History Milton Bradley Company

milton bradley found success making board games. in 1860, milton bradley moved springfield, massachusetts, , set state s first color lithography shop. graphic design of abraham lincoln sold until lincoln grew beard , rendered likeness out-of-date.

struggling find new way use lithography machine, bradley visited friend george tapley. tapley challenged him game, old english game. bradley conceived idea of making purely american game. created checkered game of life, had players move along track infancy happy old age, in point avoid ruin , reach happy old age. squares labeled moral positions honor , bravery disgrace , ruin. players used spinner instead of dice because of negative association gambling.

by spring of 1861, on 45,000 copies of checkered game of life had been sold. bradley became convinced board games company s future.

when civil war broke out in 1861, milton bradley temporarily gave making board games , tried make new weaponry. however, upon seeing bored soldiers stationed in springfield, bradley began producing small games soldiers play during down time. these regarded first travel games in country. these games included chess, checkers, backgammon, dominoes, , checkered game of life. sold 1 dollar piece soldiers , charitable organizations bought them in bulk distribute.

by 1870s, company producing dozens of games , capitalizing on fads. milton bradley became first manufacturer in america make croquet sets. sets included wickets, mallets, balls, stakes, , authoritative set of rules play bradley himself had created oral tradition , own sense of fair play. in 1880, company began making jigsaw puzzles.

in late 1860s, bradley became involved in kindergarten movement. invested in cause, company began manufacturing educational items such colored papers , paints. company hurt bradley s generosity. gave these materials away free of charge, cost them. due recession of late 1870s, investors told him either kindergarten work must go or go. bradley chose keep kindergarten work. friend george tapley bought interest of lost investors , took on president of milton bradley company.

the milton bradley company took new direction in 1869 after milton bradley went hear lecture kindergarten movement education pioneer, elizabeth peabody. peabody promoted philosophy of german scholar friedrich froebel. froebel stated through education children learn , develops through creative activities. bradley spend of rest of life promoting kindergarten movement both , through milton bradley company.

milton bradley advocate of friedrich froebel s idea of kindergarten. springfield s first kindergarten students milton bradley s 2 daughters, , first teachers in springfield milton, wife , father. milton bradley s company s involvement kindergartens began production of gifts, term used froebel geometric wooden play things felt necessary structure children s creative development. bradley spent months devising exact shades in produce these materials; final choice of 6 pigments of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, , violet remain standard colors children s art supplies through 20th century.

the company s educational supplies turned out large portion of income @ turn of century. produced supplies grade school teacher use, such toy money, multiplication sticks, , movable clock dials. milton bradley continued producing games, particularly parlor games played adults. produced visit gypsies, word gardening, happy days in old new england, , fortune telling. created jigsaw puzzles of wrecked vehicles, popular among young boys.

when milton bradley died in 1911, company passed robert ellis, passed bradley s son-in-law robert ingersoll, passed george tapley s son, william. in 1920, bradley bought out mcloughlin brothers, went out of business after john mcloughlin s death.

milton bradley began decline in 1920s , fell dramatically in 1930s during depression. fewer people spending money on board games. company kept losing money until 1940, when sunk low , banks demanded payment on loans.

desperate avoid bankruptcy, board of directors persuaded james j. shea, springfield businessman, take on presidency of company. shea moved decrease company s debt. began major renovation of milton bradley plant burning old inventory had been accumulating since turn of century.

with outbreak of world war ii, milton bradley started producing universal joint created shea used on landing gear of fighter planes. reproduced revised version of game kits soldiers, earned company $2 million. milton bradley did not stop creating board games, although did cut line 410 titles 150. new games introduced during time, such patriotic game of states, chutes & ladders , candyland.

the advent of television have threatened industry, shea used advantage. various companies acquired licenses television shows, purpose of producing manner of promotional items, including games. in 1959, milton bradley released concentration, memory game based on nbc television show of same name; game such success editions issued annually 1982, long after show cancelled in 1973 (similar practices used box game adaptations of game shows password , jeopardy!).

milton bradley celebrated centennial in 1960 re-release of checkered game of life, modernized. called game of life , goal no longer reach happy old age, become millionaire. twister made debut in 1960s well. johnny carson s suggestive comments eva gabor played game on show, twister became phenomenon. in 1960s, milton bradley games licensed in australia john sands pty ltd.

in 1967, james shea jr. took on president of milton bradley (becoming ceo in 1968) succeeding father. during presidency, milton bradley bought playskool mfg. co. e.s. lowe company, makers of yahtzee, , body language.

during 1970s , 1980s, electronic games became popular. milton bradley released simon in 1978, late in movement. 1980, best-selling item.

in 1979, milton bradley developed first hand held cartridge based console, microvision.

in 1983, seeing potential in new vectrex vector based video game console, company purchased consumer electronic (gce). both vectrex , microvision designed jay smith.

during late 1980s , 1990s, milton bradley marketed series of games (such heroquest , battle masters) in north america developed in united kingdom games workshop (gw) drew heavily gw s warhammer fantasy universe, albeit without explicit reference warhammer product line.

milton bradley sued 2 men, alan coleman , roger burten, claimed have presented original concept dark tower milton bradley in late 1970s, @ point, mb declined pursue it, thereafter independently developed game. 1 of dark tower game designers claims court s decision unfair.

in 1984, hasbro, ending 124 years of family ownership, bought out milton bradley. wholly owned hasbro, milton bradley continued turn out games capitalized on current trends. 1990s saw release of gator golf, crack case, mall madness, , 1313 dead end drive.

in 1991, hasbro acquired milton bradley s former arch-rival parker brothers. in 1998, milton bradley merged parker brothers form hasbro games. after consolidation, milton bradley , parker brothers turned brands of hasbro before being both dropped in 2009 in favor of parent company s name.