Toy, Ray Gun, Pop Gun, 33 Repeater

This toy ray gun, the 33 Repeater, was first introduced in 1935 by All Metal Products of Wyandotte, Michigan, which manufactured the toy through 1941. The red, stamped-metal gun used a cork inside the toy to produce the "popping" sound. Approximately ten years later, probably in the midst of WWII, All Metal Products produced a new version of the toy -- then called the "ZZ Ray" gun -- with a red, white, and blue design painted on the flared mouth of the toy gun's barrel.

Fictional space heroes often carried space-themed versions of the Western's ever-present six-shooter or rifle. As a result, for several generations, pretend gun play with ray gun toys formed a central part of many children's imagined space adventures. Exactly how one blasted space enemies often reflected the newest technologies. In the late 1940s, "atomic" guns proliferated. "Laser" guns followed the creation of the practical laser in 1960.

Collector Michael O'Harro gave this toy ray gun to the National Collection in 1993 as a part of a large donation of space science fiction objects.