And Then There Were Toys Part 1
This multi-part article explores the very first American steam toys, their inventors, and the 1870 birth of the American steam-toy industry.
Introduction
Steam power was well developed by the mid 1800s: Scottish engineer James Watt had invented his efficient steam engine in 1769, almost 100 years earlier; by 1811 Robert Fulton's first steam boats were testing the waters of the Lower Mississippi; and by 1869 one could travel from coast-to-coast by rail. Portable steam engines, such as the one depicted below, would have been common. Yet, even by the mid-1860s there were few, if any steam toys in America; certainly none that were mass produced. A short column published in 1868 by the editors of Scientific American would be the spark that ignited the American steam-toy industry. By the end of 1871 more than 100,000 toy steam engines would power the imagination of Young America.
Young America was a common phrase in the mid-1800s used to refer to the younger generation, and also to a young United States. Young America was also a name given to books, magazines, boats, fire engines, and to a small toy steam engine patented by Alexander Buckman and John Huffington in the early 1870s, when America was still several years shy of its 100th birthday.
While Buckman's Young America engines are well known amongst collectors, as are Steven's Frisbies, perhaps the most notable of the first toy steam engines is the Dollar Engine, designed by Edward Ryder and initially sold by the Colby Bros. Mfg. Co. Ryder's engines would dominate the 1870s.
In part one of this article, we'll meet Walter Holt, Alexander Dewey, and most importantly, Edward P. Ryder whose engines are, unfortunately, commonly attributed to Buckman.
Scientific American's 1868 Call To Action
On August 5, 1868 the editors of Scientific American, then a weekly journal with a circulation of almost 30,000 copies, published a call-to-action column titled Instruction And Amusement Combined. The column was prominently placed next to this magnificent etching of the proposed Brooklyn Bridge, as it was later known. The etching provides us with a wonderful glimpse of the contemporaneous use of steam engines in ferries, working boats, and sea-going ships. One can't help but be transported back in time while contemplating the details captured in this image.
The call to action began by identifying the need for steam toys. It then went on to address the fears that people had of steam explosions. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it promised wealth for those who would deliver affordable toy steam engines. The short column, fully replicated below, is worth reading. It was life-changing for those we're about to meet.
Within a few years the business of toy making has assumed considerable proportions in this country ; and it is not strange, considering the utilitarian character of our people, that the style of toys made should be different from those made by poor Caleb in Dickens' " Cricket on the Hearth." Our toys are either artistic or mechanical—perhaps both. Certainly they are incomparably above our imported toys, especially when they simulate life. They are not repulsive exaggerations, nor caricatures, but life like. Even our dolls are pleasant to look at; almost instinct with life. All our toy representations of animal life are of a similar character. This taste, this striving after the actual, even in these little things, as some would call them, is very encouraging. Our young derive their knowledge of the world from things rather than from their representatives, words, and first impressions are lasting. Toys during the period of childhood are their constant companions, and from them, as models of the real, they derive their only actual knowledge. For this reason their toys should be reasonable.
But in mechanical toys particularly the Americans excel. Walking dolls, running steamboats, fire engines, carriages, etc., with many other similar contrivances, worked by simple clock work and driven by a coiled spring are both common and cheap. Some of them beautifully illustrate mechanical movements and may be made a means of instructing children in the principles of mechanics, while at the same time amusing them. The same may be said of chemical toys which illustrate some of the most important principles of chemical science.
But we think there is room for still further attempts, and successful, in this direction. It seems strange that the simplest of machines—the steam engine—has not been presented to the public as a toy [emphasis added]. Miniature steam engines are common enough; but they are usually more than necessarily elaborate in finish and therefore costly in price. They are built either by amateurs as specimens of their mechanical skill and regarded as curiosities, or constructed by machinists or model makers to fill orders from educational institutions to be used to illustrate problems in natural philosophy. The amount of finish put upon these miniature specimens places them beyond the reach of the mass, or the vagaries of their builders in adopting unheard-of plans for their engines deprives them of practical use as means of instruction. Beside this, many otherwise sensible people believe that the steam engine with its necessary boiler is simply another form of a gunpowder magazine, ready at the touch of a match to blow their house into "flinders" and themselves into eternity [emphasis added]. Perhaps the discussions in the Scientific American in regard to steam boiler explosions and the records of accidents in our daily papers conduce to this feeling of insecurity. But really a toy steam engine standing on the table or the mantel and running at lightning speed is much less dangerous than a common kerosene lamp.
Probably few machines are simpler in principle or easier in construction than the steam engine Of course a large machine, with all its appurtenances and its exactions, appears to be complicated, and it is so in one way ; the larger the engine the more accurate must be the fit and working of the parts to hedge in and control the subtle element of steam. But a small engine, such as would be appropriate as a toy, may be built by the most ordinary mechanic; and it may he made plain, light, and cheap. The mechanic who shall introduce this as one of our mechanical toys may be assured of a handsome return for his outlay, while the public will be gainers in a familiarity with what is now thought by many to be a mechanical mystery and a dreadful agent of evil [emphasis added].
