The Duncan Family Yo-Yo Collection consists of papers, photographs, advertising materials, scrapbooks, clippings and audio-visual materials. These materials trace the rise and fall of the companies owned by the Duncan family as well as the world of yo-yo's. The materials date from 1929 to 2002, with the bulk of the material focused on the Donald F. Duncan, Inc., and the companies that would become Playmaxx, Inc.
The collection is arranged in seven series. Series one contains business material pertaining to Donald F. Duncan, Inc., and its spin off companies. Series two contains material about Donald F. Duncan, Inc. It contains business records, correspondence, photographs, advertising materials, contest materials, information about demonstrators, and sales. Series three describes the creation of Duncraft, Inc. and how it changed names to Duracraft, Inc., finally becoming Playmaxx, Inc. The series contains material on the creation of a small business, photographs, advertising materials, instructional materials, patents and correspondence. Series four contains newspaper clippings arranged by dates. Series five contains information on the competitors of Donald F. Duncan, Inc, and Playmaxx, Inc. as well as information on the Flambeau Corporation who had bought out the Duncan name and was continuing to sell yo-yos. Series six contains information on yo-yos in general. It has materials including articles, magazines, books, music, information on the Smothers Brothers, and miscellaneous material. Series seven contains audio-visual materials including commercials, videos, audio tape and
records.
Arrangement:
Collection is divided into eight series.
Series 1, Donald F. Duncan, Inc. Records, 1930-1985
Subseries 1, Minute books, 1930-1967
Subseries 2, Correspondence, 1930-1985
Subseries 3, Organizational Materials, 1959, 1962
Subseries 4, Conference Reports, 1962-1963
Subseries 5, Financial materials, 1959-1965
Subseries 6, Employee and Personnel Materials, 1962-1964
Subseries 3, Advertising and Promotional materials, 1982-1990
Subseries 4, Financial Materials, 1990-1995
Subseries 5, Employee and Personnel materials, 1990-1995
Subseries 6, Sales Materials, 1981-1997
Subseries 7, Patents, 1974-1997
Subseries 8, Production Materials, 1980-1992
Subseries 9, Newsletters and Releases, 1978, 1997
Subseries 10, Programs, 1981-1997
Subseries 11, Duracraft, 1977-1986
Subseries 12, Competitors, 1976-1997
Subseries 13, Miscellaneous, 1997
Series 3: Yo-Yo's, 1928-2002
Subseries 1, Newspaper clippings, 1929-1999
Subseries 2, Articles, 1952-1998
Subseries 3, Books, 1978-2000
Subseries 4, Instructional Materials, undated
Subseries 5, Magazine, 1958-2002
Subseries 6, Newsletters, 1988-1999
Subseries 7, Music, 1930-1964
Subseries 8, Competitors, 1958-1992
Subseries 9, Contests, 1997-2000
Subseries 10, Photographs, undated
Subseries 11, Miscellaneous, 1930-2002
Series 4, Other Toys, 1935-1991
Subseries 1, Toys, 1935-1991
Subseries 2, Photographs of Other Toys, undated
Subseries 3, Photographs of Tops, undated
Series 5, Audiovisual Materials, 1946-1996
Biographical / Historical:
Donald F. Duncan (1892-1971), a businessman who had successfully marketed parking meters and ice cream, began to sell yo-yos after seeing them on a visit to California. Duncan founded Donald F. Duncan, Inc. in 1930, running it with the help of family members and soon got the word yo-yo trademarked. Duncan marketed the yo-yo successfully by using traveling demonstrators, many who were Filipinos, to hold contests around the country to increase demand. Duncan claimed the yo-yo was once a primitive hunting weapon in the Philippines and whose name meant "come-come". Duncan also used the slogan, "If it isn't a Duncan, it isn't a Yo-Yo."
As the company became more successful a plant in Luck, WI was constructed to be near the maple used to produce the yo-yos. The management division remained in Chicago, where it shared some of the same staff as the Duncan Parking Meter Company. The company also began to branch out, trying to create new toys and products, including a line of tops and selling plastic yo-yos. In the early 1960s the company, now run by Donald F. Duncan, Jr., began an aggressive and expensive marketing campaign using television ads, creating a huge demand for yo-yos that the Luck plant could not keep up with.
By 1965 Donald F. Duncan, Inc. was in financial trouble. The company was unable to keep up with demand for yo-yos, losing out to other brands. They lost an expensive legal battle Royal Tops over trademark infringement. The court ruled that the word yo-yo was the generic word for the toy. In 1965 the company's creditors wanted their money and the company filed for bankruptcy. The company was auctioned off in 1966, with the Flambeau Corporation, owners of the plastic yo-yo molds, buying the Duncan name and continuing to produce Duncan Yo-Yos.
