Lynn Pressman Raymond was born in Woodhaven and designed the Children’s Doctor Bag for the Pressman Toy Corporation. She was also one of the first female executives running a large company and as President of that company, she banned the sale of any toy guns or rifles.
If you ever played with a toy doctor’s bag as a child, you can thank a Woodhaven native for it. Lynn Pressman Raymond, born Lynn Rambach in Woodhaven, Queens, in 1912, went on to shape the toy industry in ways that still resonate today.
Her family later moved to Brooklyn, where she excelled at Erasmus Hall High School in Flatbush. As a young woman, she launched her career in sales and marketing, working her way up in several major stores, including Abraham & Straus, as a publicist. Her talents soon landed her at James McCreery & Co., a fashionable department store on Fifth Avenue, where she quickly rose to head of publicity.
But her true passion was toys. Drawn to creative, educational products, she also found herself drawn to Jack Pressman, owner of a toy and game company known as “The Marble King” for his enormous purchases of marbles used in Chinese Checkers. The two married in 1942, and Lynn joined Pressman Toys as Vice President.
There, she developed a product that became an instant classic: the Children’s Toy Doctor Bag. Designed to ease children’s fears of doctor visits, it included toy versions of a stethoscope, thermometer, syringe, and even a small bottle of candy “pills.” The bag was a runaway success, spawning variations such as the Nurse Bag and editions for Ken and Barbie.
When her husband’s health declined, Lynn took a larger role in the business. After his passing in 1959, she assumed full control, one of the very few women at the time to lead a major company. She faced barriers, even struggling to secure credit from her husband’s longtime bank, but persevered and became one of the most influential women executives in the nation.
Lynn was also a pioneer in licensing. She secured rights to popular television and film characters, producing games based on Disney favorites, Superman, and The Lone Ranger. She later expanded into sports, licensing athletes and featuring their likenesses on toy packaging.
One of her boldest moves came in the early 1960s, when she announced that Pressman Toys would no longer manufacture or sell toy guns or rifles. At the time, such toys were big sellers, but she stood firm. An outspoken critic of the Vietnam War, she even worked with peace organizations to urge other toy companies to avoid “toys that symbolize destruction.”
Her social conscience also found expression through UNICEF, with whom she partnered to develop Pen Pal Dolls. Inspired by Walt Disney’s “It’s a Small World” attraction, each doll represented a different country and came with stationery and cultural information to encourage global friendship.
Later in life, Lynn enjoyed a second career through her son, Edward Pressman, the acclaimed film producer. She received credit as co-producer of his early cult classic Phantom of the Paradise (directed by Brian De Palma) and even appeared as an extra in several of his films. Edward went on to produce a string of hits including Conan the Barbarian, The Crow, American Psycho, and the Oscar-winning Wall Street.
Lynn Pressman remained active well into her 90s. At age 94, she even appeared as a model in a Juicy Couture ad. She passed away in 2002 at the age of 97, leaving behind a remarkable legacy.
Today, the Pressman Toy Corporation is still thriving, having celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2022. Its catalog remains full of fun, educational toys – and, true to Lynn’s principle, not a toy gun in sight.
So, the next time you see a children’s Doctor Bag, think of the woman from Woodhaven who revolutionized the toy industry, stood up for her beliefs, and led a truly extraordinary life.
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 (she’s the model at the far right, with purple hair).
