:Lincoln Logs
{{Short description|American construction toy for children}}
{{Infobox toy
| name = Lincoln Logs
| image = Lincoln Logs sawmill.jpg
| image_size =
| image_upright =
| alt =
| caption = A sawmill made from Lincoln Logs
| othernames =
| type = Children's construction toy
| inventor = John Lloyd Wright
| company = Basic Fun, Inc. (under license from Hasbro)
| country = United States
| from = {{start date and age|1916}}
| to = present
| materials = Wood
| features =
| slogan =
| website = https://www.basicfun.com/lincoln-logs/
}}
Lincoln Logs are an American construction toy for children, consisting of square-notched miniature lightweight logs used to build small forts and buildings. They were invented around 1916 by John Lloyd Wright, second son of well-known architect Frank Lloyd Wright.{{cite web|url=http://lincolnlogs.knex.com/customer/product.php?productid=16746&cat=|title=K'NEX | Lincoln Logs|publisher=Lincolnlogs.knex.com|date=|accessdate=2011-05-23|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518183749/http://lincolnlogs.knex.com/?XCARTSESSID=49c25f9a63a643bc8a0eada521a68d85|archive-date=2011-05-18}} Lincoln Logs were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1999. They are named after U.S. president Abraham Lincoln, who once lived in a log cabin.{{cite web|url=http://www.toyhalloffame.org/toys/lincoln-logs |title=Lincoln Logs |website=Toy Hall of Fame |publisher=Strong National Museum of Play |access-date= May 17, 2023}}
Starting in 2014, Lincoln Logs were manufactured by K'NEX Industries Inc. In late 2017, K'NEX was bought out by Basic Fun, Inc., of Florida. Pride Manufacturing, of Burnham, Maine, manufactures Lincoln Logs for Basic Fun, and the rights to the IP are owned by Hasbro. In 2024, Basic Fun filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company will use bankruptcy proceedings to repay its creditors while remaining in operation.{{Cite web|url= https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-28/toy-maker-behind-lincoln-logs-tinker-toys-files-for-bankruptcy?ref=biztoc.com|title= Toy Maker Behind Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys Files for Bankruptcy|date=June 28, 2024|access-date=June 28, 2024|website=Bloomberg|language=en}}
Design
The logs measure three quarters of an inch (roughly two centimetres) in diameter. Like real logs used in a log cabin, Lincoln Logs are notched so that logs may be laid at right angles to each other to form rectangles resembling buildings. Additional parts of the toy set include roofs, chimneys, windows and doors, which bring a realistic appearance to the final creation. Later sets included animals and human figures the same scale as the buildings.{{cn|date=October 2024}}
The toy sets were originally made of redwood, with varying colors of roof pieces. In the 1970s the company introduced sets made entirely of plastic, but soon reverted to real wood.{{cite web|title=Lincoln Logs - K'Nex|url=http://www.knex.com/products/lincoln-logs|website=K'Nex|access-date=2014-11-16|archive-date=2016-09-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160906061347/http://www.knex.com/products/lincoln-logs|url-status=dead}}
History
Lincoln Logs were invented sometime around 1916–1917 when John Lloyd Wright was working in Japan with his father. The mold for the toy was based on the architecture of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, designed by the inventor's father. The foundation of the hotel was designed with interlocking log beams, which made the structure "earthquake-proof" and one of the few buildings to remain standing after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake that crumbled Tokyo.{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/the-birth-of-lincoln-logs|title=The Birth of Lincoln Logs|last=Klein|first=Christopher|website=HISTORY|date=29 August 2018 |language=en|access-date=2020-03-29}}
When he returned to the U.S., John organized The Red Square Toy Company (named after his father's famous symbol), and marketed the toy in 1918. Wright was issued U.S. patent 1,351,086{{Cite web|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US1351086/en|title=Toy-cabin construction}} on August 31, 1920, for a "Toy-Cabin Construction". Soon after, he changed the name to J. L. Wright Manufacturing. The original Lincoln Log set came with instructions on how to build Uncle Tom's Cabin as well as Abraham Lincoln's cabin. Subsequent sets were larger and more elaborate. The toy was a hit, following as it did Meccano, Tinkertoys and Erector Set introduced a few years before. Lincoln Logs are believed to be the first toy to be marketed to both boys and girls and appeal to a "simple" type of creativity.{{Cite web|url=https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/lincoln-logs|title=Lincoln Logs History|website=made-in-chicago|date=2 March 2016 |language=en|access-date=2020-03-29}}
In 1999, Lincoln Logs and John Lloyd Wright were entered into the National Toy Hall of Fame. In September 2014, the manufacturer announced the return of production from China to the U.S.;{{cite web|url=http://www.newser.com/story/196051/again-made-in-usa-lincoln-logs.html|title=Again Made in USA: Lincoln Logs|first=Polly Davis|last=Doig|date=18 September 2014}} however, Lincoln Log sets with the Basic Fun logo and a copyright date of 2021 or later are now entirely manufactured in China again.{{cn|date=October 2024}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{ cite book | editor-last = Carlisle | editor-first = Rodney | title = Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society, Volume 1 | year = 2009 | publisher = SAGE Publications | isbn = 978-1412966702 | page = 362 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jLqXM3U_pzEC&dq=lincoln+logs+red+square+toy+company&pg=PA363 }}"John Kenneth Lloyd Wright". Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 9: 1971-1975. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994.
Loewen, James. Lies Across America: What Our Historic Markers and Monuments Get Wrong. New York: The New Press, 2000, 169.
}}