Lego

Lego, about 1960. Museum no. B.62-2004. (click image for larger version)

Lego was invented by the Dane, Ole Kirk Christiansen, who started making wooden toys in 1932. By 1934 he was using the name Lego, derived from two Danish words, which mean 'play well'. In 1949, the company produced its Automatic Binding Brick, which, in 1953 was renamed the Lego Brick. The following year the trade-name of Lego was registered. The concept of the interlocking brick was not new. A wooden version had been in existence in the 19th century, followed by a rubber version in the shape of Minibrix in the 1930s. Kiddicraft's Interlocking bricks designed by Hilary Page in the late 1930s are generally regarded as being the main inspiration for the Lego brick.

There were three main reasons why Lego led the field. Firstly, like Kiddicraft in England, Lego saw the potential of using plastic for toys. Secondly, Lego invented the stud and tube coupling system, patented in 1958, which made its structures more stable. Thirdly, Lego devised a comprehensive system of play which means that any Lego piece can be used with any other piece, whenever it was made and whichever age group it is aimed at.

Duplo, a set of bigger Lego blocks, was introduced in 1969 for pre-school children and in 1977 a set for the technically minded child called Lego Technic was launched. From the 1960s Lego added a series of pre-designed model sets which came with drawings and building instructions which, while veering away from the original philosophy of open ended block play, nonetheless offered children new opportunities for developing their technical skills. Lego has continued to develop its product  to reflect the changing trends in toys and merchandise. It has become one of the most popular and most versatile construction toys in the world. In theory, you can make anything out of Lego.

Lego has been awarded the Toy of the Year prize three times and was named Toy of the Century by the Toy Retailers Association of Britain in 2000. In 2004 a survey by the Museum found Lego to be the most popular toy of the last 100 years.