Model Steam Engines
In the call to action the editors admitted: Miniature steam engines are common enough; but they are usually more than necessarily elaborate in finish and therefore costly in price..
Model steam engines, which were not considered to be toys, were necessary for educating the engineers, machinists, mechanics, and operators required by a society then dependent on steam power. Shown here are representative examples from an 1859 scientific supplies catalog. These engines predate the call to action by a decade.
At $8.25, the price for the cheapest model engine would nearly equal a week's wages of an ordinary tradesman, a month's wages would be required to buy the more expensive engines.
Clearly, the design of small steam engines, including those with simple oscillating cylinders, was well understood. The challenge was to make steam engines safe, affordable as a toy, and producible in larger quantities.
As with model engines, model accessories had also been available for quite some time. This text comes from an 1842 scientific supplies catalog:
Models of Sawing, Sugar, and Rolling Mills, Coining Presses, and Tilt Hammers, adapted to be worked by model steam-engines, made to order.
This sounds expensive. Obviously, affordable toy steam-engine accessories would also be required.
America Responds
Only four months after the call to action, Scientific American published a communication from T. D. Quincy, Jr., a high school pupil of Dorchester, Massachusetts. It provides complete instructions on how to build a steam engine that can be made by "any boy of ordinary intelligence." The boiler is a fruit can, 4 inches in diameter and 4 ¾ inches high.
There can be little doubt that the call to action was the spark that ignited the American steam-toy industry; the response can be directly measured by the number, and timing of steam-toy patents. While it's not known precisely when the applications were filed, it would have taken a minimum of one year, and typically two for a patent to be issued.
The Patents
In 1866 the first toy steam engine patent would be awarded to New York City machinist Edward Savoral, a German immigrant. It's not known if his toy was ever produced, or if he ever received license fees for his invention. Shown here is part of the patent artwork.
In 1867 Phillip Ely would obtain a patent for a Rotary Steam Engine which used the reaction principles of an Aeolipile
In 1869 Dewey would be awarded a patent for a slide-valve cylinder. A patent would also be issued to Macy for a stove-top beam engine. This very stylish engine would also appear in the Jun 11, 1871 issue of Scientific American without sales contact information.
The two patents granted in 1870 were possibly in response to the call to action. These are both design patents, which could have taken less time to issue than utility patents. Both of these engines had a built-in accessory: a turbine-driven automaton on one (Holt), and a water pump on the other (Tyler).
In 1871, two years after the call to action, nine patents would be granted with eight of the patents representing engines that were produced. There were: Ryder's Dollar and Two Dollar engines; Buckman and Huffington's Young America and Little Giant engines; Begg's Locomotive; Frisbie's two cast-iron engines (single patent); and Dewey's Locomotive and Fire Engine.
In 1872 six patents were issued: Frisbie received a second patent for his engines; a patent was awarded to Ryder for his steamboat; Alexander Buckman and his brother Edward were awarded patents for a fire engine and a steamboat; Alexander also received a patent for his Improved Young America engine; and a patent was awarded to to Francis W. Clark for a very interesting three-wheeled trackless locomotive. These would be the last steam-toy patents issued in the 1870s.
1869: Walter Holt
Walter Holt was in a hurry. Not only was he one of the first to file and receive a patent, he was also the first to widely advertise a one-dollar toy steam engine—not counting The Little Wonder described below. Holt's surprisingly brief design patent was issued in February 1870, but his advertising blitz began in July 1869, less than a year after Scientific American's call to action. He would simultaneously publish the following ad for several months in each of these publications: Scientific American, Colman's Rural World, Harper's Magazine, New England Farmer and Horticultural Register, Flag of Our Union, Appletons Journal of Literature Science and Art, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, The Saturday Evening Post, and The Youth's Companion.
The only etching of Holt's engine is the one shown in the patent. While hard to see, the etching depicts a man operating a crank connected to the turbine. In this auction picture Holt's engine is the second from the left.
While Holt's engine may have been one of the first, and it could be purchased for one dollar, it would not dominate the market, at least not for long. Why? Probably because it was a turbine engine with only enough torque to run the built-in automaton. It didn't look like, or work like a real engine. It couldn't drive accessories, and it didn't have an option for a whistle. Boys liked whistles. There was nothing for a child to do with this toy except watch, and possibly shove things into the spinning turbine blades. By 1870 there were better dollar-engine options.
Holt first appeared in 1868 selling pocket watches with a compass. He would disappear in 1870. While the engine was likely only produced for a few years, the production quantities were sufficient to ensure that at least one engine still exists today.
