[{"name":"A. Schoenhut & Company","loc":"Philadelphia, PA","founded":1872,"closed":1935,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["wooden toys","dolls","musical toys"],"desc":"Albert Schoenhut came from a German toy making family and founded a company famous for its toy pianos. Schoenhut's all-wood spring-jointed dolls are among the most collectible American antique dolls. Their Humpty Dumpty Circus sets with wooden clowns, animals, and acrobats are iconic.","bestsellers":["Schoenhut toy piano (1872)","Humpty Dumpty Circus set","Schoenhut all-wood jointed dolls","Schoenhut wooden animals","Schoenhut roly-poly toys"],"slug":"a-schoenhut-and-company"},{"name":"A.C. Gilbert Company","loc":"New Haven, CT","founded":1908,"closed":1966,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["building toys","educational","science toys","trains"],"desc":"Founded by Alfred Carlton Gilbert, an Olympic pole vaulter, A.C. Gilbert became one of the most beloved educational toy companies in American history. Gilbert famously lobbied Congress in 1918 not to ban toy sales during WWI, earning him the title 'The Man Who Saved Christmas.' His Erector Set introduced millions of children to engineering and construction play.","bestsellers":["Erector Set (1913)","Gilbert Chemistry Set","Gilbert Microscope Set","American Flyer trains (acquired 1938)","Gilbert Magic Set","Mysto Magic sets","Atomic Energy Lab (1950)"],"slug":"ac-gilbert-company"},{"name":"A.C. Williams Company","loc":"Ravenna, OH","founded":1886,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["cast iron","banks","vehicles"],"desc":"A.C. Williams produced cast-iron toys including cars, trucks, airplanes, motorcycles, and still banks at accessible price points. Their cast-iron still banks shaped like buildings and animals are especially collectible today. The firm stopped making toys before the Second World War and continues in Ravenna as an industrial metal-forming business.","bestsellers":["Cast-iron skyscraper banks","Cast-iron race cars","Cast-iron airplanes","Cast-iron tractor toys","Cast-iron motorcycle with sidecar"],"slug":"ac-williams-company"},{"name":"Acme Toy Company","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1903,"closed":1940,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["dolls","novelty toys"],"desc":"At least three unrelated American firms traded under the Acme name in the early 20th century. The best-documented is Acme Toy Manufacturing Company of New York, which produced composition-head dolls and novelty toys from the early 1900s into the 1930s. Company records are sparse, and many toys sold as Acme are attributed on mould style rather than documentation.","bestsellers":["Acme composition-head dolls","Acme novelty toys"],"slug":"acme-toy-company"},{"name":"Alps Shoji Ltd.","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1948,"closed":1972,"origin":"japan","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","battery operated","robots","vehicles"],"desc":"Alps was one of Japan's premier producers of battery-operated and clockwork tin toys for the American market. Much of the output was sold in America under importers' brands — Cragstan, Rosko and Linemar among them — as well as under the Alps name, and included beautifully lithographed cars, planes, and robots. The Alps Remote Control Robot is among the most sought-after postwar tin toys. Tinplate production wound down in the early 1970s as Japanese labour costs rose.","bestsellers":["Alps Remote Control Robot","Alps tin Cadillac (battery-operated)","Alps tin Jaguar XK120","Alps tin Cessna airplane","Alps 'Cragstan' robot","Alps tin musical bear"],"slug":"alps-shoji-ltd"},{"name":"American Flyer","loc":"Chicago, IL","founded":1910,"closed":1966,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["trains","electric toys"],"desc":"American Flyer was Lionel's chief rival in the model train market. Known for their realistic S-gauge two-rail track system, American Flyer trains were considered more prototypically accurate. Acquired by A.C. Gilbert in 1938. Lionel later purchased the brand and continues to produce American Flyer sets today.","bestsellers":["American Flyer S-gauge steam sets","Silver Streak streamliner","Comet passenger train","Chicago & North Western freight set","American Flyer Wide Gauge sets"],"slug":"american-flyer"},{"name":"American National Company","loc":"Toledo, OH","founded":1894,"closed":1941,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pedal cars","pressed steel","bicycles"],"desc":"American National produced beautifully detailed pressed-steel pedal cars, bicycles, and scooters. The company was formed by a 1919 consolidation of Toledo metal-working firms that had been making juvenile vehicles since the 1890s. Its pedal cars were child-sized toys styled closely after the real automobiles of the day — Buicks, Packards, Chryslers — and are among the most prized antique toy collectibles today.","bestsellers":["Packard pedal car","Buick pedal car","Overland Trail pedal car","Mack truck pedal toy","American National bicycle"],"slug":"american-national-company"},{"name":"AMT (Aluminum Model Toys)","loc":"Troy, MI","founded":1948,"closed":1978,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["model kits","vehicles","die-cast"],"desc":"AMT began by producing 1:25 scale promotional model cars for automobile dealerships before pivoting to the model kit market in the late 1950s. Their snap-together and glue model kits of American cars, Star Trek vehicles, and TV show cars were hugely popular with teenage hobbyists. AMT is especially prized for their Star Trek USS Enterprise kit.","bestsellers":["AMT 1:25 car model kits","AMT Star Trek USS Enterprise model","AMT Batmobile model kit","AMT TV show car kits","AMT annual dealer promo cars","AMT customizing kits"],"slug":"amt-aluminum-model-toys"},{"name":"Aoshin Toy (AS)","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1950,"closed":1975,"origin":"japan","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","vehicles","battery operated"],"desc":"Aoshin produced colorful battery-operated and friction tin toys for the American export market in the 1950s and 1960s. Their tin police cars, fire trucks, and novelty vehicles are cheerful examples of postwar Japanese lithography. The firm worked to importers' orders, so the ASC mark on the base identifies its work more reliably than the box.","bestsellers":["Aoshin tin friction police car","Aoshin tin fire truck","Aoshin tin delivery van","Aoshin battery-operated car"],"slug":"aoshin-toy-as"},{"name":"Applause Toy Company","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1979,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["dolls","plush toys","character toys"],"desc":"Applause specialized in licensed plush toys, dolls, and character merchandise tied to popular entertainment licenses including The Simpsons, Looney Tunes, and Disney characters, widely distributed through card and gift shops throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Applause merged with the Dakin plush business in 1995 and was absorbed into Russ Berrie in 2004; the name survives as a brand rather than an independent company.","bestsellers":["The Simpsons plush figures","Looney Tunes stuffed toys","Disney character plush","Muppets plush line","Garfield plush figures"],"slug":"applause-toy-company"},{"name":"Arcade Manufacturing Company","loc":"Freeport, IL","founded":1868,"closed":1946,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["cast iron","die-cast","farm equipment","banks"],"desc":"Arcade became famous for their highly detailed cast-iron replicas of real vehicles — Yellow Cab taxis, Mack trucks, farm equipment, and gas pumps. Arcade toys are considered some of the finest examples of American cast-iron toy craftsmanship.","bestsellers":["Yellow Cab cast-iron taxi","Mack dump truck","John Deere tractor (cast iron)","Andy Gump car","Yellow Coach double-decker bus"],"slug":"arcade-manufacturing-company"},{"name":"Arnold Company","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1906,"closed":null,"origin":"germany","active":true,"tags":["trains","tin toys","clockwork"],"desc":"Arnold is a venerable Nuremberg toy house that produced tin clockwork toys in the early 20th century before specializing in the highly acclaimed Arnold Rapido N-scale model railway system, helping popularize N-scale railroading worldwide.","bestsellers":["Arnold N-scale train sets","Arnold tin clockwork motorcycles","Arnold Rapido N-gauge locomotives","Arnold tin racing cars"],"slug":"arnold-company"},{"name":"Auburn Rubber Corporation","loc":"Auburn, IN","founded":1913,"closed":1968,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["rubber toys","military","figures"],"desc":"Auburn Rubber was one of America's largest makers of rubber toys, producing soft flexible figures of soldiers, animals, farm workers, and vehicles. Their military figures and vehicle sets were extremely popular during and after WWII, widely sold through Woolworth's and five-and-dime stores.","bestsellers":["Auburn rubber soldiers","Auburn rubber farm animals","Auburn rubber military vehicles","Auburn rubber cars and trucks","English Palace Guard figures"],"slug":"auburn-rubber-corporation"},{"name":"Aurora Plastics Corporation","loc":"West Hempstead, NY","founded":1950,"closed":1977,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["model kits","figures","slot cars"],"desc":"Aurora was one of America's most beloved model kit companies, producing plastic model kits of monsters, military vehicles, prehistoric animals, and famous figures. Their Universal Monster model kit series — Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman — are icons of 1960s pop culture. Aurora also produced the popular AFX slot car racing system.","bestsellers":["Aurora Universal Monster kits (Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman)","Aurora prehistoric scenes kits","Aurora AFX slot car sets","Aurora 'Supercar' slot car","Aurora figure kits (Tarzan, Superman)","Aurora Civil War soldier kits"],"slug":"aurora-plastics-corporation"},{"name":"Bandai","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1950,"closed":null,"origin":"japan","active":true,"tags":["action figures","tin toys","robots","character toys","die-cast"],"desc":"One of Japan's most powerful entertainment companies, Bandai began with tin toys and grew into a global giant through anime and tokusatsu toy licenses. Bandai's Power Rangers/Super Sentai toys, Gundam model kits, and Tamagotchi defined generations of childhood worldwide. The 2005 merger with Namco created Bandai Namco Entertainment.","bestsellers":["Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993)","Tamagotchi (1996)","Gundam model kit series","Dragon Ball Z figures","Digimon virtual pets","Ultraman figure sets","Kamen Rider toys","Mobile Suit Gundam RX-78"],"slug":"bandai"},{"name":"Banner Plastics Corp.","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1945,"closed":1955,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["plastic toys","figures","novelty toys"],"desc":"Banner Plastics produced cheap injection-moulded polystyrene toys in the postwar era, including character figures, vehicles, and novelty items sold through five-and-dime stores. The company was one of the firms that proved plastic could displace tin and cast iron at the bottom of the market.","bestsellers":["Banner plastic character figures","Banner plastic vehicles","Banner plastic novelty toys"],"slug":"banner-plastics-corp"},{"name":"Barclay Manufacturing Company","loc":"West Hoboken, NJ","founded":1923,"closed":1971,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["slush cast","soldiers","vehicles"],"desc":"Barclay was one of the most prolific producers of small slush-cast lead toy soldiers and vehicles in the mid-20th century. Slush casting — pouring molten lead alloy into a mould and tipping it out again to leave a hollow shell — is what let the company sell a painted soldier for five cents. Their affordable 'pod-foot' soldiers and miniature vehicles were widely sold through Woolworth's and dime stores.","bestsellers":["Barclay pod-foot soldiers","Barclay slush-cast sedans","Barclay military vehicles","Barclay horse-drawn wagons","Barclay transport cars"],"slug":"barclay-manufacturing-company"},{"name":"Bassett-Lowke, Ltd.","loc":"Northampton, England","founded":1899,"closed":null,"origin":"uk","active":true,"tags":["trains","scale models"],"desc":"Bassett-Lowke was the premier British maker of high-quality scale model railroads, ships, and engineering models. Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke collaborated with German manufacturers including Bing and Märklin before WWI. Their models were luxury items aimed at serious hobbyists.","bestsellers":["Bassett-Lowke gauge 0 steam trains","Bassett-Lowke model ships","Bassett-Lowke 'Flying Scotsman' locomotive","Bassett-Lowke scale engineering models"],"slug":"bassett-lowke-ltd"},{"name":"Ben Cooper Inc.","loc":"Brooklyn, NY","founded":1937,"closed":1992,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["character toys","costumes","novelty toys"],"desc":"Ben Cooper was the dominant producer of inexpensive Halloween costumes and character dress-up sets in America from the 1950s through the 1980s. Their plastic mask and polyester costume sets in colorful boxes were a staple of five-and-dime Halloween displays. The company produced licensed costumes for virtually every popular TV and movie character.","bestsellers":["Ben Cooper superhero costumes","Ben Cooper Star Wars Halloween sets","Ben Cooper monster masks","Ben Cooper Disney character costumes","Ben Cooper TV character dress-up sets"],"slug":"ben-cooper-inc"},{"name":"Bliss Manufacturing Co.","loc":"Pawtucket, RI","founded":1832,"closed":1914,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["wooden toys","games","dollhouses","paper toys"],"desc":"Bliss was a major 19th-century toy maker known for colorful lithographed-paper-on-wood dollhouses, boats, games, and building blocks. Their lithographed Victorian dollhouses are exquisite examples of the toy maker's art, prized by collectors of antique American toys. This is the same firm as R. Bliss Manufacturing Co., listed separately in this encyclopedia; the two records describe one company.","bestsellers":["Bliss lithographed paper dollhouses","Bliss wooden building blocks","Bliss Victorian board games","Bliss lithographed toy boat","Bliss wood and paper Noah's Ark"],"slug":"bliss-manufacturing-co"},{"name":"Borgfeldt (George Borgfeldt & Co.)","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1881,"closed":1950,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["dolls","character toys","novelty toys"],"desc":"George Borgfeldt & Co. was one of America's most important toy importers and distributors, bringing European toys to the American market and holding licenses for key character toys. Borgfeldt held the original US licenses for Felix the Cat and Mickey Mouse merchandise, and distributed the first Kewpie doll designed by Rose O'Neill.","bestsellers":["Original Kewpie doll (1913)","Felix the Cat toys (licensed)","Mickey Mouse toys (early licensed)","Celluloid novelty imports","European bisque doll distribution"],"slug":"borgfeldt-george-borgfeldt-and-co"},{"name":"Brimtoy / Wells Brimtoy","loc":"London / Holyhead, Wales","founded":1910,"closed":1965,"origin":"uk","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","die-cast","vehicles"],"desc":"Brimtoy produced affordable tin and later die-cast vehicles for the British market. After merging with Wells Toys in 1932, the combined company continued producing tin and die-cast road vehicles including a popular Pocketoy series.","bestsellers":["Wells Brimtoy Pocketoy vehicles","Wells Brimtoy tin bus","Wells Brimtoy clockwork cars","Brimtoy tin transport set"],"slug":"brimtoy-wells-brimtoy"},{"name":"Britains Ltd.","loc":"London, England","founded":1893,"closed":null,"origin":"uk","active":true,"tags":["soldiers","figures","farm toys","die-cast"],"desc":"The Britain family firm dates from 1845; around 1893 William Britain Jr. perfected hollow casting for lead soldiers, which cut the cost of a metal figure dramatically and transformed the trade. Britains' exquisitely painted soldiers, farm animals, and military sets became the benchmark for quality toy figures. The company transitioned to plastic and later Deetail figures in the postwar era.","bestsellers":["Britains hollow-cast British infantry soldiers","Britains Royal Horse Guards","Britains Farm set (cows, pigs, horses)","Britains Deetail plastic soldiers","Britains Knights of Agincourt","Britains American Civil War set"],"slug":"britains-ltd"},{"name":"Buddy L","loc":"East Moline, IL","founded":1921,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["pressed steel","trucks","construction toys"],"desc":"Named after founder Fred Lundahl's son, Buddy L began making massive pressed-steel trucks from excess automobile steel. Early Buddy L trucks were extraordinarily durable — a child could stand on them. The 1920s–30s Buddy L trucks are among the most prized American antique toy collectibles.","bestsellers":["Buddy L pressed-steel dump truck (1920s)","Buddy L steam shovel","Buddy L hydraulic aerial truck","Buddy L railway express truck","Buddy L ice truck"],"slug":"buddy-l"},{"name":"Built-Rite (Warren Paper Products)","loc":"Lafayette, IN","founded":1929,"closed":1960,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["games","paper toys","playsets"],"desc":"Built-Rite (Warren Paper Products) produced inexpensive cardboard and paper playsets, dollhouses, and games sold through dime stores. Their Fort Apache and other playset box kits were a budget-friendly alternative to more expensive metal and plastic playsets.","bestsellers":["Built-Rite Fort Apache playset","Built-Rite dollhouse kits","Built-Rite cardboard train sets","Built-Rite farm playset","Built-Rite airport set"],"slug":"built-rite-warren-paper-products"},{"name":"Burnett, Ltd.","loc":"Birmingham, England","founded":1905,"closed":1930,"origin":"uk","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","vehicles","clockwork"],"desc":"Burnett produced colorful lithographed tin vehicles including famous London omnibus models popular in Edwardian England.","bestsellers":["Burnett London omnibus","Burnett tin delivery wagon","Burnett clockwork limousine"],"slug":"burnett-ltd"},{"name":"Carlisle & Finch","loc":"Cincinnati, OH","founded":1895,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["trains","electric toys"],"desc":"Carlisle & Finch produced what is generally accepted as the first electric toy train sold in America, in 1896 — four years before Lionel. It left the toy trade around 1915 to concentrate on marine searchlights, which it still manufactures in Cincinnati today. Its earliest electric trains are extraordinarily rare.","bestsellers":["Carlisle & Finch electric train (1896)","2-inch gauge electric street car","Carlisle & Finch mine train","Early trolley set"],"slug":"carlisle-and-finch"},{"name":"Carter Tru-Scale","loc":"Rockford, IL","founded":1946,"closed":1971,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["farm toys","die-cast","pressed steel"],"desc":"Carter Tru-Scale specialized in 1:16-scale farm toy replicas, producing detailed pressed-steel and die-cast farm equipment primarily for the agricultural toy market, often sold through farm implement dealers.","bestsellers":["Tru-Scale tractor sets","Tru-Scale farm implement replicas","Tru-Scale wagons and spreaders"],"slug":"carter-tru-scale"},{"name":"Chad Valley Toys","loc":"Birmingham, England","founded":1897,"closed":1978,"origin":"uk","active":false,"tags":["plush toys","tin toys","games","dolls"],"desc":"Chad Valley was one of Britain's most beloved toy companies. It held a Royal Warrant as toymakers to the Queen from 1938, and produced the 'Princess' dolls representing Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret — among the most collectible British toys ever made. The company went into receivership in 1978; Woolworths bought the name in 1988, and it survives today only as a British retail own-brand label.","bestsellers":["Chad Valley teddy bears","Princess Elizabeth & Margaret dolls (1938)","Chad Valley tin games","Chad Valley Sooty toys","Chad Valley board games"],"slug":"chad-valley-toys"},{"name":"Citroen (toy division)","loc":"Paris, France","founded":1923,"closed":1936,"origin":"france","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","die-cast","vehicles"],"desc":"The Citroen automobile company produced an authorized line of scale model tin and die-cast toy cars of their own vehicles as promotional items. These miniature reproductions of real Citroen automobiles are prized collector items.","bestsellers":["Citroen B12 tin toy car","Citroen C4 model","Citroen Kegresse half-track toy","Citroen 5HP tin car"],"slug":"citroen-toy-division"},{"name":"Colorforms","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1951,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["character toys","preschool toys","educational"],"desc":"Harry and Patricia Kislevitz invented Colorforms — reusable vinyl cling shapes that adhere to a smooth board — after experimenting with vinyl floor tiles. The concept was immediately licensed to character properties, creating an entirely new category of open-ended imaginative play. Colorforms sets for Barbie, Disney, and TV characters were hugely popular from the 1950s onward.","bestsellers":["Original Colorforms set (1951)","Barbie Colorforms","Colorforms Cartoon Kit","Popeye Colorforms","Disney character Colorforms sets","Colorforms Adventure People sets"],"slug":"colorforms"},{"name":"Corgi (Mettoy Playcraft)","loc":"Swansea, Wales","founded":1956,"closed":null,"origin":"uk","active":true,"tags":["die-cast","vehicles"],"desc":"Mettoy launched the Corgi brand in 1956 to compete with Dinky Toys. Corgi differentiated itself with opening doors, hoods, and transparent plastic windows. Their 1965 James Bond Aston Martin DB5 — complete with ejector seat — became one of the best-selling die-cast vehicles of all time, selling in the millions. Mettoy collapsed in 1983; a management buy-out re-established Corgi in 1984, Mattel owned the brand from 1989, and it returned to independence as Corgi Classics in 1995.","bestsellers":["James Bond Aston Martin DB5 (1965)","Corgi Batmobile (1966)","Corgi Chitty Chitty Bang Bang","Corgi Routemaster bus","Corgi Rockets","Corgi Classics series","Corgi Juniors"],"slug":"corgi-mettoy-playcraft"},{"name":"Cosmo Manufacturing Co.","loc":"Chicago, IL","founded":1888,"closed":1926,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["novelty toys","promotional"],"desc":"Cosmo Manufacturing produced small novelty toys and trinkets primarily used as promotional items and prizes, most famously as inserts in Cracker Jack boxes.","bestsellers":["Cracker Jack prize toys","Novelty tin whistles","Cracker Jack prize charms"],"slug":"cosmo-manufacturing-co"},{"name":"Courtland Toy Co.","loc":"Philadelphia, PA","founded":1944,"closed":1950,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","friction vehicles"],"desc":"Courtland produced inexpensive lithographed tin friction and wind-up