Hill's Kindergarten Building and Spelling Blocks, 1880-1890

01

Artifact Overview

Educational toys in the late nineteenth century often served multiple purposes. This set of building and alphabet blocks included different shapes and colors for creative stacking. It also offered a variety of learning opportunities. With upper and lowercase letters in print and cursive, images of animals with printed names, and Roman and Arabic numerals, children could practice spelling and counting while they played.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Alphabet block

Date Made

1880-1890

Creators

Location

at Legacy Locations in Photography

Object ID

2000.0.31.6

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford.

Material

Wood (Plant Material)
Paper (Fiber product)

Color

Green
Blue
Red
Black (Color)

Dimensions

Height: 0.5 in (animal, number, and letter blocks)
Width: 2.5 in (animal, number, and letter blocks)
Length: 1.25 in (animal, number, and letter blocks)
Height: 0.5 in (square blue blocks)
Width: 1.25 in (square blue blocks)
Length: 1.25 in (square blue blocks)
Height: 0.5 in (long rectangular blue blocks)
Width: 0.5 in (long rectangular blue blocks)
Length: 2.5 in (long rectangular blue blocks)
Height: 0.5 in (short rectangular blue blocks)
Width: 0.5 in (short rectangular blue blocks)
Length: 1.25 in (short rectangular blue blocks)

Inscriptions

KINDERGARTEN / Alphabet / AND BUILDING / BLOCKS [on box lid]
Hill's Kindergarten Building and Spelling Blocks, 1880-1890