1867: The Little Marvel Parlor Engine
In 1866, just in time for Christmas, an inexpensive patented steam toy would be introduced by the London Stereoscopic Company. It was called The Little Marvel, and came in two forms: a parlour engine, and later, a steamboat. In 1867 the parlor engine would arrive in America. The toys were reportedly so popular that, to keep up with demand, they would also be manufactured locally. It's not inconceivable that Scientific American's 1868 call to action was, in part, a reaction to this toy's success.
Reading these ads can cause confusion, and even raise suspicions of fraud on the part of Mr. Holt. In 1867 The Little Marvel Parlor Engine was being sold by multiple retailers in the US. In the second and last ads, the seller was O. A. Roorbach at 102 Nassau street. This is the very same address given in Holt's ads with the last Roorbach ad overlapping in time with Holt's. Did Holt attempt to patent a steam toy that was developed and patented in England two years ealier? In a word, no. The fragile Little Wonder was made of glass and operated on the principles of an Aeolipile. Holt's engine, was "made of metal"; a selling point. Holt and his friend Roorbach were only guilty of trying to ride on the Little Marvel's coat tails.
The 1867 Year Book of Facts provides a complete description of the Little Marvel engine and its operation.
When looking at this toy, one might wonder: How do you fill it with water? How would it power a boat?
Filling was accomplished by heating the empty globe to drive out the air and then dipping the tip in water, which would cause water to be drawn in as the globe cooled. Perfumed water was often used.
From this auction picture, it would appear that the globe might have been hung such that the tip pointed aft, allowing the boat to be propelled in much the same manor as a rocket ship.
Additional info about the The Little Marvel can be found in the January 12th issue of Farm and Fireside and in the 1878 book: The telephone: its history, construction, principles, and uses, with definite instructions on the making of telephones, (by which failure is impossible), and to which is added a chapter on the phonograph
If the one-shilling Little Wonder had found its way across the pond, then these engines, or others like them might have as well.
The small 3 shilling 9 pence vertical has a familiar look to it.
1870: RYDER WINS
While there wasn't a formal contest, two years after the 1868 call to action, Colby Brothers & Co. take the gold in the Nov 5, 1870 issue of Scientific American. While other engines were mentioned, though not by name, only the Dollar Engine was detailed. This was a huge win for Edward P. Ryder, the inventor, and Colby Bros., the seller, as this gave them both visibility and credibility. Ryder's Dollar Engine would become a commercial success.
What makes this particular engine easy to recognize is the unusual spring arrangement. In most single-cylinder oscillating engines, the cylinder is held against the steam chest by means of a compression spring fitted around the cylinder trunnion. On this engine one end of a tension spring is fixed against a wire loop serving as a post. When considering this toy in the hands of a child, a tension spring would make more sense than the potential projectiles of a compression spring and retention pin.
Ryder's engine, along with the Holt turbine engine, can be seen in this auction picture. The engine on the far left came later; it was a Youth's Companion prize in 1894. The center and far-right engines are Ryder's Half-Dollar engines introduced in 1874.
The announcement doesn't claim that this is the first, or only engine. In fact, the author admits the 1868 call to action had the desired effect: "In response to that suggestion several inventions have been made. Our engraving illustrates an engine of this kind, which is sold for one dollar." No doubt every inventor of toy steam engines had fully informed Scientific American of their creations.
Here's the full text of the announcement:
An article published some time ago in the Scientific American called for the invention of a cheap toy steam engine. In response to that suggestion several inventions have been made. Our engraving illustrates an engine of this kind, which is sold for one dollar. The parts are shown in, detail, and any one at all familiar with steam engines will see at once the simplicity of its construction.
It is a reciprocating steam engine with cylinder, piston, flywheel, boiler, and patent safety valve, taking steam at both ends oi the cylinder, with half inch stroke. All complete it weighs less than four ounces. It is manufactured and sold by Colby Brothers & Co., 508 Broadway, New York, whom address for further information.
A patent for the safety valve has not yet been identified.
A lengthy technical article described the Dollar Engine in the 1871, Volume 3 issue of The Manufacturer and Builder
Unlike the etching in Scientific American, which had a round base, we now see an engine with a square base. Both versions appear to have been produced.
The two-part whistle, a 15¢ option, was intended to replace the cork as a safety valve. It was operated by turning the outer sleeve. One has to imagine that it might have leaked a bit, and that little fingers were occasionally burned; the toy was intended to be educational.
The article further describes what may well be the earliest steam-toy accessory other than the whistle: Another attachment is a series of dissected pictures, which illustrate in an entertaining manner the continuance of sight. These pictures are readily attached to the engine ; and being made to revolve, produce amusing scenes and groupings.