cars and trucks sold primarily through five-and-dime stores. Their FBI Riot Squad and colorful police cars are collectible examples of postwar American tin toy production.","bestsellers":["Courtland FBI Riot Squad car","Courtland tin fire truck","Courtland tin sedan","Courtland tin motorcycle","Courtland tin delivery truck"],"slug":"courtland-toy-co"},{"name":"Cragstan","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1950,"closed":1970,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","battery operated","robots","vehicles"],"desc":"Cragstan was an American importer and distributor of Japanese tin toys, particularly from Alps. The Cragstan brand appears on some of the finest battery-operated tin toys of the 1950s and 1960s, including robots, cars, and aircraft.","bestsellers":["Cragstan Mr. Robot","Cragstan Great Astronaut","Cragstan tin Buick","Cragstan tin airplane","Cragstan 7000 robot"],"slug":"cragstan"},{"name":"Creative Playthings","loc":"Framingham, MA","founded":1951,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["outdoor toys","educational","building toys"],"desc":"Creative Playthings was a pioneer in modern playground equipment and developmental toys, emphasizing natural materials and open-ended play. They brought modernist design principles to children's play equipment.","bestsellers":["Creative Playthings swing sets","Wooden unit blocks","Modular playground systems","Creative Playthings sand and water tables"],"slug":"creative-playthings"},{"name":"Crescent Toys","loc":"London, England","founded":1921,"closed":1979,"origin":"uk","active":false,"tags":["soldiers","die-cast","vehicles"],"desc":"Crescent produced lead and later plastic toy soldiers, die-cast vehicles, and cowboy and Indian figures. Their soldiers and small die-cast vehicles were sold throughout the UK via Woolworth's and similar retailers.","bestsellers":["Crescent lead soldiers","Crescent Cowboys & Indians set","Crescent die-cast cars","Crescent space toys (1950s)"],"slug":"crescent-toys"},{"name":"Daisy Manufacturing Co.","loc":"Plymouth, MI","founded":1888,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["cap guns","toy guns","outdoor toys"],"desc":"Daisy began making windmills before accidentally becoming a toy company when they offered a free BB gun as a windmill premium — demand for the gun dwarfed the windmill business. Daisy became synonymous with the American BB gun and popularized countless young marksmen. Their Red Ryder BB gun (1940) is an enduring American cultural icon.","bestsellers":["Daisy Red Ryder BB gun (1940)","Daisy Model 25 pump-action BB gun","Daisy Buck Rogers Disintegrator ray gun","Daisy No. 111 BB gun","Daisy lever-action rifles","Daisy water guns"],"slug":"daisy-manufacturing-co"},{"name":"Dent Hardware Company","loc":"Fullerton, PA","founded":1895,"closed":1937,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["cast iron","banks","vehicles"],"desc":"Dent Hardware was a respected Pennsylvania cast-iron toy maker known for quality construction. Their cast-iron still banks, vehicles, and mechanical banks were crafted with considerable detail. Dent also made cast-aluminum toys in their later years.","bestsellers":["Dent cast-iron fire truck","Dent still banks","Dent cast-iron dirigible airplane","Dent zeppelin bank","Dent bus"],"slug":"dent-hardware-company"},{"name":"Dinky Supertoys","loc":"Liverpool, England","founded":1947,"closed":1979,"origin":"uk","active":false,"tags":["die-cast","vehicles","trucks"],"desc":"Dinky Supertoys was not a separate company: it was the heavy truck and commercial vehicle range within Dinky Toys, producing larger-scale die-cast models of lorries, tankers, and construction vehicles. These larger models are particularly popular with collectors and often carry authentic brand livery.","bestsellers":["Dinky Supertoys Foden flatbed","Dinky Supertoys Guy van","Dinky Supertoys Leyland cement truck","Dinky Supertoys Mighty Antar tank transporter","Dinky Supertoys Euclid dump truck"],"slug":"dinky-supertoys"},{"name":"Dinky Toys (Meccano)","loc":"Liverpool, England","founded":1934,"closed":1979,"origin":"uk","active":false,"tags":["die-cast","vehicles","aircraft"],"desc":"Dinky Toys launched in 1934 as a Meccano subsidiary, beginning with miniature 'Modelled Miniatures' sold as Hornby train accessories. They quickly grew into the world's most famous die-cast toy vehicle brand, producing faithful replicas of real vehicles in exquisite detail.","bestsellers":["Dinky Supertoys Foden flatbed truck","Dinky Thunderbirds FAB 1","Dinky Spitfire aircraft","Dinky Guy van","Dinky Ford Prefect","Dinky double-decker bus","Dinky 'Heinz' delivery trucks"],"slug":"dinky-toys-meccano"},{"name":"Distler (J. Distler & Co.)","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1900,"closed":1962,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","vehicles"],"desc":"J. Distler produced high-quality lithographed tin clockwork and battery-operated toys including cars, gas stations, and mechanical novelties. Their postwar tin Packard and Porsche models are particularly attractive to collectors. Distler is also known for their 'Electromatic' battery-operated car with working headlights.","bestsellers":["Distler tin Packard (battery-operated)","Distler tin Porsche 356","Distler Electromatic car with lights","Distler tin gas station","Distler clockwork racing car"],"slug":"distler-j-distler-and-co"},{"name":"Doepke Model Toys","loc":"Rossmoyne, OH","founded":1946,"closed":1959,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pressed steel","construction toys","vehicles"],"desc":"Charles William Doepke produced beautifully accurate 1:12 scale pressed-steel replicas of real construction equipment. Doepke models of Euclid earth movers and American LaFrance fire trucks are considered among the finest pressed-steel toys ever made.","bestsellers":["Doepke Euclid earth mover","Doepke Wooldridge scraper","Doepke American LaFrance fire truck","Doepke Jaeger cement mixer","Doepke Adams road grader"],"slug":"doepke-model-toys"},{"name":"Dorfan Company","loc":"Newark, NJ","founded":1924,"closed":1934,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["trains","electric toys"],"desc":"Dorfan introduced several technical innovations including die-cast zinc locomotives ('Locodite'). Despite their brief existence, Dorfan trains remain collectible. The Great Depression ended the company.","bestsellers":["Dorfan wide-gauge electric sets","Dorfan die-cast Locodite locomotives","Dorfan passenger car sets"],"slug":"dorfan-company"},{"name":"Dowst Brothers / Tootsietoy","loc":"Chicago, IL","founded":1890,"closed":1961,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["die-cast","vehicles"],"desc":"Dowst Brothers invented die-cast zinc toy vehicles under the Tootsietoy brand name around 1910, effectively creating the die-cast toy car industry. Their tiny but detailed metal vehicles were sold through Cracker Jack boxes and five-and-dime stores.","bestsellers":["Tootsietoy Graham Paige sedan","Tootsietoy LaSalle coupe","Tootsietoy Buick roadster","Tootsietoy Mack truck","Tootsietoy Model A Ford"],"slug":"dowst-brothers-tootsietoy"},{"name":"Dux (Merzig Toy Co.)","loc":"Merzig, Germany","founded":1913,"closed":1972,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["building toys","tin toys","educational"],"desc":"Dux produced German construction toys and tin novelties. Their Astroplast construction kit — an early flexible plastic rod-and-socket building system — anticipated later construction toy systems and was popular in postwar Europe.","bestsellers":["Dux Astroplast construction kit","Dux tin vehicles","Dux building sets"],"slug":"dux-merzig-toy-co"},{"name":"Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt)","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1922,"closed":1970,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","vehicles","novelty toys"],"desc":"Gebruder Einfalt (known by the trademark 'Technofix') produced colorful lithographed tin clockwork toys including roller coasters, figure-eight race tracks, and novelty vehicles. Their Technofix tin roller coaster and race track sets are beloved collector items.","bestsellers":["Technofix tin roller coaster","Technofix figure-eight car set","Einfalt tin bus","Einfalt tin delivery van","Technofix railway set"],"slug":"einfalt-gebruder-einfalt"},{"name":"Eldon Industries","loc":"Los Angeles, CA","founded":1946,"closed":1977,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["slot cars","vehicles","battery operated"],"desc":"Eldon produced plastic toy vehicles and was one of the significant American brands in 1/32 scale slot car racing. Its Super Highway sets undercut the imported European systems on price and sold heavily through department stores at the height of the slot-racing boom in the 1960s.","bestsellers":["Eldon Super Highway slot car set","Eldon battery-operated cars","Eldon 1/32 race sets","Eldon plastic dump trucks"],"slug":"eldon-industries"},{"name":"Ernest Lehmann","loc":"Brandenburg, Germany","founded":1881,"closed":null,"origin":"germany","active":true,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","novelty toys"],"desc":"The founder's name was Ernst Paul Lehmann, not Ernest, and this record describes the same firm as the Lehmann (Ernst Paul Lehmann) entry listed separately in this encyclopedia. Lehmann produced delightful, often whimsical tin clockwork toys that are among the most beloved of all antique toys. Lehmann's toys were exported worldwide and known for clever mechanical actions and cheerful lithography.","bestsellers":["Lehmann 'Uncle Sam' clockwork toy","Lehmann 'Naughty Boy' motorcycle","Lehmann 'Paddy and the Pig'","Lehmann 'Am Pol' motorcycle","Lehmann 'Quack Quack' duck","Lehmann EPL 500 auto"],"slug":"ernest-lehmann"},{"name":"Ertl Company","loc":"Dyersville, IA","founded":1945,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["die-cast","farm toys","vehicles","banks"],"desc":"Fred Ertl Sr. began by melting war-surplus aluminium in his home furnace and pouring it into sand moulds, and Ertl grew into the dominant producer of farm toy replicas. Based in Dyersville, Iowa — the 'Farm Toy Capital of the World' — Ertl held licenses with John Deere, Case, International Harvester, and others.","bestsellers":["John Deere 1:16 tractor series","International Harvester 560","Case farm equipment","Dukes of Hazzard General Lee (1:64)","ERTL coin banks","1:64 farm sets"],"slug":"ertl-company"},{"name":"FAO Schwarz","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1862,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["dolls","educational","novelty toys","games"],"desc":"Frederick August Otto Schwarz opened his first toy store in Baltimore in 1862 before settling in New York, where FAO Schwarz became the most famous toy store in the world. The flagship Fifth Avenue store — with its iconic giant floor piano — became a tourist destination. FAO Schwarz produced and sold exclusive and high-end toys.","bestsellers":["FAO Schwarz giant floor piano","FAO Schwarz exclusive stuffed animals","FAO Schwarz limited edition dolls","FAO Schwarz branded train sets","FAO Schwarz premium board games"],"slug":"fao-schwarz"},{"name":"Fernand Martin","loc":"Paris, France","founded":1878,"closed":1919,"origin":"france","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","novelty toys"],"desc":"Fernand Martin was the foremost French maker of whimsical mechanical tin toys. His double-action clockwork figures depicting everyday Parisian life are charming and innovative, distinguished by fluid naturalistic movement. They are highly prized by