In the early 1970s, Donald F. Duncan Jr. wanted to return to the yo-yo business. He created and received a patent for a plastic yo-yo that was balanced to maximize spin time, allowing tricks to be performed better and longer. Duncan created a series of companies, Duncraft, Inc., in 1976, Duracraft, Inc., in 1977, and finally Playmaxx, Inc., in 1987, to market his new yo-yo. These companies, based in Arizona, were primarily run by Duncan and his wife Donna. They focused on school demonstrations and other programs to sell yo-yo's. The yo¬yo, known as the ProYo, has removable sides allowing it to be display any type of logo. In addition to Playmaxx, the Duncan's also ran a yo-yo museum, the Yozeum. By the end of the 1990s, Playmaxx was no longer in business and the Duncan's moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, where they operated the Yozeum.
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History:
Bob Rule Papers, circa 1950-2002 (AC0855)
Separated Materials:
The Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds related artifacts. See accession #2002.0246, #2004.0029, #2007.0158.
Provenance:
This collection was donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, by the Duncan family in March, 2002.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Cultural History Search this
Extent:
1 Cubic foot
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Catalogs
Legal records
Date:
1985-2008, undated
Summary:
Accoutrements and Archie McPhee product catalogs dating from 1983-2008.
Scope and Contents note:
Collection consists of almost a complete run of Accoutrements and Archie McPhee product catalogs dating from 1985-2008. It documents the advertising and promotion of the wide range of products during that period. Materials reflect the interests of the consumer market and what was paid for novelty and gift items. Collection is arranged into two series. Series 1, Catalogs, 1985-2008 and Series 2: Other Materials, undated.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1, Catalogs, 1985-2008
Series 2: Other Materials, undated
Biographical/Historical note:
Accoutrements began as a mail order business in Los Angles, California in the 1970s. The company's creator, Mark Pahlow, started the business from his home offering rubber lizards and other collectible items for sale. In 1983, Pahlow moved his business to Seattle, Washington and established it as the retail outlet, Archie McPhee, named after his wife's great-uncle. Pahlow hired two employees and expanded the product line to include rubber chickens and a host of other novelty items. In 2018, Archie McPhee opened the Rubber Chicken Museum inside its Seattle store. The business currently offers retail, wholesale, and online services.
Source: archiemcpheeseattle.com
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana NMAH.AC.0060
Collection is open for research and access on site by appointment.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Materials document Bob Rule's career as a yo-yo demonstrator, expert, promoter and contest winner.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the career of Bob Rule as a professional demonstrator and promoter of yo-yos and spinning tops for Donald F. Duncan Yo-Yo Company, Incorporated, the Union Wadding Company, and his own KIEVE Enterprises. Materials in this collection include photographs, newspaper clippings, scrapbook pages, correspondence, manuals, and other business records. The bulk of this collection consists of photographs and newspaper clippings that document the promotional events and contests he managed between 1960 and 1970. Materials found in this collection would be useful to those interested in the history of toys and recreation in general, as well as the history and promotional strategies of Duncan Yo-Yo Company, Incorporated.
Series 1, Personal Papers, circa 1950s–2002, undated, includes correspondence, biographical narratives, clippings, photographs, and other papers associated with the personal life and professional career of Bob Rule. Photographs in this series are mostly of Rule demonstrating yo-yos and spinning tops, but also present are photographs of Rule posing with specialized cars, his family and friends, and of social events attended by Rule. Correspondence in this series focuses on business matters including his book Yo-Yo Secrets and letters from children in response to a promotional event aired on television in 1963 and 1964. The correspondence and photographs are arranged in chronological order when possible.
Series 2, Duncan Yo-Yo Company, Incorporated, circa 1955–1964, undated, include field manuals, trade literature, business cards of Duncan employees, clippings, and photographs. The newspaper clippings in this series are about the business ventures and employees of Duncan Yo-Yo Company, Inc. Photographs are mostly of Duncan top and yo-yo displays in the 1950s and 1960s, but photographs of the Duncan factory in Luck, Wisconsin, and Duncan employees are also present. Materials in this series are arranged chronologically when possible.
Series 3, Promotional Events and Competitions, circa 1950s–1990s, undated, comprise of photographs, newspaper clippings, correspondence, event itineraries, and other printed material associated with promotional events and yo-yo competitions attended and managed by Bob Rule across the United States and in Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. The itineraries, rules, rosters, and programs associated with various local, regional, and national competitions are present. Many of these materials were originally included in a scrapbook, which was disassembled and scattered throughout the collection prior to the collection coming to the Museum. Materials in this series are arranged chronologically when possible.
Series 4, Other Yo-Yo Professionals, circa 1955–2000, undated, consists of photographs and clippings that document the careers of other yo-yo experts and contest winners. Also included are various group photographs of yo-yo personalities, many include Bob Rule. A minimal number of pages from Rule's personal website (www.mryoyo.com) that detail the materials found in this series are also present. Files are arranged alphabetically by last name and by date within the folder when possible.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into five series.
