Lincoln Logs

A sawmill made from Lincoln Logs.

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Lincoln Logs are a toy consisting of notched miniature logs, about ¾ inches (1-2 cm) in diameter. Analogous to real logs used in a log cabin, Lincoln Logs have notches in their ends so that small model log buildings can be built. In addition, a Lincoln Logs set has windows and doors to make the buildings more realistic. More modern sets also come with figures of humans and animals that match the scale of the buildings.^{[citation needed]}

Lincoln Logs were invented in 1916.^[1] by John Lloyd Wright, a son of the notable architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1918, they were marketed by the Red Square Toy Company and by John Lloyd Wright, Incorporated of Chicago, Illinois.^{[citation needed]} While it is often assumed that the name of the toy relates to President Lincoln, it is also a reference to the inventor's father since the given middle name of F.L. Wright was Lincoln. Wright dropped the name Lincoln when his father abandoned the family and adopted the name Lloyd, the maiden name of his mother but Wright uses the initials FLLW on his seal and red tiles, thereby acknowledging his given middle name. Lincoln Logs originally came with instructions on how to build Uncle Tom's Cabin as well as Lincoln's log cabin.^{[citation needed]}

The architecture of the Imperial Hotel basement in Tokyo, designed by John's father, which used a unique foundation of interlocking beams to make the structure "earthquake proof", assisted in the designing of the toy logs.^[2]

The sets were originally made of 100% wood, with varying colors of roof pieces, but by the 1970s almost all the wood had been replaced by plastic^{[citation needed]}. However, in more recent years, they have reverted to real wood on all their sets.

References

1. ^ http://lincolnlogs.knex.com/
2. ^ "John Kenneth Lloyd Wright." Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 9: 1971-1975 Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994.

See also

• Girder and Panel building sets
• Lego
• Meccano
• Steel Tec
• Tinkertoy
• Merkur sets
• Lionel Corp. briefly made a construction set in the immediate postwar era
• Construx

External links

• Lincoln Logs official website