WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES OCTOBER 3, 2019 25
Famous doctor’s bag toy can be
traced back to Woodhaven native
PRESENTED BY THE WOODHAVEN
CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
If you ever played with a toy doctor’s
bag when you were young,
you can thank a Woodhaven native
for it.
Lynn Pressman Raymond was
born Lynn Rambach in Woodhaven,
Queens, in 1912.
As she grew older, her family
moved to Brooklyn where she was a
standout at Erasmus Hall High School
in Flatbush. As a young woman, she
began her career in sales and marketing
by rising through the ranks of
various stores (including Abraham &
Straus) as a publicist.
Eventually, her talents caught the
attention of James McCreery & Co.,
a fashionable department store on
Fift h Avenue in Manhattan, where
she soon found herself in charge of
publicity.
But her true calling was the acquisition
of toys and games and she
found herself drawn to positive and
educational products.
She also found
herself drawn to
Jack Pressman, who
owned a toy and
game company and
earned the nickname
“The Marble
King” because of
how many marbles
he purchased to
supply all the Chinese
Checker games
that he sold.
In 1942, they married and as vice
president of Pressman Toys, Lynn
Pressman developed a toy that made
a fortune and still sells in stores to
this day. She developed the Children’s
Toy Doctor Bag as a way to ease the
fear that children felt when visiting
the doctor.
It came with toy versions of doctor’s
tools (stethoscope, thermometer,
and a syringe) and a small bottle of
candy pills. The Doctor’s Bag was a
runaway success, leading to variations
such as a Nurse Bag and even
versions for Ken and Barbie.
Her husband’s health made it
necessary for Lynn Pressman
to take an even more active role
running Pressman Toys and upon
his passing in 1959, she assumed
control. She was, at the time, one
of the very few women executives
running a large company.
This led to issues getting credit,
even from the bank her husband
had done business with for years, but
she eventually secured credit and
overcame all obstacles to become one
of the more powerful women executives
in the United States.
She was a pioneer in licensing
the rights to popular television and
movie characters for use in creating
toys, creating games based on Disney
characters along with Superman and
the Lone Ranger. She was also known
for licensing athletes and creating
games using their likenesses on the
packaging.
When she took over Pressman
Toys, she made one major change to
the company policy that undoubtedly
impacted the bottom line. Lynn
Pressman stated that her company
would no longer manufacture, market
or sell any toy guns or rifl es to
children.
Keep in mind that this was the
early 1960s and toy guns and rifl es
were big sellers. But from that moment
on, her company followed this
principle.
Ms. Pressman,
an outspoken opponent
of the war
in Vietnam, worked
together with peace
organizations in
the late ‘60s to
encourage other
companies to refrain
from making
“toys that symbolize
destruction.”
Through her
relationship with UNICEF, she
developed a line of Pen Pal Dolls,
based on Walt Disney’s Small World
attraction at the World’s Fair. Each
doll came with a pen and paper
and information about the doll’s
country.
Later in life, she enjoyed a second
career and a bit of enjoyable
notoriety through her son, Edward
Pressman, a noted film producer. In
fact, Lynn Pressman is listed in the
credits as a co-producer in of one of
her son’s early films, the cult classic
“Phantom of the Paradise,” directed
by Brian De Palma.
Edward Pressman has put together
a long impressive list of
producing credits including “Conan
the Barbarian,” “The Crow,” “American
Psycho” and the Oscar-winning
“Wall Street.” And Lynn Pressman
served as an extra in several of her
son’s films.
Lynn Pressman remained active
until her passing in 2002 at the age
of 97, appearing as a model in an ad
for Juicy Couture at the age of 94. Today,
the Pressman Toy Corporation
is still going strong (it celebrates its
100th birthday in 3 years) and their
product listing are full of fun and
educational games and toys (and not
a gun or a rifle in sight).
So the next time you see a children’s
Doctor Bag, think of the woman
who was born in Woodhaven, a
pioneer in many ways, who led a
remarkable life.
* * *
If you have any remembrances or
old photographs of “Our Neighborhood:
The Way It Was” that you
would like to share with our readers,
please write to the Old Timer, c/o
Ridgewood Times, 38-15 Bell Blvd.,
Bayside, NY 11361, or send an email
to editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com.
Any print photographs mailed to
us will be carefully returned to you
upon request.
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Lynn Pressman (r.) remained active until her passing in 2002 at the age
of 97, appearing as a model in an ad for Juicy Couture at the age of 94.
Courtesy of Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society
/WWW.QNS.COM
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