Wolverine Supply & Manufacturing history
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1903 - 1950.
The Wolverine Supply & Manufacturing Company was founded in Pittsburgh by Benjamin F. Bain and his wife in Pennsylvania in 1903 and incorporated in 1906. Wolverine's early toys were set in motion by the weight of sand or marbles. These popular toys were usually designed to unload sand or marbles from an elevated hopper. The toys, once set in operation, continue to operate unattended until the supply of marbles or sand was exhausted, thereby providing endless hours of fun for youngsters. These type of toys were called "Sandy Andy".
In 1918, Wolverine's line expanded to include girls' toys. Introduced at the New York Toy Fair in March of that year, were such toys as tea sets, sand pails, wash tubs, glass washboards, ironing boards and miniature grocery stores. In 1928, Wolverine introduced their "Sunny Andy" and Sunny Suzy" toys. Company advertising explained that the new names for the toys would cover all toys not operated by sand. By 1929, airplanes, boats, buses, and other toys had joined the Wolverine family of toys. Wolverine continued to expand their toy line throughout the 9130s, right up to the beginning of WWII, almost as if they were immune from the effects of the Depression. Even the sand toys, relatively unchanged from the early 1900's, were still being sold into the 1950's.
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