The author may have been describing a spinning paper accessory similar to a thaumatrope or a phenakistoscope, which creates a optical illusion through the continuance of impression on the retina.
While Ryder was initially selling through Colby Bros., this 1871 ad tells us that he also had an early relationship with Peck and Snyder. In the ad we can see a Dollar Engine powering four mechanical figures, all mounted on a board and sold for $3.50 or $4.50. Or, for $10, you could get 24 accessories and a Dollar Engine. Many of these accessories were simple adaptations of existing Hot-Air toys. Hot-air toys had a horizontally mounted fan that would operate the figures when held in the rising hot air of a lamp or stove. They would have required little in the way of steam power to operate. The pulley is visible in this this hot-air toy.
A photograph of the No. 22 Peace Jubilee can be found on page 105 in the 1969 book The Toy Collector by Louis H Hertz. From that picture it appears that the animation is run off a large vertically mounted pulley behind the fiddler on the left. Wires run to the other figures to animate the bowing and baton arms. This accessory is was designed for use with toy steam engines, and the location of the pulley explains the different belt configuration of the second set of figures. Color pictures of the No. 3 Washerwoman and No. 6 Wood Sawyer can be found in under Ives in the book Steam Toys: A Symphony In Motion by Morton Hirschberg
No doubt many would collect a large number of these figures, and some would decide they wanted to run them all at the same time. Those adventurous young minds would quickly learn the limits of their Dollar Engine and start searching for something more powerful.
The paper mechanical figures sold by Peck & Snyder (1871), Ives, Blakeslsee & Co., Wright & Diltson (1884), and others, all appear be the product of Mr. William C. Goodwin of New Haven, Connecticut. In 1870 Goodwin was awarded a design patent depicting the No 3. Washerwoman. These toys are often misattributed to Ives. If Ives, or anyone else did produce these, which is possible, it would likely have been under license from Goodwin.
Given the construction of the toy, it would have been possible for Goodwin to ship the lithographed paper to other companies where the figures would be cut out and assembled with bits of wood and wire.
Ryder's Competition
Ryder was not without competition. J.E. Stevens, an established Connecticut company well known for its popular line of cast-iron toys and mechanical banks, introduced a pair of small single-cylinder engines designed by Russel Frisbie. These engines incorporated cast-iron boilers and would be built for approximately 20 years. Dewey also produced toy steam engines, but would not survive the 1873 depression, which is often referred to as "The Panic of 1873", or just "The Panic".
After Dewey, Ryder's most serious direct early competitor was Buckman. Here, Buckman refers to the Buckman Mfg. Company, and later the Union Toy Mfg. Co. There were two Buckmans: Alexander, and his older brother Edward. Buckman's stylish and well-made engines were 50-75% more expensive than Ryder's which retailed for $1.00 for the single, and $2.00 for the twin. Buckman's Young America engine, which briefly sold for $1.00 at introduction, sold for $1.50. The larger Young America No. 1, was $2.25. and the little Giant was $3.50 retail or $20/doz wholesale. The wholesale price for Stevens' Frisbie beam engine was quite expensive at $32/doz. Dewey's least expensive engine, a vertical single-cylinder, retailed for $2.50. The vertical twin sold for $3.50 and the single-cylinder horizontal, $4.50.
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| Buckman | Frisbie/J.E. Stevens | Dewey |
While Ryder, Buckman, Dewey and Frisbie certainly knew of each other, it's also likely that they would have met. This is certainly true for Buckman and Ryder as they were both in Brooklyn. Stevens also had a store, the American Toy Company, on Park Place, and Ryder and Dewey both sold through Peck and Snyder, on Naussau Street in Lower Manhattan. That said, other than responses to common external events, and to each other's new products, their respective stories are not intertwined, and so will be largely told independently.
Albert L. Dewey
ALBERT LEWIS DEWEY was born in 1839 in Westfield, Mass. He is described as having a genius for mechanics and the arts, his youth was spent in studying the telegraph, steam engine, photography, etc., in which he made improvements. The biography goes on to report ... while there invented and patented, in 1869, the first toy steam engine ever put on the market; gave up his 'position 'and organized the "Dewey Toy Company," which did a thriving business until the panic of 1873 failed the company
Clearly the 1868 Scientific American call to action was a life-changing event for 29-year old Albert, and well aligned with where he was already headed; his 1869 toy steam slide-valve patent would have been applied for well before the call to action was published. Dewey must have recognized that his slide valve wasn't appropriate for very inexpensive toy engines, as the engines he would sell through Peck & Snyder incorporated oscillating cylinders, as did his patented fire engine and locomotive.
Young Albert's new company probably started around 1870, but was officially organized in Westfield in 1871 with a rather significant amount of capital—$50,000.
