In 1791, Description of a portable chest of chemistry : or, Complete collection of chemical tests for the use of chemists, physicians, mineralogists, metallurgists, scientific artists, manufacturers, farmers, and the cultivators of natural philosophy by Johann Friedrich August Göttling, translated from German, was published in English.

[5] James Woodhouse of Philadelphia presented a Young Chemist's Pocket Companion (1797) with an accompanying portable laboratory that specifically targeted ladies and gentlemen.

[4] Beginning in the late 1850s, John J. Griffin & Sons sold a line of "chemical cabinets", eventually offering 11 categories.

[4] From the mid to the late 1800s, in England, magic and illusion toys enabled children to make their own fireworks, create disappearing inks, and cause changes in color, tricks that were mostly chemically based.

Although Porter and Gilbert were the largest American producers of chemistry sets, other manufacturers such as the Skilcraft corporation were also active.

[5] In the 1950s it was possible to buy toys featuring radioactive ores, such as the "Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory," which included a Geiger counter and cloud chamber.

[14][15] Several authors note from the 1980s on, concerns about illegal drug production, terrorism, and legal liability have led to chemistry sets becoming increasingly bland and unexciting.

[16][17][18][19] In recent years, the chemistry set has been re-imagined as a self-study kit, typically offering students better equipment and more explanatory tutorial content.

For example, Thames & Kosmos offers a range of CHEM series chemistry sets targeting older children, culminating in the C3000 Kit, which includes a 172-page manual describing 387 experiments, although it does retail for almost US$300.