Tonka
Encyclopedia
Tonka is an American
toy
company most known for its signature toy truck
s and construction equipment
.
with three men as partners, Lynn Everett Baker (1898–1964), Avery F. Crounse, and Alvin F. Tesch. The first products produced by the fledgling company were two versions of a metal tie-rack. Their original intent was to manufacture garden implements. However, when their building's former occupant, the Streater Company, attempted to market two metal toys and failed, the three men at Mound Metalcraft thought they might make a good side line to their other products.
After some modifications to the design by Alvin Tesch and the addition of a new logo created by Erling Eklof with the Dakota Sioux
word "Tonka", which means "Great" or "Big", the company began selling metal toys. This soon became the primary business. On November 23, 1955, Mound Metalcraft changed its name to Tonka Toys Incorporated. The logo at this time was an oval, showing the Tonka Toys name in red above waves, presumably honoring nearby Lake Minnetonka
.
The impact of the Tonka truck concept has been enduring and pervasive, especially the Mighty Dump Truck and associated "Mighty" line of construction equipment models introduced from 1964. The all-metal "Tonka trucks" were sold throughout the world and earned a reputation as being indestructible, although the steel has been increasingly replaced by plastic from the late 1980s onwards.
The company was purchased by Hasbro
in 1991.
Tonka trucks were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame
at The Strong
in Rochester, New York
, in 2001.
s (Star Fairies
, Bathing Beauties
, Maple Town, and Hollywoods Dolls) and other toys aimed at girls like Keypers
and aimed at boys like Gobots
, Rock Lords
, Spiral Zone
, and Steel Monsters
. It was also the original manufacturer of the Pound Puppies
toy line, and in the late 1980s were the U.S. licensees of products inspired by Maple Town, an animated series from Japan's Toei Dōga
.
Tonka also produced a variety of computer games, including Tonka Raceway, and purchased the rights to distribute and market the Sega Master System
after Sega
of America decided to stop competing against the Nintendo Entertainment System
in the U.S.
However, the Master System's market share declined, since Tonka didn't have experience with video games or how to market them.
Hasbro sold the digital gaming rights for various properties (including My Little Pony
, Magic: The Gathering
, Tonka, Playskool
, and Transformers) to Infogrames
for USD$
100 million in 2000, buying back the rights for USD$66 million in June 2005.
In 1964, Tonka acquired the Mell Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois
, allowing Tonka to expand into producing barbecue
grill
s, eventually under the "Tonka Firebowl" label.
The Winifred Museum in Winifred, Montana
, has a collection of more than 3,000 Tonka toys, possibly the largest collection in the world, according to the museum.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
company most known for its signature toy truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s and construction equipment
Construction Equipment
Construction Equipment is a trade publication and web site serving the information needs of construction contractors, materials producers, and other owners and operators of construction equipment....
.
History
On September 18, 1946 Mound Metalcraft was created in Mound, MinnesotaMound, Minnesota
Mound is a settlement in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. ZIP code: 55364. The population was 9,052 at the 2010 census. Mound is the birthplace of the Tonka truck, named after Lake Minnetonka. Mound is also the birthplace of actor Kevin Sorbo, who portrayed Hercules on the television...
with three men as partners, Lynn Everett Baker (1898–1964), Avery F. Crounse, and Alvin F. Tesch. The first products produced by the fledgling company were two versions of a metal tie-rack. Their original intent was to manufacture garden implements. However, when their building's former occupant, the Streater Company, attempted to market two metal toys and failed, the three men at Mound Metalcraft thought they might make a good side line to their other products.
After some modifications to the design by Alvin Tesch and the addition of a new logo created by Erling Eklof with the Dakota Sioux
Dakota language
Dakota is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Sioux tribes. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lakota language.-Dialects:...
word "Tonka", which means "Great" or "Big", the company began selling metal toys. This soon became the primary business. On November 23, 1955, Mound Metalcraft changed its name to Tonka Toys Incorporated. The logo at this time was an oval, showing the Tonka Toys name in red above waves, presumably honoring nearby Lake Minnetonka
Lake Minnetonka
Lake Minnetonka is a lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Throughout its recorded history, the lake has been a resort destination. It is located west-southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The lake is an irregular shape with numerous bays and islands which make up about of shoreline...
.
The impact of the Tonka truck concept has been enduring and pervasive, especially the Mighty Dump Truck and associated "Mighty" line of construction equipment models introduced from 1964. The all-metal "Tonka trucks" were sold throughout the world and earned a reputation as being indestructible, although the steel has been increasingly replaced by plastic from the late 1980s onwards.
The company was purchased by Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
in 1991.
