Ezy-bilt construction set |
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| Title : | Ezy-bilt construction set |
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| Place Of Creation : | Southwark, SA | ||
| Publisher : | Colton, Palmer and Preston | ||
| Format : | Toy | ||
| Contributor : | State Library of South Australia | ||
| Catalogue record | |||
| The State Library of South Australia is keen to find out more about SA Memory items. We encourage you to contact the Library if you have additional information about any of these items. | |||
| Donated by : | Mr and Mrs Cecil Ireland |
| Copyright : | Reproduction rights are owned by State Library of South Australia. This image may be printed or saved for research or study. Use for any other purpose requires permission from the State Library of South Australia. To request approval, complete the Permission to publish form. |
| Description : |
Boxed set of Ezy-bilt the master toy with instruction book and parts book; assorted metal sections, rods, and rubber tyred wheels; and Ezy-bilt assembly parts tins. Ezy-bilt was a South Australian made imitation of Frank Hornby's Meccano construction kits. Manufactured at Southwark, Adelaide, (now part of Thebarton) by Colton, Palmer and Preston, Ezy-bilt was a popular toy for budding builders and mechanics from the late 1940s until the 1960s. Colton, Palmer and Preston were not the only company to make construction sets in imitation of the famous Meccano. Others included the American system Erector and the German set Structator. Hornby patented his Meccano construction set in 1901. It uses a system of metal strips and plates with equal-sized holes at half-inch intervals. Even as the system evolved this did not change, so that older pieces could always be amalgamated with new sets. With wheels, rods and, later, motors real working models could be made. Hornby had initially called his construction set 'Mechanics made easy' and this reflects his intention. Rather than a child just building something with blocks, Meccano was a real engineering experience for children. Hornby also issued Meccano magazine in which further projects were published. |
| Subjects | |
| Period : | 1939-1945 |
| Further reading : | Burton, Anthony. Children's pleasures: books, toys and games from the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, London: V & A Publications, 1996 Colton, Palmer & Preston. Ezy-bilt, the wonder toy for boys: book of models - sets 1, 2 and 3, [Adelaide: Colton, Palmer & Preston, 194-?] Jaffe, Deborah. The history of toys: from spinning tops to robots, Stroud [England]: Sutton, 2006 King, Constance Eileen. The encyclopedia of toys, Adelaide: Rigby, 1978 Love, Bert. The Meccano system and the special purpose Meccano sets, 1901-1979, London: New Cavendish Books, 1986, c1985 |
| Internet links : | |
| Exhibitions and events : | State Library of South Australia: Mortlock Wing exhibitions. To be a child August 2004- |
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