ys in the 1930s required a LOT of imagination, which is a GREAT thing! Not to sound like a fuddy, but toys nowadays don’t require much more thought than “press a button repeatedly.” And there’s almost no need for pretending either. Well, that’s not the case with thirties toys. Very few electronics, and most toys were made of wood, fabric or cast iron.
Because it’s the era of the Great Depression, many kids toys were hand-me-downs from their older siblings. Dozens of toy companies went out of business due to the economic crisis.
Simple things like dolls, finger paint and die cast model cars were very popular. Also very popular were pedal cars and trucks. Some even had electric headlights!
Some legendary board games did come out in the 1930s, like Monopoly, Scrabble and Sorry! It’s hard to believe those games are that old!
The rich kids had Erector sets, toy trains and air rifles. The girls had all different kinds of dolls and doll houses to choose from. Also there was a wide variety of adult-like toys like kids typewriters, kids adding machines, and medical playsets.