A Brief History Of Alphabet Blocks

We’ve probably all played with alphabet blocks at one time or another when we were young children. Alphabet blocks were one of the first educational toys specifically designed for children. While children built structures with these blocks, they also learned to recognize letters of the alphabet at the same time. Let’s discuss some of the history involved in the development, introduction and use of these blocks.

The first known alphabet block was introduced in 1693 by John Locke who was an educational philosopher. He announced that dice and playtoys with letters would help to teach children how to read.

The use of these blocks evolved such that they become commonly used in classrooms and preschools throughout the 19th century.

In 1820, alphabet blocks became commercially available for home use through the introduction of a commercially available set of alphabet blocks. The blocks were initially painted. Following these they were embossed with a design and a different paint color was applied to create the letters.

The use of alphabet blocks continued to evolve into a vitally important part of early learning. In 2003, the alphabet block was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

In order to be included, the toy has to achieve icon status and be recognized and remembered by a very broad spectrum of the population.

Since it was established in 1998, only forty two toys have been inducted into the Hall of Fame which help to establish the importance of this simple yet important toy and learning tool.