European toy collectors.","bestsellers":["Martin 'Le Menuisier' (the carpenter)","Martin window washer figure","Martin riveter clockwork toy","Martin 'La Chaise a Porteurs'","Martin clockwork walking figures"],"slug":"fernand-martin"},{"name":"Fisher-Price Toys","loc":"East Aurora, NY","founded":1930,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["preschool toys","educational","dolls","push toys"],"desc":"Founded during the Great Depression with the philosophy that toys must have 'play value.' Fisher-Price focused on durable, colorful toys for very young children. Their distinctive woodpecker logo and bright lithographed toys defined American preschool play for generations. Mattel acquired Fisher-Price in 1993.","bestsellers":["Little People (1959)","Corn Popper push toy (1957)","Chatter Telephone (1962)","Rock-A-Stack","Snoopy Sniffer pull toy","Creative Coaster","Power Wheels"],"slug":"fisher-price-toys"},{"name":"GAMA (Georg Adam Mangold)","loc":"Fürth, Germany","founded":1882,"closed":1990,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","vehicles","trains"],"desc":"GAMA was a significant Nuremberg-area tin toy manufacturer known for high-quality lithographed tin clockwork cars, trucks, and train accessories. Their postwar tin Volkswagen Beetle and Mercedes models are extremely collectible.","bestsellers":["GAMA tin Volkswagen Beetle","GAMA tin Mercedes 300","GAMA tin bus","GAMA clockwork train accessories","GAMA tin construction vehicles"],"slug":"gama-georg-adam-mangold"},{"name":"Garton Toy Company","loc":"Sheboygan, WI","founded":1879,"closed":1974,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pedal cars","outdoor toys","wagons"],"desc":"Garton operated for nearly a century as one of the most prolific producers of outdoor ride-on toys including pedal cars, wagons, scooters, and sleds sold through major retailers nationwide. Their 1950s Hot Rod pedal car is an iconic antique collectible.","bestsellers":["Garton Hot Rod pedal car (1950s)","Garton Casey Jones locomotive pedal car","Garton fire truck pedal car","Garton red wagon","Garton Kidillac pedal car"],"slug":"garton-toy-company"},{"name":"Gebruder Bing","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1866,"closed":1933,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","trains","steam engines","ships"],"desc":"At its peak, Bing was the largest toy company in the world, employing thousands in Nuremberg. The company produced extraordinary lithographed tin toys including steam engines, automobiles, ships, trains, and kitchen toys of remarkable quality. Weakened by the First World War and the Depression, the business was broken up in 1933 as its Jewish owners were forced out under the incoming Nazi regime; the train tooling passed to Bub and Trix.","bestsellers":["Bing live steam engines","Bing tin limousines and tourers","Bing model ships and battleships","Bing clockwork trains","Bing tin carousel","Bing tin kitchen sets"],"slug":"gebruder-bing"},{"name":"Gebruder Fleischmann","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1887,"closed":null,"origin":"germany","active":true,"tags":["trains","tin toys"],"desc":"Fleischmann has been producing model trains for over 130 years. Known for exceptional HO and N scale craftsmanship, Fleischmann trains are prized by serious collectors worldwide. The company absorbed Doll et Cie in 1939.","bestsellers":["Fleischmann HO steam locomotives","Fleischmann Piccolo N-scale sets","Fleischmann European passenger trains","Fleischmann tin cars (1920s–30s)"],"slug":"gebruder-fleischmann"},{"name":"Gebruder Maerklin / Märklin","loc":"Göppingen, Germany","founded":1859,"closed":null,"origin":"germany","active":true,"tags":["trains","tin toys","die-cast","ships","building toys"],"desc":"Märklin is among the most prestigious toy companies ever founded. Its 1891 sectional-track clockwork railway established the idea of the train set as an expandable system, and the company adopted 00/HO gauge in 1935. Märklin's Metallbaukasten construction sets were as important to European children as Meccano.","bestsellers":["Märklin HO steam locomotive sets","Märklin gauge 1 clockwork train","Märklin Z-scale miniature trains","Märklin Digital Command Control system","Märklin Metallbaukasten construction set","Märklin early tin clockwork ships"],"slug":"gebruder-maerklin-marklin"},{"name":"Gendron Wheel Company","loc":"Toledo, OH","founded":1877,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["pedal cars","wagons","outdoor toys"],"desc":"Gendron produced some of the most ambitious pressed-steel pedal cars ever built in America, along with wagons and bicycles, from the 1900s to the middle of the 20th century. The company later moved into hospital and healthcare equipment, and the Gendron name survives in that field rather than in toys.","bestsellers":["Gendron Pioneer pedal car","Gendron wagon line","Gendron steel bicycle","Gendron 'Skippy' streamlined pedal car"],"slug":"gendron-wheel-company"},{"name":"George Carette","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1886,"closed":1917,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","trains","ships","clockwork"],"desc":"Georges Carette, a Frenchman operating in Nuremberg, produced some of the finest tin toys of the Edwardian era. His clockwork automobiles, boats, and trains are considered masterpieces of the toy maker's art, with exquisite lithography and mechanical precision. WWI ended the company.","bestsellers":["Carette clockwork limousine (1910)","Carette tin steamship","Carette open touring car","Carette tin garage with cars"],"slug":"george-carette"},{"name":"Gescha","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1939,"closed":1978,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","die-cast","vehicles"],"desc":"Gescha produced lithographed tin and later die-cast toy vehicles in the postwar era, with a particular emphasis on German car models and construction vehicles. Their tin VW and Porsche models are popular with European tin toy collectors.","bestsellers":["Gescha tin VW Beetle","Gescha tin Porsche","Gescha tin crane truck","Gescha die-cast car set","Gescha tin construction vehicles"],"slug":"gescha"},{"name":"Gibbs Manufacturing Co.","loc":"Canton, OH","founded":1891,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["tin toys","novelty toys","educational"],"desc":"Gibbs Manufacturing holds the distinction of being one of the longest-running toy companies in the United States. Its lithographed tin pull-along animals, spinning tops and gyroscopes were made from the 1890s onward, and the Gibbs Duck family pull toy is a classic of American tin lithography. The toy heyday is long past, but the company name persists in Canton.","bestsellers":["Gibbs tin pull-along Duck family","Gibbs tin gyroscope","Gibbs tin spinning top","Gibbs 'Pony' pull toy","Gibbs tin yo-yo"],"slug":"gibbs-manufacturing-co"},{"name":"Girard Model Works","loc":"Girard, PA","founded":1906,"closed":1934,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","trains","vehicles"],"desc":"Girard produced lithographed tin wind-up toys and toy trains. Their toys were eventually made under a production arrangement with Louis Marx, and the Marx-Girard connection is an important chapter in American tin toy history. Some Girard trains were later rebranded as Marx.","bestsellers":["Girard tin clockwork train sets","Girard tin cars","Girard tin circus toys","Girard wind-up delivery trucks"],"slug":"girard-model-works"},{"name":"Grey Iron Casting Company","loc":"Mount Joy, PA","founded":1881,"closed":1969,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["cast iron","soldiers","vehicles"],"desc":"Grey Iron produced affordable cast-iron toy soldiers and vehicles, often sold through five-and-dime stores. Their American Family figures and 'Iron Men' soldier sets were widely popular from the 1910s through the 1940s.","bestsellers":["Grey Iron 'American Family' figures","Grey Iron 'Iron Men' soldiers","Grey Iron cast vehicles","Grey Iron horse-drawn sets"],"slug":"grey-iron-casting-company"},{"name":"Hafner Manufacturing Co.","loc":"Chicago, IL","founded":1914,"closed":1951,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["trains","tin toys"],"desc":"Hafner produced affordable lithographed tin toy trains, competing in the lower-price segment of the market against Lionel and American Flyer. Their lithographed O-gauge trains were sold through Woolworth's and were many children's first train set. Wyandotte acquired Hafner in 1951.","bestsellers":["Hafner Overland Flyer train","Hafner tin O-gauge passenger set","Hafner lithographed freight cars","Hafner tin locomotive sets"],"slug":"hafner-manufacturing-co"},{"name":"Haji (Mansei Toy Company)","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1951,"closed":1970,"origin":"japan","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","vehicles","clockwork"],"desc":"Haji produced colorful lithographed tin friction and battery-operated toy vehicles primarily for the American export market in the 1950s and 1960s.","bestsellers":["Haji tin friction cars","Haji tin taxi","Haji tin delivery trucks","Haji tin bus"],"slug":"haji-mansei-toy-company"},{"name":"Halsam Products Company","loc":"Chicago, IL","founded":1917,"closed":1971,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["wooden toys","building toys","games"],"desc":"Halsam produced wooden toys and building blocks under a range of brands, eventually acquiring the rights to American Logs (a Lincoln Logs competitor) and Embossing Company (unit blocks). Halsam was a significant force in the wooden toy market for decades.","bestsellers":["Halsam wooden unit blocks","Halsam American Logs","Halsam wooden dominoes","Halsam checkered board sets","Halsam wooden stacking toys"],"slug":"halsam-products-company"},{"name":"Hasbro","loc":"Pawtucket, RI","founded":1923,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["action figures","games","dolls","building toys","preschool toys"],"desc":"Founded as Hassenfeld Brothers, Hasbro grew into one of the world's largest toy corporations. The company introduced the first toy advertised on television (Mr. Potato Head, 1952) and the world's first action figure (G.I. Joe, 1964). A run of acquisitions — Milton Bradley, and Playskool with it, in 1984, then Tonka with Parker Brothers and Kenner in 1991 — made it a true entertainment conglomerate.","bestsellers":["Mr. Potato Head (1952)","G.I. Joe (1964)","Transformers (1984)","My Little Pony","Nerf","Play-Doh","Monopoly","Battleship","Furby","Easy-Bake Oven"],"slug":"hasbro"},{"name":"Holgate Toys","loc":"Kane, PA","founded":1929,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["wooden toys","preschool toys","educational"],"desc":"Holgate pioneered the developmental wooden toy in America, working with early childhood educators to design toys that promote learning. Their smooth hardwood toys designed for young children emphasized tactile learning, shape recognition, and motor skills development. Holgate is one of the oldest American toy companies still in operation.","bestsellers":["Holgate wooden bus with peg people","Holgate shape sorting toys","Holgate wooden puzzle sets","Holgate pounding bench","Holgate telephone on wheels"],"slug":"holgate-toys"},{"name":"Hornby (Meccano/Triang Hornby)","loc":"Liverpool, England","founded":1920,"closed":null,"origin":"uk","active":true,"tags":["trains","electric toys","die-cast"],"desc":"Frank Hornby introduced his famous O-gauge tinplate train system in 1920, which became Britain's most beloved toy train brand. Lines Brothers acquired Hornby in 1964, creating Triang-Hornby. The