A.C. Gilbert Co.

A.C. Gilbert, creator of the Erector Set, the Gilbert Chemistry Set, and other popular and enduring toys. Born in Salem, Oregon in 1884, Gilbert parlayed his childhood fascination with magic into a lucrative business while a student at Yale, selling boxes of magic tricks for $5.00. In 1 909 he and John Petrie formed the Mysto Manufacturing Company of New Haven, Connecticut, to market magic sets. Gilbert conceived the Erector Set in 1911, dissolved his partnership with Petrie in 1913; and in 1916 renamed his business the A.C. Gilbert Company.