If the economy hadn't collapsed in 1873, it's possible that the Dewey Toy Company would have been one of the top manufacturers of steam toys. Dewey's engines appear well designed, and ruggedly built. Unfortunately, a new company, likely with a significant amount of borrowed capital, wouldn't stand much of a chance when the banks started failing.
In an interesting juxtaposition of two separate ads—as they actually appeared—we learn that Dewey was selling off unassembled engines in 1874 while Ryder was introducing an even cheaper steam toy. One might read into Dewey's ad that he only produced one of his engines in any volume.
Dewey patented both a toy Locomotive, and a toy Fire Engine. He had previously worked as a mechanical draughtsman so these detailed patent drawings were likely drawn by him.
Dewey appears to have produced and sold three stationary engines which weren't patented. Fortunately we have this 1871 Peck & Snyder ad which gives us a good idea of what the engines looked like. The flywheels and boilers look to be of the same design as the fire engine. Oddly, the vertical twin doesn't appear to have a pulley.
Surviving examples of the horizontal engine can be found here and here. A third survivor is known to exist, sans boiler. With an overall length of 11 inches, these are not small engines.
Edward P. Ryder
Edward Payson Ryder was born in Ohio on December 5, 1834. By 1864 he had settled in Broolyn, NY, where he would remain for the rest of his life. In the 1865 New York census Ryder described his occupation as a machinist. As we follow Ryder through his career as a designer and manufacturer of steam toys, we'll discover that he was also an entrepreneur with excellent business instincts.
Before the call to action Ryder was designing and selling light-duty tools for inventors, model makers, dentists, etc. He developed a foot-powered scroll saw, and then a foot-powered lathe. He would display these at the exhibitions held by the American Institute of New York, a sort of innovation fair held every year. Later, in 1874, Ryder and the Union Toy Manufacturing company would both have steam toy exhibits.
Ryder sold his patented lathe directly through advertisements in periodicals, such as Scientific American. One of the lessons Ryder appears to have learned early on was the power of publicity, and how to obtain it. In 1869 his first lathe, with its donut-style flywheel, was featured in English Mechanic and Mirror of Science. He would repeat this success for the improved lathe pictured here with an article in the October 20, 1869 issue of American Artisan. From the etching one might guess that Ryder prefers curved spokes.
This lathe is important to our story for two reasons. First, it demonstrates that Ryder clearly had skills as a machinist and pattern maker, as well as access to foundry services. Patterns would be required for all of the castings used in his lathe. Second, Ryder would later advertise the lathe with his Dollar Engine.
Had Ryder sold 100,000 engines by December of 1871? In a May 31st ad, Colby Bros. claims 50,000 sold. Clearly Ryder wasn't building all of the engines in his shed using foot-powered tools.
1871: A Very Good Year
Ryder had a very good year in 1871. He had apparently won a contract to supply his engines to The Youth's Companion magazine, possibly in response to the publicity he received in Scientific American. Ryder's engines were the first toy steam engines ever to be offered by the magazine and he would remain the sole supplier until 1876 when they would also offer the Little Wonder steamboat from Union Toy Mfg. Ryder would continue to supply toys to the magazine until at least 1883.
For those of you familiar with Weeden engines you may recall that Weeden launched his company in 1884 with a similar Youth's Companion contract for his #1 engine. In 1885, the magazine reportedly had 385,000 subscribers.
The Youth's Companion contract was likely the reason Ryder was able to sell 100,000 engines by his 37th birthday. This notice (or Colby ad) tells us when the engines were first offered by the magazine.
The problem with success, and a very simple product, is that everyone wants to copy (steal) your design. This must have been a problem for Ryder as he wasted no time before taking action after his Dollar Engine patent was issued in April 1871. It's not known if he ever took legal action, or if this warning had the desired outcome.
Ryder would begin selling the Two-Dollar twin in 1871. The patent for this engine was issued in June. This engine would occasionally be referred to as the Double Dollar engine.
1872: Change is Coming
Ryder made an excellent choice when he partnered with Colby Bros & Co. They actively promoted his engines and are probably due some credit for Ryder's success. However, Colby Bros. was primarily a Vermont manufacturer of clothes wringers and Child Carriages. It's not clear if they ever manufactured Ryder's engines; their ad seems to imply that you couldn't buy the Dollar Engine at their Vermont factory. Unfortunately for Ryder, Colby Bros. was to be sold, and the New York store transferred to Bramhall, Smith & Co. The good news is that Ryder has a new horizontal engine.
By 1873, Ryder's products were in Peck & Snyder's catalog, and by 1874, Bramhall Smith & Co. had dissolved; likely another casualty of the Panic of 1873.
More info about Colby Bros & Co. can be found in the book History of Waterbury, Vermont, 1763-1915
1872: Ryder boats and a New Horizontal
Ryder's new horizontal is offered as a prize in the Oct 31 issue of Youth's Companion. Unfortunately we'll have to wait until 1873 before we get to see what it looks like. Ryder also has a new boat.
