Alphabet Blocks, 1867-1875

Mid-nineteenth-century companies drew on new technologies to produce and distribute inexpensive toys. In 1858, New York firm S. L. Hill patented "a new and Improved Spelling-Block" with imagery applied directly to the wood. Hill became the first American manufacturer to mass produce toy alphabet blocks. These popular toys helped children learn letters and numbers and practice spelling. They also served as stackable building blocks.