Prototype for 'Build the Town' Building Blocks
Sutnar began his career in his native Czechoslovakia as a toy designer and educator. Between 1922 and 1926 he created "Factory Town," a set of children's blocks designed as an educational toy in the spirit of Froebel's blocks. After emigrating to the states, he tried in earnest to find a manufacturer for the set which he re-named less grimly "Build the Town." This is one of only a few prototypes created, entirely at Sutnar's expense, with the hope that the company Cobos/Builders would produce the set, but it was not to be realized. Another major impediment came from lumber companies that could not stop wartime orders to produce the wooden blocks. Despite his best efforts, Sutnar was forced to abandon the project. The archive of drawings and documents for the project was sold in 2001. The Museum of Modern Art, the Getty Museum, and the Cooper-Hewitt Museum own sets.