brand continued independently and is today owned by Hornby plc, which also owns Airfix, Scalextric, and Corgi.","bestsellers":["Hornby O-gauge steam train sets","Hornby Dublo (HO/OO scale)","Hornby 'Flying Scotsman' loco","Hornby 'Mallard' A4 Pacific","Hornby Railroad OO sets","Hornby Thomas the Tank Engine sets"],"slug":"hornby-meccanotriang-hornby"},{"name":"Hubley Manufacturing","loc":"Lancaster, PA","founded":1894,"closed":1965,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["cast iron","cap guns","die-cast","vehicles"],"desc":"Hubley was one of the most respected American cast-iron toy makers. Their exquisitely detailed cast-iron motorcycles, fire trucks, race cars, and horse-drawn vehicles are masterpieces of American foundry craftsmanship. Hubley also produced iconic cap pistols of the 1950s cowboy toy era.","bestsellers":["Hubley cast-iron Harley-Davidson motorcycle","Hubley fire engine","Roy Rogers cap pistol","Hubley Chrysler Airflow","Hubley Transcontinental bus","Hubley die-cast cap guns"],"slug":"hubley-manufacturing"},{"name":"Ichiko","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1950,"closed":1980,"origin":"japan","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","friction vehicles"],"desc":"Ichiko was a major Japanese producer of friction and battery-operated tin toy cars and trucks. Their large tinplate models of American automobiles are among the most impressive examples of postwar Japanese tin toy craftsmanship.","bestsellers":["Ichiko large tin friction Cadillac","Ichiko tin Buick","Ichiko tin police car","Ichiko tin fire truck","Ichiko tin bus"],"slug":"ichiko"},{"name":"Ichimura Toy (TM)","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1948,"closed":1968,"origin":"japan","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","friction vehicles","battery operated"],"desc":"Ichimura produced friction and battery-operated tin toy vehicles for the export market in the 1950s and 1960s. Their tin cars and trucks are notable for their vivid lithography and creative design.","bestsellers":["Ichimura tin friction cars","Ichimura battery-operated vehicles","Ichimura tin fire truck"],"slug":"ichimura-toy-tm"},{"name":"Ideal Toy Corporation","loc":"Brooklyn, NY","founded":1903,"closed":1982,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["dolls","games","action figures","preschool toys"],"desc":"Morris Michtom founded Ideal after producing what many consider the first Teddy Bear in 1902. Ideal went on to produce some of the most culturally significant toys of the 20th century. CBS acquired Ideal in 1982.","bestsellers":["Original Teddy Bear (1902)","Betsy Wetsy doll","Toni doll","Tammy doll (1962)","Evel Knievel action figure (1973)","Rubik's Cube (US, 1980)","Mouse Trap","Ants in the Pants"],"slug":"ideal-toy-corporation"},{"name":"Ingap (Industria Nazionale Giocattoli Automatici Padova)","loc":"Padua, Italy","founded":1919,"closed":1972,"origin":"oth","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","vehicles"],"desc":"Ingap was the leading Italian toy manufacturer of the early-to-mid 20th century, producing beautiful lithographed tin clockwork cars, buses, and novelty toys. Their colorful Italian tin vehicles reflect the distinctive design aesthetic of Italian industrial culture.","bestsellers":["Ingap tin clockwork racing car","Ingap tin bus","Ingap tin touring car","Ingap tin motorcycle","Ingap tin carousel"],"slug":"ingap-industria-nazionale-giocattoli-automatici-padova"},{"name":"Ives Corporation","loc":"Bridgeport, CT","founded":1868,"closed":1928,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["trains","cast iron","clockwork","tin toys"],"desc":"Ives was one of America's earliest and most important toy manufacturers, producing clockwork mechanical toys, cast-iron horse-drawn vehicles, and eventually electric trains. Ives began making clockwork toy trains around 1901 and electric trains from 1910, and was the leading American train maker until Lionel overtook it; the first electric toy train sold in America was Carlisle & Finch's of 1896. Forced into bankruptcy in 1928, it was absorbed by Lionel and American Flyer.","bestsellers":["Ives clockwork mechanical toys","Ives cast-iron horse-drawn vehicles","Ives electric train sets","Ives 'Black Diamond' train","Ives passenger car sets"],"slug":"ives-corporation"},{"name":"J. & E. Stevens","loc":"Cromwell, CT","founded":1843,"closed":1930,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["cast iron","banks","mechanical toys"],"desc":"J. & E. Stevens was the most prominent maker of mechanical banks in American history. Founded before the Civil War, Stevens produced elaborate cast-iron mechanical banks featuring animated figures depositing coins. Their mechanical banks are among the most prized antique toys in the world, with rare examples selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars.","bestsellers":["Tammany Hall mechanical bank","Trick Dog mechanical bank","Clown on Globe bank","Paddy and the Pig bank","Jonah and the Whale bank","Speaking Dog bank"],"slug":"j-and-e-stevens"},{"name":"J. Chein & Company","loc":"Harrison, NJ","founded":1903,"closed":1979,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","banks","mechanical toys"],"desc":"Julius Chein produced colorful lithographed tin mechanical toys sold through Woolworth's and five-and-dime stores. Chein made sophisticated toys affordable for all American families. Their tin ferris wheel, merry-go-round, and roller coaster toys are mechanical marvels prized by collectors.","bestsellers":["Chein Ferris wheel","Chein Roller Coaster","Chein Popeye tin bank","Chein 'Hercules' merry-go-round","Chein sand toys/pails","Chein Easter egg tin banks"],"slug":"j-chein-and-company"},{"name":"J.L. Hess","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1826,"closed":1941,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","trains","clockwork"],"desc":"One of the oldest toy companies in Nuremberg, J.L. Hess produced clockwork tin trains and pull-along toys across more than a century. Their early tin floor trains predate the electrified model train era and are extremely rare.","bestsellers":["Hess tin floor trains","Hess clockwork pull-along trains","Hess tin horse-drawn vehicles","Hess early tin automobiles"],"slug":"jl-hess"},{"name":"J.W. Sutcliffe","loc":"Horsforth, England","founded":1885,"closed":1982,"origin":"uk","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","ships","boats"],"desc":"Sutcliffe produced clockwork tin toy boats and ships for some six decades, until original production ended in the early 1980s; the name was later revived briefly for the collector market. Their brightly lithographed tin speedboats, battleships, and ocean liners are charming collectibles.","bestsellers":["Sutcliffe 'Pixie' speedboat","Sutcliffe 'Valiant' battleship","Sutcliffe 'Commodore' ocean liner","Sutcliffe tin paddle steamer","Sutcliffe 'Neptune' racing speedboat"],"slug":"jw-sutcliffe"},{"name":"Jaymar Specialty Company","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1930,"closed":1980,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["games","puzzles","character toys"],"desc":"Jaymar produced a wide range of children's puzzles, board games, and character toys under license from Disney and other properties. Their wooden inlay puzzles for young children were educational staples, and their Popeye and Disney character board games were popular through the 1950s and 1960s.","bestsellers":["Jaymar wooden inlay puzzles","Jaymar Popeye games","Jaymar Disney character games","Jaymar tray puzzles","Jaymar Mickey Mouse board games"],"slug":"jaymar-specialty-company"},{"name":"JEP (Jouets en Paris)","loc":"Paris, France","founded":1899,"closed":1965,"origin":"france","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","trains","vehicles"],"desc":"JEP was one of France's most important toy manufacturers, producing fine lithographed tin clockwork cars, trains, and mechanical toys. Their elegant tin automobiles and boats reflected French design sensibility.","bestsellers":["JEP tin clockwork limousine","JEP electric train sets","JEP tin boat","JEP tin open-top racing car","JEP tin omnibus"],"slug":"jep-jouets-en-paris"},{"name":"Joustra","loc":"Strasbourg, France","founded":1934,"closed":1980,"origin":"france","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","battery operated","vehicles","robots"],"desc":"Joustra was a significant French tin toy manufacturer producing lithographed battery-operated and friction vehicles, robots, and novelty toys for the European and export markets. Their tin robot figures and space toys of the 1950s–1970s are particularly sought after.","bestsellers":["Joustra tin robot","Joustra space scooter","Joustra tin race car set","Joustra tin police car","Joustra tin motorcycle"],"slug":"joustra"},{"name":"K'NEX Industries","loc":"Hatfield, PA","founded":1992,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["building toys","educational"],"desc":"K'NEX introduced a distinctive rod-and-connector building system allowing construction of working models of roller coasters, vehicles, and mechanical structures. K'NEX later acquired Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys.","bestsellers":["K'NEX Roller Coaster sets","K'NEX Thrill Rides","Lincoln Logs (acquired)","Tinkertoys (acquired)","K'NEX Mario Kart building sets"],"slug":"knex-industries"},{"name":"Karl Bub","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1851,"closed":1966,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","trains","clockwork","vehicles"],"desc":"Karl Bub was a long-running Nuremberg toy company known for high-quality lithographed tin toys including clockwork cars, trains, and mechanical toys. A significant exporter to the US and British markets, Bub's postwar plastic trains are also collectible.","bestsellers":["Bub tin clockwork automobiles","Bub tin train sets","Bub lithographed trucks","Bub clockwork motorcycles"],"slug":"karl-bub"},{"name":"Kellermann (CKO)","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1910,"closed":1978,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","novelty toys"],"desc":"Kellermann (known by the brand CKO) produced delightful lithographed tin clockwork novelty toys including motorcycles, cars, and amusing mechanical figures. Their miniature tin toys were often packaged as prize or novelty items.","bestsellers":["CKO tin clockwork motorcycle","CKO tin novelty figures","CKO tin penny toys","CKO lithographed tin cars"],"slug":"kellermann-cko"},{"name":"Kenner Products","loc":"Cincinnati, OH","founded":1947,"closed":1991,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["action figures","dolls","games","preschool toys"],"desc":"Kenner introduced the Easy-Bake Oven in 1963 and the Spirograph in 1966 before becoming synonymous with the Star Wars toy line from 1977. When Kenner couldn't produce actual toys in time for Christmas 1977, they sold 'Early Bird' certificate packages — empty boxes promising future delivery — a legendary marketing moment. Hasbro acquired Kenner in 1991.","bestsellers":["Star Wars action figures (1977)","Easy-Bake Oven (1963)","Spirograph (1966)","The Six Million Dollar Man","Stretch Armstrong","Strawberry Shortcake","Care Bears","Real Ghostbusters line"],"slug":"kenner-products"},{"name":"Kenton Hardware Company","loc":"Kenton, OH","founded":1890,"closed":1952,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["cast iron","cap guns","vehicles"],"desc":"Kenton Hardware produced a wide range of cast-iron toys including horse-drawn vehicles, automobiles, fire engines, and novelty items. They are