Anchor Stone Blocks

The Anchor Stone Building is a former world-famous classic German children's toy.

Design and idea

Anchor blocks are molded parts with very low dimensional tolerances, which are pressed out of sand, chalk and linseed oil and baked. They are manufactured in three colors: red, yellow and blue, corresponding to the three building materials brick, sandstone and slate (roof). The blocks have a smooth surface lie heavy in the hand and come without knobs or bonding from. The cohesion of the building is based solely on the statics.

The idea of the kit is based on the didactic approach of the match gifts of the teacher Friedrich Froebel and developed it to architecture model game. Through a system of a series of sequential supplementary sets with accompanying assembly instructions of the anchor kit is the prototype of the system toy.

History

Were invented in the building blocks of the brothers Otto and Gustav Lilienthal, they also manufactured first. The entrepreneur Friedrich Adolf Richter bought the idea and had them patented. He produced the building blocks from 1882 in its pharmaceutical factory in Rudolstadt. Later a lengthy Patent and Konventionalstreit followed. Latter won judges finally.

Developed in the " Art Institute " in Rudolstadt artists, illustrators and architects plans or building plans for the construction kits. There was a sophisticated extension and augmentation system that allowed to combine the boxes as required. Since 1895 was the "anchor " official trademark, the "Anchor Stone Blocks " won numerous international awards. Nearly 40,000 kits left at the turn of the century per year the plant to the well-heeled clientele from all over the world, from St. Petersburg to New York. As a judge in 1910 died, there were offices throughout Europe, the USA and Japan. In Austria - Hungary, the toy company was F. Ad. Richter & Cie. k.u.k. Court and chamber Supplier of the emperor and members of the imperial family and purveyor of other European courts .. For large - Austria was for 40 years a factory in Vienna. She was in Vienna Hietzing in the field Wenzgasse / Larochegasse namely the site of today's sports field and sports hall 1 of the Federal Gymnasium XIII Wenzgasse.

In the GDR, Adolph Richter was expropriated and the brand in 1953 in the state-owned company "VEB Anchor Stone Building " converted. The blocks were made ​​up in the 1960s in Rudolstadt, production was officially completed on 31 December 1963. From 1880 until its closure in 1963 to have been sold for about five billion anchor blocks.

The resumption of production took place in 1995 Stone Building by the anchor GmbH. The anchor stone lovers Georg Plenge was supported by funds of the European Union and the state of Thuringia record this year with 26 employees, the production of a basic kit. Bill Clinton sent the company's enthusiasm about the anchor stones in writing: " Just wonderful ". Even celebrities such as Albert Einstein, Erich Kästner and Walter Gropius honed their creativity with colorful stones.

The first toy system

The Modular series is based on a system of basic and supplementary sets. The basic boxes 4 or 6 can by purchasing supplementary sets ( indicated by an " A") be extended to the next higher box according to the following principle: 6 6A = Box 8; 8 8A = Box 10, etc. Odd Box numbers do not exist in the modern case series. The ownership is to create a building according to the plans of a supplementary box all the foregoing basic and supplementary boxes provided, then the add-on kit 16A contains the plan booklet of the box 18, the stone inventory of the boxes 6, 6A, 8A, 10A, 12A, 14A and 16A be used.

The boxes from the time the judge are significantly more complex in the system, as judges numerous sales, and parallel versions of box series. The number of the boxes, the complexity of the building and hence the construction plans increases. For a structure of box 14 is required four to six hours of construction.

Booklets

Each kit are two issues with plans for. A booklet contains perspective views of the building, the second the floor plans and sectional views. The " game idea " of the boxes will be to implement the plans in buildings. Today's plan booklets are unchanged reprints of the original plan books from the period before and around 1900 give you back any actual building, but prototypical designs. " The " Pavilion, " the " lookout, " the " chapel "of the " Dom.

Members of the "Club of Anchor Friends " expand the range with his own plans and sectional drawings. Some of the new plans give real examples again, like the Torre de Belém and the Frauenkirche in Dresden.

King Stones

King Stones were driven up to their trademarked conditional renaming under the name Anchor Stones. The stones are made of marble powder. They are not comparable to historical anchor stones or the material with which the anchor stones comparable.