|
|
The
roots of Holgate Toy Company trace |
|
back
to 1789 when Cornelius Holgate |
|
established
a woodworking shop |
| outside
of Philadelphia in a colonial village called Roxborough.
After many years, |
| the
Holgate family moved the company to northwest Pennsylvania
because of the |
| abundant
hardwood forest. In 1929, Holgate was one of the first toy
companies |
| in
the U.S. to research & develop the educational,
preschool toy market for children. |
| Holgate
worked closely with the early educators in the emerging
Kindergarten |
| program
to develop safe, educational toys that had play value.
Jarvis Rockwell, |
| brother
of famous illustrator Norman Rockwell, originally designed
many of |
| today’s
most popular Holgate toys like the Rocky Color Cone, Jumbo
Lacing Beads |
| and
the Classic Bingo Bed. Rockwell’s concern for safety,
durability and |
| multiple
play earned him recognition as one of America’s finest toy
designers. |
 |
In the
early 1990s the Holgate Toy Company |
| became
part of the Zippo
family when it |
| was
purchased by Zippo Mfg. |
| Although
this relationship only lasted |
| a few
years a few pieces which can be |
| considered
Zippo collectibles today |
| were
produced. A couple of toy trucks |
| with
Zippo logos along with wooden cases that housed both regular
and slim size |
| Zippo
lighters. It appears that they tried to create a new product
line using resources |
| form
both companies, but it never really took off. Holgate/Zippo
lighters have |
| surfaced
on the secondary market with different finishes and
advertising logos. |
| The
Holgate Toy Company is located at 200 Biddle St., Kane, PA
16735 |