especially known for their cap pistols, including the popular Gene Autry model.","bestsellers":["Gene Autry repeating cap pistol","Kenton cast-iron fire truck","Kenton horse-drawn circus wagon","Kenton cast-iron auto bus","Kenton Jaeger cement mixer"],"slug":"kenton-hardware-company"},{"name":"Keystone Manufacturing","loc":"Boston, MA","founded":1920,"closed":1958,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pressed steel","trucks","construction toys"],"desc":"Keystone produced large, heavy pressed-steel push toy vehicles including trucks, steam shovels, and fire trucks. Their toys were oversized — designed to be ridden or pushed by small children. Keystone also made Pathe and RKO movie projectors for home use.","bestsellers":["Keystone pressed-steel steam shovel","Keystone pressed-steel dump truck","Keystone ride-on fire truck","Keystone movie projector","Keystone airport set"],"slug":"keystone-manufacturing"},{"name":"Kilgore Manufacturing Company","loc":"Westerville, OH","founded":1925,"closed":1985,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["cast iron","cap guns","vehicles"],"desc":"Kilgore was a major producer of cap guns and cast-iron vehicles rivaling those of Hubley and Kenton in quality. Kilgore also produced cast-iron cars including accurate replicas of the Stutz Bearcat roadster.","bestsellers":["Stutz Bearcat roadster cast iron","Kilgore cast-iron cannons","Kilgore cap guns","Kilgore cowboy pistols"],"slug":"kilgore-manufacturing-company"},{"name":"Kingsbury Manufacturing","loc":"Keene, NH","founded":1895,"closed":1942,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pressed steel","clockwork","vehicles"],"desc":"Kingsbury, successor to Wilkins Toy Company, produced high-quality pressed-steel clockwork toys including automobiles, trucks, buses, and aircraft with reliable spring-powered mechanisms and detailed colorful lithography.","bestsellers":["Kingsbury clockwork touring car","Kingsbury steam-powered truck","Kingsbury biplane","Kingsbury fire truck","Kingsbury bus"],"slug":"kingsbury-manufacturing"},{"name":"Kirk-Latty Manufacturing Co.","loc":"Cleveland, OH","founded":1894,"closed":1926,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pedal cars","wagons","bicycles"],"desc":"Kirk-Latty produced pedal cars, wagons, and bicycles in Cleveland during the early 20th century, competing with other Ohio-based ride-on toy makers like American National and Gendron.","bestsellers":["Kirk-Latty pedal car","Kirk-Latty steel wagon","Kirk-Latty bicycle"],"slug":"kirk-latty-manufacturing-co"},{"name":"Knickerbocker Toy Company","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1850,"closed":1983,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["dolls","plush toys","character toys"],"desc":"One of America's oldest toy companies, Knickerbocker produced teddy bears, plush animals, and character dolls over more than a century. Their Mickey Mouse dolls of the 1930s are highly collectible. Knickerbocker also produced Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls under license for decades.","bestsellers":["Knickerbocker Mickey Mouse doll (1930s)","Knickerbocker Raggedy Ann & Andy","Knickerbocker teddy bears","Knickerbocker Pinocchio doll","Knickerbocker Howdy Doody puppet"],"slug":"knickerbocker-toy-company"},{"name":"Kuramochi & Co.","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1950,"closed":1970,"origin":"japan","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","battery operated","robots"],"desc":"Kuramochi produced battery-operated tin toys and robots for the export market. Their 'CK' trademark — not the 'KO' mark, which belonged to Yoshiya — appears on tin robots, cars and novelty toys collected as examples of the creative and colorful Japanese tin toy tradition.","bestsellers":["CK tin robot figures","CK battery-operated space toys","CK tin friction cars"],"slug":"kuramochi-and-co"},{"name":"Larami Corporation","loc":"Philadelphia, PA","founded":1950,"closed":1999,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["outdoor toys","water toys","novelty toys"],"desc":"Larami is best known for inventing and producing the Super Soaker — a pressurised water gun far more powerful than anything before it — in 1990, designed by NASA engineer Lonnie Johnson. The Super Soaker became one of the best-selling toys of the 1990s. Hasbro acquired Larami in 1995.","bestsellers":["Super Soaker 50 (1990)","Super Soaker 100","Super Soaker CPS series","Super Soaker Monster XL","Larami toy weapons sets","Larami water pistols"],"slug":"larami-corporation"},{"name":"LEGO Company","loc":"Billund, Denmark","founded":1932,"closed":null,"origin":"oth","active":true,"tags":["building toys","educational","plastic toys"],"desc":"Founded by Ole Kirk Christiansen, LEGO — from the Danish 'leg godt' (play well) — became one of the world's most beloved toy brands. The iconic interlocking plastic brick system was patented in 1958. LEGO has expanded into licensed themes, video games, and films, consistently ranking as one of the world's most valuable toy brands.","bestsellers":["Classic LEGO bricks","LEGO Star Wars","LEGO Technic","LEGO City","LEGO Mindstorms","LEGO Creator","LEGO Harry Potter"],"slug":"lego-company"},{"name":"Lehmann (Ernst Paul Lehmann)","loc":"Brandenburg, Germany","founded":1881,"closed":null,"origin":"germany","active":true,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","novelty toys"],"desc":"Ernst Paul Lehmann produced delightfully whimsical tin clockwork toys exported worldwide, known for clever mechanical actions and cheerful lithography. EPL Lehmann toys are among the most beloved antique tin toys, frequently commanding premium prices at auction. This is the same firm as the Ernest Lehmann record listed separately in this encyclopedia. The Brandenburg works was expropriated in 1945 and the family rebuilt in Nuremberg, where the business became LGB.","bestsellers":["Lehmann 'Uncle Sam' toy","Lehmann 'Naughty Boy' motorcycle","Lehmann 'Paddy and the Pig'","Lehmann 'Quack Quack' duck","Lehmann EPL 500 auto","Lehmann Zikra car","Lehmann 'Alabama Coon Jigger'"],"slug":"lehmann-ernst-paul-lehmann"},{"name":"Lesney Products (Matchbox)","loc":"England","founded":1948,"closed":1982,"origin":"uk","active":false,"tags":["die-cast","vehicles"],"desc":"Lesney launched the Matchbox brand in 1953 — small die-cast vehicles named for their matchbox-sized boxes, numbered 1 to 75, which is where the '1-75' series name comes from rather than any scale. These affordable miniature cars became a worldwide phenomenon. At their peak, Lesney sold over 100 million vehicles per year.","bestsellers":["Matchbox 1-75 series cars","Models of Yesteryear","Matchbox Superfast (1969)","Matchbox Major Pack trucks","Lesney die-cast road rollers"],"slug":"lesney-products-matchbox"},{"name":"Lido Toy Corporation","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1944,"closed":1960,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["plastic toys","vehicles","figures"],"desc":"Lido was an early and prolific producer of plastic toy vehicles, figures, and novelty items sold through five-and-dime stores in the postwar era. Their plastic cowboys and Indians sets and small plastic cars were inexpensive and widely distributed.","bestsellers":["Lido plastic cowboys and Indians","Lido plastic vehicle sets","Lido plastic farm animals","Lido plastic race cars"],"slug":"lido-toy-corporation"},{"name":"Linemar (Marx Japan)","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1950,"closed":1965,"origin":"japan","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","battery operated","character toys","robots"],"desc":"Linemar was Louis Marx & Company's Japanese subsidiary, producing battery-operated and friction tin toys for the American export market. Linemar Disney character tin toys — Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck — and battery-operated robots are particularly prized by collectors.","bestsellers":["Linemar Mickey Mouse toy","Linemar Donald Duck tin toy","Linemar battery-operated robot","Linemar tin Popeye","Linemar tin Disney friction cars"],"slug":"linemar-marx-japan"},{"name":"Lineol","loc":"Brandenburg, Germany","founded":1906,"closed":1940,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["figures","soldiers"],"desc":"Lineol was a major competitor to Elastolin in the German composition figure market. Their highly detailed 7.5cm-scale military figures, military vehicles, and farmyard animals were beautifully crafted and painted. Lineol figures are prized by military miniature collectors and can be distinguished from Elastolin by subtle differences in material and construction.","bestsellers":["Lineol German military soldiers (7.5cm)","Lineol farm animal sets","Lineol horse-drawn artillery","Lineol military vehicles","Lineol band figures"],"slug":"lineol"},{"name":"Lines Brothers (Tri-ang)","loc":"London, England","founded":1919,"closed":1983,"origin":"uk","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","pedal cars","dolls","trains"],"desc":"Lines Brothers was Britain's largest toy company, trading under the Tri-ang brand. They produced an enormous range including tin cars, pedal cars, trains, dolls' prams, and construction toys. They acquired Hornby Railways in 1964.","bestsellers":["Tri-ang tin cars and trucks","Tri-ang Hornby trains (post-1964)","Tri-ang pedal cars","Tri-ang Spot-On die-cast cars","Tri-ang Ships","Tri-ang Minic clockwork cars"],"slug":"lines-brothers-tri-ang"},{"name":"Lionel Manufacturing Co.","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1900,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["trains","electric toys"],"desc":"Joshua Lionel Cowen founded Lionel after inventing a battery-powered toy train as a store window display. Lionel became synonymous with American Christmas morning, dominating the toy train market for over a century. The postwar 1945–1969 era is considered Lionel's golden age.","bestsellers":["Lionel 773 Hudson locomotive","Lionel Santa Fe F3 diesel","Lionel Pennsylvania GG1 electric","Lionel #400E Blue Comet","Postwar O-gauge freight sets","Lionel Polar Express set"],"slug":"lionel-manufacturing-co"},{"name":"Lone Star (D.C.M.T.)","loc":"Enfield, England","founded":1939,"closed":1988,"origin":"uk","active":false,"tags":["die-cast","vehicles","cap guns"],"desc":"Lone Star (Die Casting Machine Tools) was an important British die-cast toy manufacturer producing vehicles, cap guns, and figures. Their 'Roadmaster' Locos and small die-cast Flyers are collectible. Lone Star also produced the popular Treble-O-Lectric HO train system.","bestsellers":["Lone Star Roadmaster Locos","Lone Star die-cast Flyers","Lone Star Treble-O-Lectric trains","Lone Star Wild West cap guns","Lone Star Impy die-cast cars"],"slug":"lone-star-dcmt"},{"name":"Louis Marx & Company","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1919,"closed":1979,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","trains","action figures","playsets","pressed steel"],"desc":"Louis Marx built the world's largest toy company by producing affordable, high-quality toys sold through Sears and Woolworth's. Marx coined 'More Toy for Less Money.' His company produced everything from tin yo-yos, made in the wake of the craze Donald Duncan popularised, to elaborate western playsets to the Big Wheel tricycle.","bestsellers":["Marx electric trains","Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots (1964)","Big Wheel tricycle","Johnny West action figures","Fort Apache playset","Marx tin yo-yos","Cape Canaveral playset"],"slug":"louis-marx-and-company"},{"name":"Manoil Manufacturing