1919 Nesting Blocks by Samuel Gabriel NY City

No doubt designed for pre-schoolers, these World War I-era nesting blocks feature pictures, numerals and the complete alphabet all in a four-block set! Made of lithographed paper over heavy cardboard, they were produced by Samuel Gabriel Sons & Company, a family-owned business that opened its doors on New York City’s Fifth Avenue in 1907. The company specialized in paper novelties that included souvenir greeting postcards, paper dolls, children’s books, puzzles and games.

In this particular set, each block bears the name of the company, the patent date Oct. 21, 1919 (Patented in Canada) and the words Made in U.S.A. The largest of the four blocks is 5-3/4” t X 3-1/2” square; the smallest is 5” t X 2” square. The set is in good to very good condition with the expected level of playwear for a paper toy this age and the loss and the loss of the original illustration one of the blocks. This is a set you don’t often see, which makes it a nice starting point or addition to a nesting block collection.

$145

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