'''Playthings''' was an American trade magazine devoted to the toy, doll, game, and related industries. First published in January 1903, it remained in circulation for more than a century, becoming one of the principal contemporary records of the American toy business. Published in New York, the magazine reported on manufacturers, wholesalers, importers, retailers, new products, trade exhibitions, company personnel, and developments in toy manufacturing and merchandising. Its final independent print edition appeared in 2010.

For historians and collectors, ''Playthings'' is particularly valuable because its advertising and industry reports document hundreds of manufacturers and distributors, including small enterprises whose histories are otherwise poorly preserved. The magazine provides contemporary evidence of commercial activity, product introductions, company locations, trademarks, and changes in corporate ownership.


''Playthings'' was established in 1902 by editor Robert McCready and publisher Henry C. Nathan, with the first issue appearing in January 1903. Its creation coincided with a period of rapid development in the American toy industry, which was attempting to reduce its dependence on imported European goods.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, German manufacturers were especially prominent in the American toy market. American buyers regularly traveled to Europe to inspect merchandise and establish purchasing relationships. In 1902, American toy manufacturers began organizing a New York exhibition to attract these buyers, an undertaking that developed into the American International Toy Fair.

McCready recognized the need for a trade publication serving manufacturers and merchants throughout the country. In his introductory editorial, he proposed a journal that would report new toys and games, developments in doll manufacture, foreign innovations, and general commercial news.

The inaugural issue contained only 20 pages and was offered by annual subscription for 50 cents. Its subjects included ping-pong, parlor bowling, fashionable dolls, prominent toy buyers, and the proposed consolidation of manufacturers into the National Novelty Company.

The publication attracted commercial support quickly. Paid advertisers increased from nine in the first issue to 22 by April 1903. By June 1912, an issue contained 198 pages, reflecting the growth of both the magazine and the industry it covered.


The original publisher was the Henry Nathan Company. In June 1910, Robert McCready established the McCready Publishing Company, which assumed responsibility for the magazine. McCready continued as editor and publisher, guiding its development during the expansion of domestic toy manufacturing.

Robert McCready remained editor-in-chief until 1945, when his son Ben McCready succeeded him. The succession provided a degree of editorial continuity that extended across much of the twentieth century.

In 1967, publication passed to Geyer-McAllister Publications. Reed Business Information acquired the publication in 1998. In 2010, it passed to Sandow Media, which discontinued ''Playthings'' as a standalone print magazine and incorporated its coverage into ''Gifts & Decorative Accessories''.

The publication celebrated its centenary in January 2003 with a special issue titled ''Toy Stories: 100 Years of Fun''.


''Playthings'' followed the transformation of the toy industry from a fragmented assortment of regional manufacturers and importers into an increasingly national and international business.

During its early decades, the magazine reported extensively on mechanical toys, cast-iron toys, dolls, games, wooden toys, toy vehicles, electric trains, and other products marketed through department stores, wholesalers, and specialized toy dealers.

The First World War disrupted European imports and created opportunities for domestic manufacturers. American companies expanded production to supply merchandise formerly obtained from Germany and other European countries. The magazine's advertisements and editorial content provide evidence of this transition.

During the 1920s, the magazine documented the proliferation of American toy manufacturers, including enterprises producing pressed-steel vehicles, cast-iron banks and toys, mechanical novelties, construction sets, electric trains, dolls, and children's recreational equipment.

The Depression introduced severe pressures on manufacturers and retailers. Issues from the early 1930s are particularly useful for tracing changes in company leadership, corporate reorganizations, product diversification, and the disappearance of manufacturers.

During and after the Second World War, the magazine recorded further changes in materials, manufacturing processes, and distribution. Plastics, television licensing, electronic toys, and eventually video games transformed the industry and broadened the publication's editorial scope.


Advertising constitutes one of the most important historical features of ''Playthings''. Manufacturers frequently illustrated their products, identified their commercial addresses, and announced new designs, brands, or production methods.

