Maker record
Knapp
Knapp Electric and Novelty Company was an American toy and game maker founded in New York in 1895 by inventor David Knapp. Its products included battery-powered electric trains, toy automobiles, miniature machine tools, electrical novelties and the Knapp Electric Questioner, an electrical quiz game. Knapp’s early trains used two-inch gauge track, and its later range included HO gauge trains and kits. The company moved to Indianapolis in 1937 and ceased toy production in 1948.
- Founded
- 1895
- Final year
- 1948
- Locations
- New York, New York, United States · 1895 · Indianapolis, Indiana, United States · 1937
- Founders
- David W. Knapp
The story of Knapp
David Knapp founded Knapp Electric and Novelty Company in New York in 1895. The company made electrical equipment and novelties as well as toys and games. Its early products included motors, toy automobiles and the Knapp Electric Questioner, an electrical quiz game in which players used probes to complete a circuit and signal correct answers. In 1902, Knapp marketed a Kenco electric train kit with a trolley car and track; a broader line of two-inch gauge electric trains followed in 1904.
The company’s range also included miniature machine tools. In 1931, it began marketing HO gauge trains, including ready-to-run sets and kits. Knapp moved from New York to Indianapolis in 1937. Its Indianapolis products included electrical goods as well as toys and games. The company ceased toy production in 1948. Knapp’s HO train parts inventory and locomotive designs passed to Bowser in 1946.