Series 1, Personal Papers, circa 1950s–2002, undated
Series 2, Duncan Yo-Yo Company, Incorporated, circa 1955–1964, undated
Series 3, Promotional Events and Competitions, circa 1950s–1990s, undated
Series 4, Other Yo-Yo Professionals, circa 1955–2000, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Bob Rule grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and began yo-yoing as a young boy in 1948. He entered his first yo-yo contest in 1949 and in 1952, began working part-time for Donald F. Duncan, Incorporated managing yo-yo contests and demonstrations in the Detroit area. In 1955, he went to work full-time for Duncan as a professional yo-yo demonstrator. In this role, he traveled across the United States and to Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico demonstrating yo-yo tricks, managing yo-yo contests, and appearing on local television stations to promote the Duncan line of yo-yos and spinning tops. In 1960, he began calling himself "Mr. Yo-Yo" and eventually trademarked the name in 1970.
He left Duncan when the company went out of business in 1965 and settled in Atlanta, Georgia, with his family where he went into the slot car racing business. He owned Champion Slot Racing Products, which he eventually merged with another company he founded, BoLINK Industries, a radio control car racing company. Bob Rule also founded KIEVE Enterprises, a public relations firm with a division by the name of Yo-Yo Promotions. This division combined Rule's yo-yoing skills with sales pitches for various companies that hired him to advertise their products or entertain their employees and/or customers.
From 1970 to 1973, Bob Rule went back to work as a yo-yo demonstrator in connection with the Union Wadding Company of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Although he was not on their payroll, Rule demonstrated their line of Festival yo-yos.
Rule prides himself on the confidence and presentation skills he acquired throughout his career as a yo-yo professional. He believes that these skills laid the foundation for the success he experienced in other aspects of his life. Rule and his second wife Elleda (his first wife Kathy died of cancer in 1988) reside in Duluth, Georgia, where he continues to promote the yo-yo by attending yo-yo contests, staying in contact with other yo-yo personalities, and hosting a website that documents his career as a yo-yo professional, www.mryoyo.com.
Materials in the Archives Center, National Museum of American History:
Duncan Family Yo- Yo Collection (AC0807)
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Museum by Bob Rule in 2003.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Peabody Seating Co., Inc. (North Manchester, IN) ; American Desk Mfg. Co. (Temple, TX) Search this
Notes content:
Educational supplies ; teachers' supplies ; school supplies ; board games ; artist and craft supplies ; "Bradley's Kindergarten Material" ; "The Kindergarten Magazine" ; classroom furniture ; toys ; puzzles ; plaiters ; card cutters ; Tapley's patent self-indexing letter files ; child's patent table seat (similar to a high chair) ; "Neptune" waterproof poster colors ; 1953-1954 catalog also includes catalogs for American Desk Mfg. Co. (Temple, TX) and Peabody Seating Co., Inc. (North Manchester, IN) ; "Bradley's games, toys, industrial amusements and novelties," a reprint of an 1883-1884 catalog is included ; call number: TS2301 .T7M55 1900z ; This reprint contains some high quality color reproductions ; unique
Includes:
Trade catalog, price lists and samples
Black and white images
Color images
Types of samples:
Neptune Waterproof Poster Colors
Physical description:
12 pieces; 2 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
Date:
1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Artists; drafting; crafts materials and supplies Search this
Educational institutions; equipment and supplies (includes playground equipment) Search this
Les jouets à la World's fair en 1904 à Saint-Louis (U-S) [microform] : et l'histoire de la corporation des fabricants de jouets en France / Henri-René D'Allemagne
Les jouets à la World's fair en 1904 à Saint-Louis (U-S) : et l'histoire de la corporation des fabricants de jouets en France / Henri-René D'Allemagne
Smithsonian Institution. Assistant Secretary for Public Service Search this
Extent:
1 cu. ft. (1 record storage box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Black-and-white photographs
Date:
1965-1969
Descriptive Entry:
This accession consists of records relating to the Intertoys Multiexpo (the first international multiple museum exhibition of toys, play materials, and learning aids)
of 1971, compiled by William W. Warner, Assistant Secretary for Public Service. It was a joint venture between the Smithsonian Institution, the Art Gallery of Ontario, UNICEF,
UNESCO and EAT (Experiment in Art and Technology). The exhibition was supposed to open in 100 countries simultaneously and demonstrate education through play. It is unclear
if this exhibition ever occurred. Materials include correspondence, proposals and reports. This accession also includes black and white photographs of various gallery openings
and events around the Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions:
Box 1 contains materials restricted indefinitely; see finding aid; Contact reference staff for details.