Tonka trucks were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame
National Toy Hall of Fame
The National Toy Hall of Fame is an American hall of fame that recognizes the contributions of toys and games that have sustained their popularity for many years...
at The Strong
The Strong
The Strong is an interactive, collections-based educational institution in Rochester, New York, USA, devoted to the study and exploration of play...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, in 2001.
Other products
Tonka has produced a wide variety of toys over the years, including dollDoll
A doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have traditionally been used in magic and religious rituals throughout the world, and traditional dolls made of materials like clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls...
s (Star Fairies
Star Fairies
Star Fairies was a doll toy series of the 1980s made by the Tonka company. The dolls had different costumes and personalities. Star Fairies was adapted into a televised cartoon movie, made by Hanna-Barbera in 1985...
, Bathing Beauties
Bathing Beauties
Bathing Beauties was a 1980s toy series of the Tonka company. The dolls were designed to be taken within the bath by children. Their distinctive feature was their hair, which changed color in warm water....
, Maple Town, and Hollywoods Dolls) and other toys aimed at girls like Keypers
Keypers
Keypers are toys in the shape of animals that were designed with opening compartments for children to store small items in. They were made in the 1980s by Tonka Corp.-Overview:...
and aimed at boys like Gobots
Gobots
Gobots was a line of transforming robot toys produced by Tonka from 1983 to 1987, similar to Transformers. In 1991, the Gobots range was acquired from Tonka Inc. by Hasbro.-History:...
, Rock Lords
Rock Lords
Rock Lords was a spin-off toyline to the GoBots from Tonka in 1986 after the movie GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords. They were transforming rocks that came with weapons such as axes, guns and swords. There were vehicles for the Rock Lords to drive in battle. The Rock Lords were imported from...
, Spiral Zone
Spiral Zone
Spiral Zone was a 1987 American science-fiction animated series produced by Atlantic-Kushner-Locke. Based in part from a toy line made by Japanese company Bandai, the series focus on an international group of soldiers fighting to free the world from a scientist who controls much of the Earth's...
, and Steel Monsters
Steel monsters
Steel Monsters were a toy series from the Tonka company in the 1980sProduced in 1986 and 1987 by Tonka, they were well-made and colorful 3-3/4" figures, each having its own mini-comic...
. It was also the original manufacturer of the Pound Puppies
Pound Puppies
Pound Puppies is a toyline sold by Tonka in the 1980s. It later inspired an animated TV special, an animated TV series, and a feature film. Shipments of the toys over five years generated sales of $300 million in 35 countries....
toy line, and in the late 1980s were the U.S. licensees of products inspired by Maple Town, an animated series from Japan's Toei Dōga
Toei Animation
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
.
Tonka also produced a variety of computer games, including Tonka Raceway, and purchased the rights to distribute and market the Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
after Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
of America decided to stop competing against the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
However, the Master System's market share declined, since Tonka didn't have experience with video games or how to market them.
Hasbro sold the digital gaming rights for various properties (including My Little Pony
My Little Pony
My Little Pony is a brand of toy ponies marketed primarily to girls produced by the toy manufacturer Hasbro. These ponies can be identified by their colorful bodies and manes and a unique symbol on one or both sides of their flanks...
, Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
, Tonka, Playskool
Playskool
Playskool is an American company that produces educational toys and games for children. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and is headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.-History:...
, and Transformers) to Infogrames
Infogrames
Infogrames Entertainment SA was an international French holding company headquartered in Paris, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe. It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory...
for USD$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
100 million in 2000, buying back the rights for USD$66 million in June 2005.
In 1964, Tonka acquired the Mell Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, allowing Tonka to expand into producing barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
grill
Grill (cooking)
A barbecue grill is a device for cooking food by applying heat directly from below. There are several varieties of such grills, with most falling into one of two categories: gas-fueled and charcoal. There is a great debate over the merits of charcoal or gas for use as the cooking method between...
s, eventually under the "Tonka Firebowl" label.
The Winifred Museum in Winifred, Montana
Winifred, Montana
Winifred is a town in north-central Fergus County, Montana, United States. The population was 156 at the 2000 census. Winifred was founded in 1913 as the terminus of a newly-built branch line of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad...
, has a collection of more than 3,000 Tonka toys, possibly the largest collection in the world, according to the museum.
External links
- Tonka Toys – Comprehensive collector site
- Neat Old Toys – Site with large amount of information on Tonka history
- The Rock Lords collector archives – Collector guide for the Rock Lords toy line from Tonka/Bandai
- Action Figure Archive – Vintage Tonka action figures guide, message boards and online store.