Bradley's Toy Village Set #4552 1909 - Pt 1

Toys & Stuff is pleased to bring you another vintage paper toy: Bradley's Toy Village Set #4552 of 1909 by the Milton Bradley Company. The company was formed way back in 1860 and quickly gained notoriety as a game manufacturer. It was the first American company to produce and sell a complete croquet set and during the Civil War they noticed how bored soldiers were during the lull between fighting and developed a game which the men could carry with them. but it was board games which placed the company on the maps. 

Although strictly speaking today's toy is not a game, if you read the 'instructions' on the inside of the box they certainly tried to make the toy educational. It consists of a paper landscaped playmat, three houses (two of which are identical), a store, and three accessory cardboard pieces with metal stands. The box measures 9 1/4" (23.5cm) L x 7 1/4" (18.4cm) W. The landscaped playmat is quite small measuring 15 7/8" (40.3cm) L  x 6 5/8" (16.8cm) W and when all four buildings and the detail pieces are placed on it it's pretty well hidden. The building walls measure 4" (10.2cm) L x 2 3/4" (7cm) D x 4 1/4" (10.8cm) H (w/o roof). The roofs on all four buildings are the same red roof w/shingles. The roof, when flattened out, measures 4 3/8" (11.1cm) W x 5 7/8" (14.9cm) L

Back on  November 17-21, 2014 we featured the Ready Cut Village featuring five different buildings. There was no manufacturer listed but the stamping's are nearly identical (on today's set all the buildings have peaked dormers while the buildings in the Ready Cut Village have both peaked and rounded dormers). The lithography on the sets are different as well but because of the sizes and basic design the two can be sister sets. Over the next few days we'll look at the different building's included with Bradley's Toy Village. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

The accessory group

One piece metal stands like this were commonly used to hold cardboard pieces back in the day.

Governess Cart

4" (10.2cm) L x 2 7/8" (7.3cm)  H

1909 Touring Car

5 1/2" (14cm) L x 2 9/16" (6.5cm) H

The result of a brutal police interrogation?

Nah, this lady lost her head a long time ago judging by the wear on the piece. She's a vendor and is meant to sit outside the Village Store.

2 5/8"  (6.7cm)  L x 2 1/16" (5.2cm) H