Category:Lotts Bricks

Toy Brands and Manufacturers

Lotts Bricks

1918 -

1924: Full-page advert for Lott's Bricks in Meccano Magazine. Includes Set 6 [image info]

1941 advert for Lott's Bricks, New Series [image info]

Design for a Lott's Bricks Schoolhouse [image info]

Lott's Bricks Ltd was started by E.A. Lott, and produced simple artificial-stone blocks in reasonably naturalistic colours, in rectangular and wedge shapes from ~1918 onwards. The blocks were stacked without any special pegs or joints, relying on weight and friction to stay together. Roofs were hinged pieces of printed cardboard.

Although early sets were fairly primitive, Lotts expanded the range with sets of special bricks for window pieces or Tudor-style frontages. Lotts continued until 1960, by which time more "modern" plastic systems like Lego had become popular.

The scale of the resulting buildings was designed to match gauge 0 railways and accessories.

Lott's Bricks timeline

1917 – Patented.
1918 – Lott's Bricks launched. Buildings are two-tone, with grey "lower" blocks and neutral-coloured upper blocks and lintels.
1920s – Colour revision: base blocks are now dark red rather than grey, and lintels are blue.
1920s - Lott's Tudor Blocks introduced, with black wooden beamwork. Tudor blocks later improved to include raised herringbone-pattern brickwork for the lower blocks, raised beamwork, and windows.
1931 - Lott's Tudor Accessories.
~1931 – Lott's church-style blocks for church windows and peak-topped doors.
1932(?) – Lodomo sets introduced, with extra detailing specifically for houses and small commercial buildings, with textured and painted blocks representing windows and doors, and "lower" wall blocks textured and painted to look like brickwork.

By 1934, the original white cardbard fencing been replaced by printed fencing.

1938 – Lott's New Series Bricks. "New Series" packaging is made more attractive with silver-coloured retail boxes with a transparent "windows" to let customers peek at the contents. Brick-pattern bases and cardboard roofs are now orange rather than red.
1940s – Purple windows!
~1948 – Lott's Wonderbrix launched, with new-pattern blocks for making half-size buildings suitable for 00-gauge model railways.

The final Lotts Bricks sets came with plastic "window" blocks, which were open on the back, and had blue window frames painted onto the textured front.

In the Museum

The Museum has a "Lotts Town" display of various built houses in the Lotts range in Arch Two, along with various boxes and packaging.

~1920 advertising text:

Lott's Bricks

The Game that BUILDS the Brain
WITH Lott's Toy Bricks all manner of miniature real-life models may be built from plans by Mr. Arnold Mitchell, the well-known architect. Houses, Churches, Bridges, Towers, and so on. The Bricks are made of solid, artificial stone in convenient sizes, and with each set are chimneys and jolly red roofs. Each game develops not only the constructive, but the creative faculties. A new book of original Real-Life Games, printed in colours, and with an introductory letter from Mr. H.G. Wells, will be sent free upon request.

— , Lotts Bricks Ltd., , The Strand Magazine, , ~1920

1928 advertising text:

WHO IS YOUR BUILDER?

Does that little world, or town, which is your model railway display, boast a form of builders? Or is it the Tinsmith or the Stationer who get all the building contracts? If this is the case, it just won't do. It's not real enough. You'll have to employ a builder in the future, if you want your friends to believe that your display is like the real thing. Suppose you appoint yourself, or your young brother, as local builder and contractor. A builder's charges would be no higher than the Tinsmith's and if they are more than the Stationer's, at least real bricks last a thousand times longer than cardboard.
As for the plans and materials, ask your usual dealer for full particulars of Lott's Bricks, the British-Made Stone Building Bricks. Then you will soon learn how you can construct in solid stone, models of all the buildings found in town and countryside, and on railway and farm.

— , Lott's Bricks Ltd, , Meccano Magazine, , March 1928