There's a subtle but important point to make here. Ryder's name was now being used to promote the products. We can thank Bramhall, Smith & Co. for that.
Ryder and Buckman would both introduce paddle-wheel steamboats in 1872. The Ryder boat is powered by a Dollar Engine. The second boat in the ad below is likely not Ryder's. It's a propeller boat with a wood hull. In the 1873 Peck & Snyder catalog, the etching suggests that it is powered by a Dollar Engine. The engine is installed at an angle, an innovation of Mr. James E. Dodge.
A surviving Ryder boat powered by the Dollar engine can be seen in this auction picture. In the box artwork, the paddlebox (paddle-wheel cover) is labeled B. S. & Co. N.Y. These are the initials for Bramhall, Smith & Co. It's worth noting that Ryder likely applied for his steamboat patent before Bramhall took over Colby's New York store.
Misidentified boats can be seen here and here.
1873: More New Toys!
We finally get a look at Ryder's new horizontal, and we're in for a surprise. Ryder has gone big. There was likely a market for a larger engine, but the threat from Dewey's horizontal may also have influenced Ryder. This is an important engine because it introduces us to Ryder's new design style. Here we see a table-frame engine, an oval burner, and a donut-shaped flywheel with curved spokes. As with the dollar engines, the cylinder is held against the steam chest with a tension spring.
An etching of this engine would also appear in the Oct 30th issue of Youth's Companion. They would offer it free for four new subscribers, or $3.50.
This engine features a Cross-head running on steel ways. The cross-head feature would be dropped at some point in time. One might guess the Panic of 1873 would have motivated some cost cutting. This feature is not visible in the 1876 picture. A video of a running cross-head engine is available on YouTube. This auction picture shows the version without the cross-head.
With 8x the power of his Dollar Engine, a stable cast-iron frame, and $1 cheaper price, Ryder would now easily compete with Dewey's horizontal.
Another Ryder Surprise!
This three-wheeled parlor locomotive (no tracks) first appeared in a Bramhall, Smith & Co. ad in the Nov 21, 1872 issue of The Independent.
It appeared at least twice in 1873. First, there's this ad in the Jan-Feb issues of Rural New Yorker. It's also offered as a prize in the Apr 10, 1873 issue of Youth's Companion.
No surviving examples have yet been found of this interesting toy. Nor is there any further mention of it. The Parlor Locomotive might not have been popular, or it might just have been a victim of the "Panic of 1873" which would start in September. One can't help but notice that the etching isn't up to Ryder's usual standards.
1874: Ryder and Ward B. Snyder
The effect of the Panic of 1873 was immediate. In Oct 1873, Youth's Companion began offering two (One) Dollar engines instead of one for a subscription. Market saturation may also have played a role. Either way it seems likely that the publisher would apply some pressure on Ryder to renegotiate his contract price, or provide a less expensive alternative.
Ryder had just brought out his most expensive engine yet with the new horizontal. However, he would quickly pivot and by the end of 1874 had found a way to produce a Half-Dollar engine. Perhaps because of the panic, or because of Bramhall's demise, Ryder began selling engines out of his house on Clermont. This would have been wholesale, not retail.
In the Harper's Weekly ad we get our first glimpse of this cute little engine with its three brass legs formed to perch on top of a screen surrounding the burner. Over time, these engines came with a number of different leg styles. It also had different names. Peck & Snyder would refer to it as The Wonder or The New Wonder. You can also watch one run in this YouTube video. In the video the engine is placed, quite appropriately, next to a half-dollar (in quarters).
In the ad we learn of an association between Ryder and Ward B. Snyder. This isn't a complete surprise, Ward's older brother, Walter Irving, usually W. Irving Snyder, is the Snyder in Peck & Snyder.
What makes this association somewhat intriguing is that Ward made real steam engines. Did he also build some of Ryder's engines? The only clue we have as to how Ryder manufactured his engines was a notice in the June 22, 1872 issue of Prairie Farmer announcing that the Illinois Industrial School would keep its machine and carpentry shop open over the vacation because of a contract to build one thousand dollar engines.
1875: More New Engines
By 1875 Ward B. Snyder is advertising three engines we haven't seen before: a Large Horizontal, a Walking Beam, and a Model Engine. Ryder's first horizontal is now the Small Horizontal. Other than wanting to leave naming to the retailer, it's a mystery as to why clever names weren't created for some of these engines. Ward called his real engine The Little Giant so clearly the marketing concept was well understood.
Bramhall's contribution was to tell us that the No. 2 Small Horizontal was Ryder's. Unfortunately, with Bramhall, Smith & Co.'s demise, the No. 3 Large Horizontal, and the No. 4 Walking Beam engines are not similarly attributed. However, the ad associations, timing, engine design and style, have convinced this author that these are Ryder engines. Click on the pictures to view those engines.