Co.","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1934,"closed":1955,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["die-cast","soldiers","vehicles"],"desc":"Manoil produced affordable die-cast lead and zinc alloy toy soldiers and vehicles, competing with Barclay in the dime store market. Their Happy Farm figures and military soldiers are cheerfully designed and collectible.","bestsellers":["Manoil Happy Farm figures","Manoil military soldiers","Manoil die-cast vehicles","Manoil airplane set"],"slug":"manoil-manufacturing-co"},{"name":"Marusan","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1947,"closed":null,"origin":"japan","active":true,"tags":["tin toys","die-cast","character toys"],"desc":"Marusan produced a wide range of tin toys and character figures for the Japanese and export markets. Their tin cars are collected for their detailed lithography. Marusan later became known for vinyl monster figures and character toys.","bestsellers":["Marusan tin cars","Marusan friction vehicles","Marusan character vinyl figures","Marusan tin bus set"],"slug":"marusan"},{"name":"Mattel, Inc.","loc":"Hawthorne, CA","founded":1945,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["dolls","die-cast","action figures","games","preschool toys"],"desc":"Harold 'Matt' Matson and Elliot and Ruth Handler founded Mattel in a garage. Ruth Handler created Barbie in 1959 — the first mass-produced American fashion doll with an adult figure, adapted from the German Bild Lilli — and it became one of the best-selling toys ever made. Hot Wheels followed in 1968, Masters of the Universe in 1982. Mattel acquired Fisher-Price in 1993 and Tyco in 1996.","bestsellers":["Barbie (1959)","Hot Wheels (1968)","Masters of the Universe / He-Man (1982)","American Girl dolls (acquired)","Polly Pocket","Fisher-Price Little People","UNO","Pictionary"],"slug":"mattel-inc"},{"name":"McLoughlin Brothers","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1855,"closed":1920,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["games","educational","paper toys"],"desc":"McLoughlin Brothers was the dominant American game and toy publisher of the Victorian era. Their colorful lithographed board games, paper dolls, puzzles, and books were beautifully produced and sold to middle-class families. Milton Bradley acquired the company in 1920.","bestsellers":["District Messenger Boy game (1886)","New Dissected Map of the United States","McLoughlin paper doll sets","National Flag Game","Dissected puzzles"],"slug":"mcloughlin-brothers"},{"name":"Meccano","loc":"Liverpool, England","founded":1901,"closed":null,"origin":"uk","active":true,"tags":["building toys","educational","die-cast","trains"],"desc":"Frank Hornby invented Meccano as a system of perforated metal strips, plates, and rods combined with nuts and bolts to build working mechanical models. It became one of the most educational toys ever made. Hornby also founded Hornby Railways and Dinky Toys under the Meccano umbrella.","bestsellers":["Meccano metal construction sets","Meccano Motorized sets","Meccano Erector-style builder kits","Dinky Toys (subsidiary)","Hornby Railways (subsidiary)"],"slug":"meccano"},{"name":"Meier (Johann Philipp Meier)","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1879,"closed":1929,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","penny toys","novelty toys"],"desc":"Johann Philipp Meier was a prolific producer of the beloved 'penny toys' — tiny, inexpensive tin toys sold for a penny at fairs and dime stores throughout Europe and America. Meier's penny toys depict carriages, animals, ships, and figures with charming lithography in miniature.","bestsellers":["Meier tin penny toys","Meier tin horse-drawn carriages","Meier tin penny toy ships","Meier tin penny toy figures","Meier tin spinning tops"],"slug":"meier-johann-philipp-meier"},{"name":"Metalcraft Corporation","loc":"St. Louis, MO","founded":1920,"closed":1937,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pressed steel","trucks","advertising toys"],"desc":"Metalcraft produced pressed-steel toy trucks that were often produced as advertising premiums for companies including Shell Oil, Heinz, and Coca-Cola, carrying real brand livery. These advertising trucks are extraordinarily collectible today.","bestsellers":["Metalcraft Shell Oil truck","Metalcraft Heinz truck","Metalcraft Coca-Cola truck","Metalcraft Goodrich truck","Metalcraft standard pressed-steel trucks"],"slug":"metalcraft-corporation"},{"name":"Mettoy Company / Mettoy Playcraft","loc":"Northampton / Swansea, Wales","founded":1933,"closed":1984,"origin":"uk","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","die-cast","vehicles"],"desc":"Mettoy produced tin toys and later die-cast Corgi toys under the Mettoy Playcraft name after 1956. The Corgi brand launched in 1956 became far more famous than the Mettoy name itself.","bestsellers":["Corgi die-cast cars (via Playcraft)","Mettoy tin friction cars","Mettoy tin buses","Corgi James Bond vehicles"],"slug":"mettoy-company-mettoy-playcraft"},{"name":"Milton Bradley Company","loc":"Springfield, MA","founded":1861,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["games","board games","educational","puzzles"],"desc":"Milton Bradley invented the American board game industry. His 1860 'Checkered Game of Life' was the first widely sold board game in America. Bradley's company pioneered color lithography for games and introduced iconic titles across more than a century. Hasbro acquired Milton Bradley in 1984.","bestsellers":["The Game of Life (1860/1960)","Candy Land (1949)","Chutes and Ladders","Twister (1966)","Battleship","Connect Four","Boggle","Yahtzee (acquired)","Stratego"],"slug":"milton-bradley-company"},{"name":"Morton E. Converse Co.","loc":"Winchendon, MA","founded":1887,"closed":1934,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["wooden toys","dollhouses"],"desc":"Converse was a major Massachusetts wooden toy maker from Winchendon, known as 'Toy Town USA.' They produced dollhouses, toy furniture, rocking horses, drums, and hobby horses. Their wooden dollhouses are charming Victorian-era collectibles.","bestsellers":["Converse wooden dollhouses","Converse toy drums","Converse rocking horses","Converse toy furniture sets","Converse hobby horses"],"slug":"morton-e-converse-co"},{"name":"MPC (Multiple Plastics Corporation / Model Products Corporation)","loc":"Mt. Clemens, MI","founded":1957,"closed":1984,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["model kits","plastic toys","vehicles"],"desc":"MPC produced plastic model kits and toy vehicles, holding licenses for Star Wars, General Lee (Dukes of Hazzard), and other popular properties. Their annual car model kits competed with AMT and Revell. MPC's Star Wars model kits from 1978 onward are prized by collectors.","bestsellers":["MPC Star Wars X-Wing model kit","MPC Dukes of Hazzard General Lee kit","MPC annual car model kits","MPC Battlestar Galactica models","MPC plastic slot car sets"],"slug":"mpc-multiple-plastics-corporation-model-products-corporation"},{"name":"MT (Masudaya Toys)","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1945,"closed":null,"origin":"japan","active":true,"tags":["tin toys","robots","battery operated","space toys"],"desc":"Masudaya (Modern Toys) is legendary among tin toy collectors for producing some of the most imaginative battery-operated tin toys ever made. Their 'Gang of Five' robot series — five battery-operated robots from the late 1950s — are the holy grail of tin toy collecting.","bestsellers":["Masudaya 'Gang of Five' robots","Masudaya Machine Man robot","Masudaya Rotate-O-Matic Super Astronaut","Masudaya Non-Stop Robot","Masudaya Target Robot","Masudaya tin battery cars"],"slug":"mt-masudaya-toys"},{"name":"Murray-Ohio / Steelcraft","loc":"Cleveland, OH / Brentwood, TN","founded":1919,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["pedal cars","wagons","bicycles","pressed steel"],"desc":"Murray-Ohio produced the beloved Steelcraft line of pedal cars and also manufactured bicycles and wagons. Their 1930s and 1940s pedal cars — including the Murray Pursuit Plane and the Champion — are among the most sought-after antique ride-on toys. Pedal-car production wound down by about 1970, and the company continues in outdoor power equipment rather than toys.","bestsellers":["Murray Champion pedal car","Murray Pursuit Plane pedal toy","Murray Fire Truck pedal car","Steelcraft Airflow pedal car (1935)","Steelcraft Rocket Ship pedal car","Murray Torpedo bicycle"],"slug":"murray-ohio-steelcraft"},{"name":"Nifty (Nifty Toy Co.)","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1921,"closed":1934,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","novelty toys"],"desc":"Nifty produced lithographed tin clockwork toys in the 1920s and early 1930s. Their Charlie Chaplin and other comic character wind-up toys are charming examples of the tin toy art from the Jazz Age.","bestsellers":["Nifty Charlie Chaplin tin toy","Nifty tin clockwork animals","Nifty tin novelty cars","Nifty comic character toys"],"slug":"nifty-nifty-toy-co"},{"name":"Nikko (Nikko Radio Controlled)","loc":"Osaka, Japan","founded":1959,"closed":null,"origin":"japan","active":true,"tags":["radio controlled","vehicles","battery operated"],"desc":"Nikko became one of the world's most popular producers of radio-controlled toy vehicles, producing RC cars, trucks, boats, and helicopters at accessible price points. Their '1:16' scale RC cars dominated the hobby toy aisle in the 1980s and 1990s.","bestsellers":["Nikko 1:16 RC Turbo Panther","Nikko RC Vaporizr","Nikko Sidewinder RC car","Nikko RC trucks","Nikko RC boats","Nikko Formula 1 RC sets"],"slug":"nikko-nikko-radio-controlled"},{"name":"Noma Electric Corp.","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1925,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["electrical toys","trains","novelty toys"],"desc":"Noma produced electric toys and holiday decorations, particularly famous for their Christmas tree lights. It also made lighted electrical novelties and battery-operated toys, and Noma-marked accessories are commonly found in and around toy train layouts of the period. The Noma brand continues in the lighting business rather than in toys.","bestsellers":["Noma Christmas tree lights","Noma lighted electrical novelties","Noma toy lamps and lights","Noma battery-operated figures"],"slug":"noma-electric-corp"},{"name":"Nomura (TN Toy)","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1950,"closed":1980,"origin":"japan","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","battery operated","robots","space toys","vehicles"],"desc":"Nomura Toy (TN) produced a wide range of battery-operated tin toys for the export market, including cars, space ships, and robots known for colorful lithography and creative mechanical actions.","bestsellers":["Nomura tin space ship","Nomura battery cars","Nomura TV space patrol","Nomura tin robot figures","Nomura train set"],"slug":"nomura-tn-toy"},{"name":"Nosco Plastics","loc":"Erie, PA","founded":1946,"closed":1960,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["plastic toys","figures","vehicles"],"desc":"Nosco Plastics produced a range of inexpensive plastic toys including figure sets, vehicles, and novelty items sold through dime stores. Its plastic sand pails and beach toys competed directly with Chein's lithographed tin versions and were widely distributed.","bestsellers":["Nosco plastic figure sets","Nosco beach toys","Nosco plastic vehicle sets","Nosco plastic carnival