Introduction

What is Meccano? To paraphrase Mark Twain: you don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Meccano System and the Special Purpose Meccano Sets by Bert Love and Jim Gamble (see the Bibliography). While this present work is about Meccano in the United States, Meccano originated (and was extremely successful) in England. The Meccano System is THE reference work on Meccano, and should be in any serious collector's library; however, it is hard to find, and is expensive. There were a number of differences between the original Meccano and the US flavor; this present work addresses the US Meccano...

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1909 – 1922

The early history of Meccano in the United States is a tangled web with lots of information from many sources. In telling the story, the first question is how to present the story so that it is understandable. There are several threads in this period which need to be understood...

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1922 – 1929

The second chapter of Meccano in the US starts in 1922, when the Meccano Company, Inc. (the United States company) opened their own factory in Elizabeth, New Jersey. That city is not far from New York City; it was about a 22 minute ride by the Pennsylvania Railroad from Penn Station in New York City to the Elizabeth station. Elizabeth had (and still has) a seaport. Being west of the Hudson River, it has easy access to railroad service to the rest of the country. (From Bush Terminal, railroad cars need to be moved by car float across the Hudson River)...

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1929 – 1936

The third chapter of Meccano in the United States starts with the purchase of Meccano Co., Inc., by A. C. Gilbert of Erector fame. Based on testimony in customs tariff cases from 1938-39, the purchase was apparently in January of 1929. Transcribed excerpts from these cases are in the Appendix. This purchase, of course, led to many and quite complex changes in Meccano in the US. By January 1930, Gilbert formed the Meccano Company of America, Incorporated as a Maryland corporation, the same state where the A. C. Gilbert corporation was registered. It appears that a year elapsed from the time Gilbert bought the Meccano Co., Inc. and the time the new Meccano Company of America obtained the American patents and copyrights. The 1929 0-40 and 50-70 manual copyrights were in the name of Meccano Co., Inc., while the 1930 Manual of Instructions Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 were in the name of Meccano Co. of America...

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1937 – 1938

As discussed below, these outfits seem quite peculiar. Early in my studies of these relatively unknown outfits, P. A. (Tony) Knowles in England was very helpful, with samples of UK production that he sent to me, and comments on samples of US production that I sent to him. My wife and I had the opportunity to visit Tony in England, where he and his wife were very gracious hosts. Tony was a Meccanoman, and also published the "Other Systems Newsletter," discussing metal construction systems other than Meccano. Tony passed away in February, 2022. His help was invaluable in my studies of US Blue and Gold Meccano, and so I dedicate this chapter to his memory. Thank you, Tony...

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Supporting Docs

» 1913 Meccano Flanged Plate Patent US1079245 with Claims (PDF)

» 1913 New York State Cover CCI29012020 (PDF)

» 1916 234 FR Mecc vs Wagner (PDF)

» Frank Hornby etc Travels (PDF)

» Treasury Decisions 1938 1939 (PDF)