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This table frame style of engine would later be produced by several manufacturers including: Bing, Weeden, and Doll & Cie
The No. 5 Model Engine does not look like something Ryder would have designed. That engine can be seen in this auction photo. The only argument that this might be Ryder's design is one where Ryder didn't want his model engines to be mistaken for toys engines.
1876: America Turns 100
Ten million people would celebrate America's 100th birthday by attending a Centennial Exposition held in Philadelphia. Inside Machinery Hall, Ward B. Snyder exhibited his line of Little Giant steam engines, one of which is decorated with elaborate scroll work. He also brought with him all of the toys in the ad above. You are invited to travel back in time, wander around Synder's exhibit, and see if you can find the toys in what is certainly one of the earliest pictures of toy steam engines. Be careful! The engines in the adjacent booth are running.
1878: Out With the Old
In the Sep 21, 1876 issue of Youth's companion, the publisher was selling off their remaining stock of Ryder's Dollar Engine for 40 cents. In 1878 the Two-Dollar engine would meet the same fate. Though we can't be certain, Ryder was likely ending production of those engines.
This marks the end of an era for Ryder as these are the two engines that propelled him to fame and fortune. However, this does not mark the end of Ryder's relationship with Youth's Companion. One month later we'll see the Half-Dollar engine given away with a subscription. In this etching, the engine is no longer shown perched on the screen. Unfortunately for Ryder, most of the steam toys offered in this same issue were from Union Toy Mfg. (Buckman).
1879: "The Giant Steam Engine"
There are several reasons to believe that this engine is Ryder's. The old Dollar and Two-Dollar engines were no longer sold, or were being heavily discounted, and the Half-Dollar engine, while cute, wasn't very powerful, so without a new engine Ryder would have had a hole in his product line. The boiler styling is similar to the half-dollar engine, and we'll see this engine grouped with other Ryder engines in 1880 and again in 1884.
Youth's Companion named the engine "The Giant", and sold it for $1.00. Ives, Blakeslee called in an improved "Dollar Engine."
As this article is being written people are gathering from Texas to Maine to watch a total eclipse that will occur on April 8, 2024. A similar event happened on July 29, 1878 and was very much in the news. Taking advantage of the publicity Wright & Ditson chose to call the new Dollar Engine "The Eclipse", as did Peck & Snyder.
| Click on the picture to watch a video of the 1878 Eclipse. |  |
1880-1881
It would appear that Ryder has a new competitor, or possibly a new engine. The Holly steam engine is introduced in the July 1, 1880 issue of Youth's Companion. Is it a toy, or a model? Actually it's sold as both, and more. It's a toy for boys; it's suitable for education; it's even pitched as a working engine—for powering displays in store windows.
It's possible this engine is named after Birdsill Holly who was rather well known for his steam engine and water pump for municipal water systems. No evidence could be found to suggest that Birdsill's company was responsible for this engine.
Peck & Snyder would advertise this engine in December 1881. They provide some specifications:
Brass Boiler, 7½ x 3¼; Outside Jacket, 7⅛ x 4¼; Fly Wheel, 5¼ diameter; Cylinder, ⅝; Stoke 1⅜.
In 1880 Ryder's engines once again dominate Youth's Companion, possibly because of a fire that impacted Union Toy. Note Ryder's new burner style for the small horizontal which no longer has a cross-head. The magazine had taken to publishing the toys and prizes once a year at the end of October. This would be Ryder's last big year with Youth's Companion
In Youth's Companion Oct 27 1881 Supplement, only Ryder's small horizontal and beam engine are shown. However, there is a new Young America style vertical.
Reminiscent of 1871, Peck & Snyder had an ad in the supplement showing the Half Dollar Engine powering a set of Working Figures. In ten years, only the engine and artwork has changed. All of these figures were available in 1871.
1882-1884: The end of Ryder's Youth's Companion Partnership
Ryder's small horizontal and beam engines would again appear in Youth's Companion magazine in the Oct 19, 1882 issue. However, one year later, in the Oct 25, 1883 Issue only his beam engine remains.
In 1884 the magazine would use Weeden as their main supplier. However, Ryder was still in business , though now selling through Ives, Blakeslee & Co.., and Wright & Ditson. Wright & Ditson was a sporting goods supplier in Boston.
1885-1886: Another Ryder Pivot?
Ryder would place a small notice in the Dec 12, 1885 issue of Scientific American:
"Castings for model steam engines in brass, iron, or white metal. Address E. P. Ryder, Brooklyn, N. Y."
