Play Family School

#923

c1971-1978

1971's Play Family School followed behind 1968's #915 Farm, 1969's #952 House and 1970's #930 Garage, three favorites which proved a tough act to follow. The school was up to the task as it's intricately-constructed base continued the fine craftsmanship that marked the earlier Little People sets. Though it never quite joined the powerhouse trilogy of it's three forerunners (Farm, House, and Garage), it did enjoy a popular and long-running production career of seven years, making it an ideal set for beginning collectors. At 63 pieces, including the base and all the numbers and letters, it's also the Little People set with the most accessories, many of which made their first appearance in this set before going on to others.

The school base itself was remodeled in the middle of it's run, trimming excess masonite around the walls of the base (probably because the corners easily broke off) and removing the lithograph underneath the lift-up flat. The lithograph on the other side of the roof was never removed, though with age, it had a tendency to fall off altogether and often got ripped off, making surviving bases more desirable with said lithograph intact.

After production stopped in 1978 the school was given a brief revival (in name only) a decade later. The playset was the #2550 Little People School, often dubbed, The New School.