New JA-RU rack toy found!
I am interrupting our guest exhibits contributed by Keith Manegre to share an exciting find with you all! Back in December of 2017, when I took an in-depth look at the JA-RU rack toys, I mentioned that the gaps in the product numbers I had were interesting. I wondered if other toys existed, using the missing numbers. Well, I was recently able to acquire a JA-RU rack toy I had never seen before, a Doctor Set, and it is numbered 2717, one of the missing numbers! This means that I am probably missing at least six Richie Rich JA-RU rack toys, numbered 2707, 2708, 2709, 2713, 2714 and 2715. I have tried to get a 1988 JA-RU catalog to assist in identifying these toys, but have not had any luck. If any of you, my readers, have any information about these toys, please leave a comment below, or use the Contact the Curator form, thank you!
One additional observation I made while examining the new Doctor Set was that the product numbers increase as the slot sizes increase. The smallest 6×9 are 2705 and 2706. The next size up, 6×10, are 2710-2712. The largest, 6×12, are 2716-2718. Using this knowledge, we can tell that the missing 2707-2709 are not 6×12, and 2713-2715 are not 6×9. I have not even done my analysis of the Larami rack toys, and now I have to update the JA-RU analysis. Oh well, this is a good problem! Now where is Nurse Jenny…