For the next few months Ryder also published the ad below which has echos of Dewey's final days as a toy manufacturer. Was Ryder shutting down and clearing out his remaining unassembled inventory? Probably not. Four years later Ryder would still list his occupation as toy manufacturer in the 1890 directory, and as an engine manufacturer in the 1891 directory. So while his company may not have been as visible, and it might be smaller without a Youth's Companion contract, it was likely still viable. The magazine had never been the only outlet for Ryder's engines, and these ads were not so much for the public as they were for his customers: the jobbers (wholesalers), and retailers. However, from these ads we might speculate that Ryder was shifting his business model to include being a supplier of castings and finished parts to other toy steam engine manufacturers.
There can be little doubt that the pictured engine is the engine in Ryder's ad, which raise several questions. Where did this shrouded-boiler design first originate? Who made them? Was the Holly Ryder's design, or did Ryder, uncharacteristically, leverage someone else's design, or buy someone else's boiler for the engine in this ad? If only we could still send for a free illustrated catalog; Ryder's catalog might answer many questions including, what was he selling for $10 unassembled?
Here's the Holly Engine for comparison.
The other similar engine is the "Peerless", which shares parts, such as the engine frame and boiler, with the "Holly".
Holly | Peerless |
Ryder Pivots to Health Products
As Weeden grew, and import engines took hold, it's likely that, after more than two decades of providing steam toys to Young America, Ryder may have exited the toy market in the 1890s. However, the true ending of Ryder's engines is not known.
Around 1901 Ryder, then 67 years old, would begin selling spirometers out of the same house on Clermont. These were "for exercising the lungs, building up vital organs and preventing disease". It seems to have worked for him. Ryder would live to be 85 years old. In the 1900 census Ryder's two oldest sons, William (34) and Thomas (30) were still living at home—multi-generational homes were common—and were respectively listed as machinist and toolmaker.
Loose Ends
As we reach the end of part one, we'll finish with a couple of the first steam toy patents that weren't discussed earlier, but which deserve a brief mention.
Alanson Pierson Tyler
Nothing is known about Tyler other than he was in Boston when he applied for this design patent. The patent drawing was badly damaged, but with a bit of work it's now possible to see that the engine included a whistle and a built-in water pump and trough.
Eugene Beggs: Machinist
Beggs is well known by toy train collectors.
This excerpt is from: A History of Industrial Patterson, 1882.
Eugene Beggs, who in 1871 commenced the manufacture of miniature locomotives and other specialties, has a neat establishment in Division street, Eastside. He began business at No 50 Broadway and removed thence to 220 Tyler street in 1874. From thence he removed to his present location. Mr Beggs is very ingenious and has invented many valuable improvements in various departments of machinery. He is the patentee of the miniature locomotive, and also with, Aaron Pennington, the file maker of the "Perfection" lawn and garden sprinkler patented April 30th 1878, one of the most popular tools of its class in the market. Many of these sprinklers are shipped to San Francisco and other distant cities The capacity of the works is ten to twelve gross per month of the sprinklers besides all other productions
The baby engines turned out by Mr Beggs are the admiration of all and the especial delight of small boys about the Christmas holidays This is the season when the production is greatest .The little engines, with two cars attached, not only are sold for $10 a "train" and are a "joy forever" to the happy recipient, as he naturally gets the "rolling stock" and motive power but also the track to run his "train" on -- a complete railroad and equipment -- the track being a circle. Great speed is attained, and the toy is deservedly popular. The steam is generated by using alcohol. There is not another toy like it produced anywhere, and orders come from all parts of the country .Two rooms, each 15x25 feet, are occupied by Mr Beggs, whose product is not confined to the articles enumerated . He is ready to undertake any task requiring unusual mechanical skill and inventive genius. A three horse-power engine is used'
Disclaimer and a Request
In this article, the Buckman Mfg attribution that many engines receive in auctions, toy books, forums, and articles was questioned. This was not the original goal of this article, but rather the result of much research. All references were provided so that you can understand how the conclusions were reached. It's possible that some of these conclusions are wrong, in which case this article will be updated if new information becomes available.
In the late 19th century is was relatively uncommon for manufactures to brand their toy and novelty products. And while many manufacturers designed their own products, it was also common for independent designers to license their design, usually after being granted a design patent. Often the retailer would put their own name on the product and shamelessly claim to be the manufacturer, or a least a manufacturer, allowing the consumer to draw their own conclusions. Wholesalers, retailers and magazines might also source their toy engines from more than one manufacturer, which might cause someone to erroneously believe that all of the engines on a catalog page came from one manufacturer.
This article contains many links to outside sources. The links I worry about most are the auction pictures. Please let me know if you find links that no longer function. Or, better yet, send me pictures of your engines that I can use in place of the links.
Finally thanks to Nick for allowing me to use pictures of engines in his amazing collection. Thanks also to Google Web Search, Google Books, and Archive.org for providing access to digitized publications, and for making those publications searchable.
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