___

Prior to the 1961 introduction of LEGO to the USA, Samsonite (then Shwayder Bros. Inc.) already had well over a decade of experience in the institutional market. They originally discovered and began exploring the market by the late 1940s, via bulk sales of their preexisting folding chairs. In 1956, their first major foray was a dedicated line of classroom furniture:

1956 Samsonite Classroom Furniture Catalog (Abridged)

So it should come as no surprise that Samsonite brought LEGO to that market as well.

The following article is a summarized list of institutional sets Samsonite released and their stories. An important aspect to note is that all commercially available LEGO sets were marketed to schools, but the article below only considers sets created with the intent/purpose of school sales, with some small exceptions.

1962: 7200 Educational Set

No, this is not a typo. There is very good likelihood this set actually existed, but there are currently no positively identified copies of this set, nor ads. Prior to publication on this site, it has not been mentioned since early 1962. Its existence was unknown to even top LEGO historians.

The 7200 Educational Set has one mention that can be found in the March 1962 edition of Playthings.

"A special Educational Set containing 6,841 Lego components is also available for schools, hospitals and institutions at a list price of $200."

If the 7200 did exist, it was not produced after 1962. An article will be created covering this set in depth.

1963: 7100 Educational Set

The most commonly known Samsonite educational set, the 7100 boasted a piece count of 3,250 pieces and a price of $100. It sold in a massive, very heavy wooden case and contained many town plan elements including VW beetles, Esso service vehicles, gas pumps, etc.

7100 Educational Set Brochure

The wooden case features reuses of hardware including latches and a handle from Samsonite's Streamlite cases. It is often found in poor condition.

Different than the 7200, however, is that the 7100 continued production until 1966.

Read more about the set here: 7100 Educational Set

1964: 750 Educational Set

If you've not noticed the pattern yet, every year a new set is offered at half the price and size of the one previous. The 750 shares many aspects seen on the 7100. Shown below is a Canadian copy:

750 Box (Contents)

In Canada, the 750 was a popular high-value prize for various contests starting in 1964. These contests can be found in Canadian newspapers all the way into 1966.

Interestingly, the 750 is rather elusive in American media. It appears once in a US trade journal in 1964, showing the US box was not the wooden case but instead a repurposed 717 Junior Constructor:

750 Educational Set (Box)

Read more about the set here: 750 Educational Set

1965: 005 Discovery Set

The 005 Discovery Set is one of the few exceptions in this list. Released in 1965 for $10, the set was created as a no obligation trial set. A family could mail away for the set, receive it, and decide whether they would pay for it or send it. The intention was to introduce LEGO to unfamiliar families, hence the name "Discovery".

005 Box (Top)

While only (known to be) available via promotion in 1966, a school was able to order three at once, as reported in The Harvard Courier. I suspect it is possible Samsonite advertised this set internally to schools in some way.

Read more about the set here: 005 Discovery Set

1967: 321 School Set

1967 marked a complete refresh of the education line of sets, with only two offerings initially. One of which is the 321-piece School Set:

321 Box (Contents)

The 321 sold for $7.50 according to a 1967 Grade Teacher ad. From the trend of educational sets overtime, it is clear that the 321 was designed to be much smaller purposefully, rather than the bold attempts of $50, $100, and $200 sets. This change in approach is also seen in how targeted advertising changed, now advertising to teachers who had a limited classroom budget.

It is difficult to currently ascertain when any of the following educational sets retired. The last ad I know if is in 1969, but a recently found variant of the 321 suggests that production carried into 1971.

Read more about the set here: 321 School Set

1967: 060 Jumbo Brick School Set

When Samsonite's Jumbo bricks were introduced in 1964, they were very commonly associated with school/institutional contexts. While LEGO had already been secretly experimenting with them prior, a Samsonite executive who was also a Denver school teacher was primarily responsible for their introduction to the USA, with (alleged) extensive playtesting. The 060 is a repackage of 60 jumbo bricks:

060 Box (Contents)

The 060 was introduced alongside the 321 School Set and is a little more common in the wild. Its manual, however, is usually missing.

Read more about the set here: 060 Jumbo Brick School Set

1969: 322 Educational Gears Set

The 322 Educational Gears Set was introduced in 1969 and was advertised alongside the 321 and the 060. It uses the same box has the 321, but instead the contents were gears and some basic elements:

322 Box (Open)

Exclusive to the set was a set of two bricks with two holes manually cut into them and a string tied through. Similar to the 321 and 060, its retirement date is difficult to nail down as its only known appearance is in 1969.

Read more about the set here: 322 Educational Gear Set