Toy Knitting Outfit

Bradley's 

Toy Knitting Outfit

Milton Bradley Co.

Springfield, Mass.  U. S. A.

Milton Bradley, born in 1836 in Vienna, Maine,

was first interested in lithography as a teenager.

By 1860 he had founded the Milton Bradley

Company and the first color lithography shop

in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Apart from games,  Bradley was

interested in children's education and

learning through play,

and the company also produced

materials for kindergarten children.

One such item was the Toy Knitting

Outfit. 

This is box numbered 4348 and is found in

the "Bradley's School Materials and

Books" catalog dated 1921.

Front and back cover shown

below,

Here is the page where it is found - and

another two sets are also mentioned here,

numbers 4195 and 4312.

Next we see the inside of the box (4348).

Oddly, I also have another set by Bradley which

is number 4200 (below). I am only guessing here but

this set could have possibly been made for the

general public. Inside, it has the larger 

spoolknitter which is also mentioned in the number

4195 set above.

This particular box has two of these - was

this set meant to have two? ... it is possible

as it could have been for sharing with a

brother or sister.

(The wooden spool with nails has been added

sometime later.)

So these sets are from the very early 1900's and

that makes them practically 100 years old!

I am so grateful to whoever took care of these sets

 that they remained in great condition.

(Bibliography -

Encyclopedia of Children's

Sewing Collectibles by 

Darlene J. Gengelbach - totally

recommend this book, I love it!)

============

=======

==

A Little More About Staples

Since my post on Staples, I have now

found an original leaflet that
came from the "Toy Knitting Outfit"
by Bradley / Milton Bradley.

Here you can see that the spool knitter has staples and
not nails. This set dates to the 1910's which is well
ahead of the Spear's Games "Knitting Nancy" which
was released in 1926. Originally, it was thought that
the "Knitting Nancy" was the first to introduce
staples, but this is proof that they were used
on spool knitters before then.

Here is the full leaflet found in the
"Toy Knitting Outfit" box.
(click for larger image)

And above is the box that the leaflet came from.
Oddly though, the graphics on the box shows spool
knitters with nails!

Here below, is the contents of the box showing two
original spool knitters (with their yarn guide spring),
and a small wooden handmade cotton reel/spool knitter.

It really pays to look more closely at pictures on
leaflets, boxes, packaging, and in pattern books.
You would all know about the vintage Spool Knitting book
by Mary McCormack printed in 1909, take a closer
look at the spool knitter used - it has staples!
(click on Spool Knitting above to take you to my
previous post last year and then on the link to the book).
I had been dating any spool knitter with staples to
be after 1926 (when the Spear's "Knitting Nancy"
was released) so now it has to be after 1909.
If you would like to comment about this I would be
very interested to know what you think. Do you
know anything else about staples on spool
knitters?

STAPLES

I have discovered a game named

"Toy Knitting Outfit" by Bradley
The graphics on the lid show hands
using a 'spool knitter'. These
graphics look very old.
The picture below shows
spool knitters (box free) that I
have that are also very similar
the Bradley set. There is also a
yarn guide on the side just like these
as well as the staples (loop holders).
Going by the graphics on the lid, I would
date the Bradley set as 1910's - 1920.
Now what I am getting at here is this.
It was originally thought that the
Spear's Games Knitting Nancy was
first to introduce the staple.
The Knitting Nancy was released
in 1926!

Above shows the coiled spring on the side
which is suppose to guide the yarn as
you work. The spring is moved as
each loop is worked.
This was to give you even stitches.

I am sorry that I cannot show you the picture
of the Bradley game as it is not mine. If you
have one for yourself, then I consider you
very, very lucky, as they would be rare.