Collection details > Specific collections
Tin toys company
What is a tin toys company doing in a calculators collection? Well, I was also surprised the first time I saw the adding machine from Wolverine. Designed as a toy, this was a real adder, and must have been quite fashionable in its time:
After finding this first toy, I was wondering if any others were made by this company. And I found plenty. Along with the slider type of adding machine, the company also made the slot machine type where the user has to guess the answer, before looking under a flap. This type of game was more popular, and Wolverine created a complete series with additions, subtractions and even multiplications.
Here are the different games I found, so far:
ADDER TYPE | |||||||
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Simply called the adding machine. The user would slide the columns corresponding to the numbers to be added. Whenever you cross the 10, 1 is added to the column on your left. Simple but works. | Similar machine as the previous one, but the front background was dark, instead of being bright red. | Same mechanism as the previous two, but you can also subtract as described on the bottom. | And since a multiplication is only a series of additions, this later model also included a wheel at the bottom to keep track of the numbers and perform multiplication. | ||||
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SLOT MACHINE TYPE | |||||||
ARITHMETIC QUIZZ | SEE AND ADD | SEE AND SUBTRACT | MODERN MATH ADDITION | ||||
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This model uses 2 handles: one on the right and one on the left. When you press down on the handle, the drum rotates. When you release the handle the drum stops, and proposes a question. The user can then lift the flap on top to verify his answer. | This model uses only one handle, moving the four numbers at once. | Same thing. But with subtractions | This is called modern math, because the user has to guess one of the numbers that is added, not always the result. | ||||
MODERN MATH SUBTRACTION | MODERN MATH QUIZZ | PATENT 2310898 | |||||
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Same thing with subtractions. You will notice that the person in charge of the drawings had very little to do: same characters everywhere, simply change the title. | Combining additions and subtractions, this is using the same mechanism as the other modern math toys. | Such a complicated mechanism required a patent. Well, at least, they tried to protect their design. Which worked more or less as you see in this other page, where we see similar design in other part of the world. | |||||
Now I am sure you are all wondering: how can they design such an intricate mechanism for these toys? J
Since I had a few of them, I decided to perform a surgery and open one of them to look at the inside.
This is the model with 2 different handles. We don t see very well on the picture but the big drums have a small toothed wheel attached to them, and the handle has a matching gear-like shape. When pressing on the handle the drum starts to rotate and continues, until the handle is released, and locks the drum again. Not rocket science, but pretty amusing when you were a kid in the 50s.
Wolverine also made different toys using the same mechanism. I only found a few of them, but I am sure that I am missing more. If you have any interesting detail, let me know.
Telling Time:
SEE AND SPELL
SEE AND SPELL (version 2)
NAME THE STATE
Interesting to see that tere are only 48 states displayed on this machine
Using the wolverine adder I counted
persons curious about these toys since January 2019