closed kit: 372 mm x 337 mm x 70 mm; 14 5/8 in x 13 1/4 in x 2 3/4 in
overall; closed: 14 5/8 in x 13 3/16 in x 3 7/8 in; 37.1475 cm x 33.49625 cm x 9.8425 cm
Object Name:
Chemistry Set
Date made:
1936
Description:
Alfred Carlton Gilbert (1884-1961) was an athlete, inventor, and co-founder of the Mysto-Manufacturing Co, a firm that became the A. C. Gilbert Co. in 1916. The Erector Set, which Gilbert introduced in 1913, was amazingly successful. Chemistry sets followed soon thereafter. This Gilbert Chemistry Outfit probably dates from 1936.
Ref: “A. C. Gilbert Dead; Invented Erector Set,” <i>New York Times</i> (Jan. 25, 1961), pp. 1 and 33.
Bruce Watson, <i>The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made</i> (New York, 2002).
Rebecca Onion, <i>Innocent Experiments: Childhood and the Culture of Popular Science in the United States</i> (2016).
