGO world.
The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, a Danish carpenter turned toymaker. The name LEGO comes from the Danish words "Leg Godt" which means "play well". The toy is based on traditional wooden building bricks, which have been used by children since the eighteenth century. Wooden blocks were robust and could be used in many different ways. However the scope for large or complex structures was limited because they fell apart easily. The emergence of new technologies, manufacturing techniques and materials, in the mid-twentieth century revolutionised toy design. In 1939, the British toy maker Hilary Page designed a set of colourful plastic bricks as part of his "Sensible Toy" range. The bricks used a system of studs and tubes so that they could be locked together. Page released the bricks under the name Interlocking Building Cubes, and went on to introduce Self-Locking Building Bricks in the late 1940s. The LEGO Group followed with Automatic Binding Blocks in 1949. These were a forerunner of the LEGO bricks we recognise today. LEGO bricks were officially launched in 1955 and their stud and tube coupling system was patented in 1958.
LEGO wasn't immediately popular as many people still preferred metal or wooden toys. However the introduction of the LEGO System in the mid-1950s proved to be very popular, and became central to its success and longevity as a construction toy. The idea behind the LEGO System was that a basic set of bricks could be continually expanded with related, interchangeable parts. This allowed The LEGO Group to develop many other components such as wheels, windows, and the minifigure, so that its customers could create a complete LEGO world.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 5 parts. (Some alternative part names are also shown below)
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| Title | LEGO System (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Injection-moulded ABS, printed paper |
| Brief description | Construction toy, injection moulded ABS, 'LEGO System' truck, car, and dog, made by The LEGO Group, Denmark, ca. 1969-1970. |
| Physical description | Three models made from injection-moulded ABS construction bricks, plus printed paper instructions. Standing dog constructed of white, black, red and yellow bricks. Car without wheels, constructed of white, black, red and clear bricks. Truck with red wheels and grey tyres, constructed of white, blue, black, red and clear bricks. Part of an instruction leaflet, cut out to show two different LEGO models. One side shows a black and white truck on red and grey wheels, and the other shows the first step in building the car. The car is surrounded by a blue border and has the number 1 printed in a yellow circle next to it and the LEGO logo in the top left-hand corner. Part of an instruction leaflet, cut out to show two different LEGO models. One side shows a black dog on red and grey wheels, and the other shows a black and white car. The car is surrounded by a blue border and has the number 4 printed in a yellow circle next to it. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Credit line | Given by Caroline Egan |
| Object history | This LEGO set was given to the donor by her brother-in-law as a gift. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | LEGO is one of the most popular and enduring toys of our time. It won the Toy Retailers Association's "Toy of the Year" award in Britain in 1974, 1975 and 1979, and was voted "Toy of the Century" in 2000. The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, a Danish carpenter turned toymaker. The name LEGO comes from the Danish words "Leg Godt" which means "play well". The toy is based on traditional wooden building bricks, which have been used by children since the eighteenth century. Wooden blocks were robust and could be used in many different ways. However the scope for large or complex structures was limited because they fell apart easily. The emergence of new technologies, manufacturing techniques and materials, in the mid-twentieth century revolutionised toy design. In 1939, the British toy maker Hilary Page designed a set of colourful plastic bricks as part of his "Sensible Toy" range. The bricks used a system of studs and tubes so that they could be locked together. Page released the bricks under the name Interlocking Building Cubes, and went on to introduce Self-Locking Building Bricks in the late 1940s. The LEGO Group followed with Automatic Binding Blocks in 1949. These were a forerunner of the LEGO bricks we recognise today. LEGO bricks were officially launched in 1955 and their stud and tube coupling system was patented in 1958. LEGO wasn't immediately popular as many people still preferred metal or wooden toys. However the introduction of the LEGO System in the mid-1950s proved to be very popular, and became central to its success and longevity as a construction toy. The idea behind the LEGO System was that a basic set of bricks could be continually expanded with related, interchangeable parts. This allowed The LEGO Group to develop many other components such as wheels, windows, and the minifigure, so that its customers could create a complete LEGO world. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | B.660:1 to 5-2010 |
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| Record created | February 25, 2011 |
| Record URL |
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