Advertisements can establish that a particular toy was being offered commercially by a documented date. This evidence is especially useful when surviving toys lack patent markings, maker identification, or reliable manufacturing dates.

The magazine also published announcements concerning company officers, sales organizations, factory locations, acquisitions, financial difficulties, and changes in corporate identity.

However, advertisements and editorial notices require careful interpretation. A product advertised in a particular year was not necessarily introduced that year, and a company's appearance in an issue does not establish when production began or ended. Likewise, a distributor's advertisement does not necessarily identify the actual manufacturer.

A systematic examination of successive issues can establish documented periods of commercial activity and may reveal changes that are absent from later company histories.


''Playthings'' is a particularly useful reference for collectors of antique American toys. Its contemporary illustrations often permit identification of surviving examples that are unmarked or incompletely documented.

The magazine can help establish:
*The commercial identity of a manufacturer or distributor.
*The names and addresses under which a company conducted business.
*The existence of particular models, patterns, or product lines.
*Evidence for the dating of toys and packaging.
*Original advertising claims, materials, and construction methods.
*Contemporary wholesale prices and merchandising practices.
*Relationships between manufacturers, importers, and retailers.
*Changes in corporate ownership, management, and trade names.

For companies that left few surviving catalogs, a single advertisement may constitute an important piece of primary documentation. Combined with patents, city directories, trade notices, and surviving objects, these references can support more reliable manufacturer histories.


The Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, preserves the most complete known run of ''Playthings''. Its holdings cover the publication's history from 1903 through 2010.

Digitized historical volumes are also available through HathiTrust Digital Library. These include volumes from 1923 through 1930, an especially productive period for research into American cast-iron, pressed-steel, mechanical, and other early twentieth-century toys.

The digitized issues preserve advertising illustrations, manufacturers' announcements, trade commentary, and product descriptions. Full-page scans are often more useful than searchable text alone because of the complexity of historical advertising layouts and inconsistencies in optical character recognition.

Researchers should cite the original issue date, volume, and printed page number whenever possible.


''Playthings'' occupies an unusual position in the historiography of American manufacturing. Although it was produced for commercial rather than scholarly purposes, its long publication history created a detailed record of an industry whose smaller participants frequently disappeared without leaving substantial corporate archives.

The publication preserves the commercial context in which toys were designed, manufactured, distributed, and sold. It can therefore supplement the evidence provided by surviving toys, patents, catalogs, company records, and contemporary newspapers.

Its greatest historical contribution may be the preservation of information about otherwise obscure enterprises. The systematic indexing of its advertising and editorial content offers the possibility of reconstructing a substantial portion of the American toy industry's commercial history.


*[https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/filling-a-long-felt-want-the-origin-of-playthings-magazine/ Beth Merkle, "Filling a Long-Felt Want: The Origin of Playthings Magazine," The Strong National Museum of Play, January 4, 2019.]
*[https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/playthings-magazine-documents-the-history-of-electronic-games/ The Strong National Museum of Play, "Playthings Magazine Documents the History of Electronic Games."]
*[https://portal.issn.org/resource/ISSN/0032-1567 ISSN International Centre, ''Playthings'', ISSN 0032-1567.]
*[https://catalog.hathitrust.org/ HathiTrust Digital Library, ''Playthings'', digitized historical volumes, including 1923–1930.]
*''Playthings'', January 1903, inaugural issue.
*''Playthings'', June 1912.
*''Playthings'', various issues, 1923–1930.
*''Playthings'', January 2003, centenary issue, ''Toy Stories: 100 Years of Fun''.


*[https://www.museumofplay.org/ The Strong National Museum of Play]
*[https://babel.hathitrust.org/ HathiTrust Digital Library]
*[https://archives.museumofplay.org/ Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play: Online Finding Aids]


*American Toy Manufacturers
*Buddy L
*Ives Manufacturing Company
*J. E. Stevens Company
*A. C. Williams Company
*Dent Hardware Company
*Vindex Toys

Category:Toy Industry
Category:Trade Publications
Category:Toy Manufacturing History
Category:Historical Research Sources
Category:American Magazines