toys"],"slug":"nosco-plastics"},{"name":"Nylint","loc":"Rockford, IL","founded":1945,"closed":2001,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pressed steel","trucks","construction toys"],"desc":"Founded in 1937 as a Rockford machine shop by Bernard Klint and David Nyberg, Nylint moved into toys after the war using surplus steel. Their pressed-steel toys competed directly with Structo and Tonka. Nylint's Road Grader and 1950s car haulers are among the most accurate pressed-steel vehicle toys ever made.","bestsellers":["Nylint Road Grader","Nylint car hauler","Nylint Payloader","Nylint Michigan Crane","Nylint Euclid earth mover","Nylint Ford trucks"],"slug":"nylint"},{"name":"O. & M. Hausser (Elastolin)","loc":"Ludwigsburg, Germany","founded":1904,"closed":1983,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["figures","soldiers","wooden toys"],"desc":"Hausser pioneered the composite 'Elastolin' material (sawdust, kaolin, glue) figure. Their highly detailed figures of soldiers, cowboys, Native Americans, and animals were beautifully painted and more detailed than contemporary lead figures. Elastolin remains popular with military miniature collectors.","bestsellers":["Elastolin German army soldiers","Elastolin Cowboys & Indians set","Elastolin farm animal figures","Elastolin circus animals","Elastolin Roman soldiers"],"slug":"o-and-m-hausser-elastolin"},{"name":"Occupied Japan (various manufacturers)","loc":"Japan","founded":1945,"closed":1952,"origin":"japan","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","porcelain","novelty toys","celluloid"],"desc":"The 'Occupied Japan' mark designates toys and goods exported from Japan during the Allied Occupation (1945–1952). Items bearing this mark span tin toys, celluloid novelties, bisque figurines, and painted porcelain. Though not a single company, Occupied Japan marked items are an entire collector category unto themselves.","bestsellers":["Occupied Japan tin wind-up toys","Occupied Japan celluloid animals","Occupied Japan bisque figurines","Occupied Japan tin cars","Occupied Japan novelty Christmas ornaments"],"slug":"occupied-japan-various-manufacturers"},{"name":"Ohio Art Company","loc":"Bryan, OH","founded":1908,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["tin toys","drawing toys","educational","preschool toys"],"desc":"Ohio Art began as a picture frame company before entering toys in the 1920s. The company is most famous for Etch A Sketch, invented in France by André Cassagnes and bought by Ohio Art in 1960; it sold in tens of millions and the brand was sold on to Spin Master in 2016. Ohio Art also produced vast quantities of colorful lithographed tin sand pails, tea sets, and Disney-licensed toys.","bestsellers":["Etch A Sketch (1960)","Ohio Art tin sand pails","Ohio Art Disney tea sets","Betty Spaghetti dolls (1990s)","Ohio Art magnetic drawing board"],"slug":"ohio-art-company"},{"name":"Parker Brothers","loc":"Salem, MA","founded":1883,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["games","board games","card games"],"desc":"George Parker founded his game company at age 16 convinced that games should be entertaining rather than moralistic. Parker Brothers famously rejected Monopoly before acquiring it in 1935 — a decision that made them a household name. Now a Hasbro brand.","bestsellers":["Monopoly (1935)","Clue/Cluedo (1949)","Sorry! (1934)","Risk (1959)","Boggle","Payday","Trivial Pursuit (acquired 1988)","Masterpiece"],"slug":"parker-brothers"},{"name":"Playskool","loc":"Milwaukee, WI","founded":1928,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["preschool toys","educational","building toys","wooden toys"],"desc":"Playskool was founded in Milwaukee originally producing wooden educational toys for schools. It focused on developmental play for young children; Tinkertoy was invented by Charles Pajeau in 1914 and came to Playskool only later by acquisition. Acquired by Milton Bradley in 1968 and by Hasbro in 1984.","bestsellers":["Tinkertoys (acquired)","Weebles","Lincoln Logs (co-brand)","Playskool School Bus","Gloworm (1982)","Sit 'n Spin"],"slug":"playskool"},{"name":"Poynter Products","loc":"Cincinnati, OH","founded":1946,"closed":1970,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["novelty toys","outdoor toys","games"],"desc":"Poynter Products produced novelty outdoor toys and games. They are best known for popularizing Boomerangs and Frisbee alternatives in the American market, as well as producing promotional and novelty toy sets sold through dime stores.","bestsellers":["Poynter boomerang sets","Poynter ring toss game","Poynter outdoor novelty toys"],"slug":"poynter-products"},{"name":"Pressman Toy Corp.","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1922,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["games","puzzles","educational"],"desc":"Jack Pressman founded Pressman Toy Corporation in 1922, producing an enormous range of board games, puzzles, and educational toys. Pressman games are typically approachable and family-friendly, including licensed titles and original games across many categories.","bestsellers":["Pressman Board games (family titles)","Pressman jigsaw puzzles","Pressman Rummikub (US)","Pressman Bible Trivia","Pressman Tetris board game"],"slug":"pressman-toy-corp"},{"name":"Pyro Plastics Corporation","loc":"Union, NJ","founded":1948,"closed":1976,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["plastic toys","figures","vehicles","model kits"],"desc":"Pyro was an early producer of plastic toy figures and small model kits. Their plastic figure sets, vehicles, and simple model kits were sold through dime stores alongside those of rivals such as Lido and Marx. Pyro's plastic army men sets were a staple of American boyhood.","bestsellers":["Pyro plastic army men","Pyro plastic cowboy sets","Pyro plastic vehicle sets","Pyro simple model kits","Pyro plastic pirate figures"],"slug":"pyro-plastics-corporation"},{"name":"R. Bliss Manufacturing Co.","loc":"Pawtucket, RI","founded":1832,"closed":1914,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["wooden toys","games","dollhouses"],"desc":"Bliss was a major 19th-century toy maker known for colorful lithographed-paper-on-wood dollhouses, boats, games, and building blocks. Their lithographed Victorian dollhouses are exquisite examples of the toy maker's art and are highly prized collector items. This is the same firm as the Bliss Manufacturing Co. record listed separately in this encyclopedia; the two describe one company.","bestsellers":["Bliss lithographed paper dollhouses","Bliss wooden building blocks","Bliss Victorian board games","Bliss lithographed toy boat"],"slug":"r-bliss-manufacturing-co"},{"name":"Reed Toy Company","loc":"Leominster, MA","founded":1875,"closed":1930,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["wooden toys","paper toys","educational"],"desc":"Reed Toy Company was a 19th-century Massachusetts toy maker known for wooden educational toys and paper lithographed games. Their 'World's Educator' and other early educational toys reflect the Victorian belief in improving play.","bestsellers":["Reed 'World's Educator' (1887)","Reed wooden building blocks","Reed lithographed paper games","Reed wooden Noah's Ark set"],"slug":"reed-toy-company"},{"name":"Remco Industries","loc":"Newark, NJ","founded":1949,"closed":1974,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["battery operated","action figures","vehicles","games"],"desc":"Remco produced innovative battery-operated toys and games marketed aggressively through TV commercials. Their battery-operated toys were often electric versions of popular toy concepts, and they also produced action figures and doll lines.","bestsellers":["Remco Lost in Space Robot","Remco electric football game","Remco Mighty Matilda aircraft carrier","Remco Barracuda submarine","Remco Johnny Reb cannon"],"slug":"remco-industries"},{"name":"Renwal Toy Corporation","loc":"Mineola, NY","founded":1945,"closed":1965,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["plastic toys","model kits","educational"],"desc":"Renwal produced a range of educational plastic model kits including anatomical models (Visible Man, Visible Woman) that remain iconic. Their Visible Man model — a clear plastic figure with detailed removable organs — became a staple of biology classrooms. Renwal also produced plastic dollhouse furniture.","bestsellers":["Renwal Visible Man (1959)","Renwal Visible Woman","Renwal Visible Horse","Renwal plastic dollhouse furniture","Renwal plastic vehicle sets"],"slug":"renwal-toy-corporation"},{"name":"Revell","loc":"Venice, CA","founded":1943,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["model kits","vehicles","aircraft","ships"],"desc":"Revell pioneered the American plastic model kit industry, launching their first model in 1950. Their car models and precise military kits set the standard for the hobby. Revell's snap-together kits made model building accessible to younger enthusiasts, and their Apollo/space program models captured a generation's imagination.","bestsellers":["Revell Visible V-8 Engine","Revell USS Constitution model ship","Revell B-29 Superfortress bomber","Revell Mercury capsule model","Revell '59 Chevy Impala model","Revell Snap-Tite car kits","Revell P-51D Mustang"],"slug":"revell"},{"name":"Rich Manufacturing Co. (Rich Toys)","loc":"Sterling, IL / Tupelo, MS","founded":1915,"closed":1962,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["wooden toys","dollhouses"],"desc":"Rich Manufacturing produced wooden toys, dollhouses, and rocking horses across several decades. Their carefully crafted wooden toys were durable and educational. The company reorganized as Rich Industries in 1953.","bestsellers":["Rich wooden dollhouses","Rich rocking horses","Rich wooden toy furniture","Rich wooden trucks and wagons"],"slug":"rich-manufacturing-co-rich-toys"},{"name":"S.G. Gunthermann","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1877,"closed":1965,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","vehicles","comic characters"],"desc":"Gunthermann produced high-quality clockwork tin toys for nearly a century, becoming one of Nuremberg's most distinguished toy houses. Known for detailed horse-drawn vehicles, early automobiles, and wonderful comic character toys.","bestsellers":["Gunthermann horseless carriage","Gunthermann lady driver automobile","Gunthermann tin biplane","Gunthermann comic character toys","Gunthermann race cars"],"slug":"sg-gunthermann"},{"name":"Saalfield Publishing Co.","loc":"Akron, OH","founded":1900,"closed":1977,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["games","paper toys","books","puzzles"],"desc":"Saalfield was a major publisher of children's books, coloring books, paper dolls, and games. Their licensed paper doll books featuring Shirley Temple, movie stars, and Disney characters are highly collectible. Saalfield produced coloring books, activity books, and board games across eight decades.","bestsellers":["Saalfield Shirley Temple paper dolls","Saalfield Disney character coloring books","Saalfield paper doll books","Saalfield movie star paper dolls","Saalfield jigsaw puzzles"],"slug":"saalfield-publishing-co"},{"name":"Schuco","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1912,"closed":1976,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","vehicles","plush toys"],"desc":"Schuco (Schreyer & Co.) produced some of the most sophisticated clockwork tin toys ever made. Their miniature cars with working steering and gear shifts, tin monkeys, and mohair-covered clockwork animals are prized mechanical marvels. The Piccolo and Micro Racer series are icons of precision toy engineering.","bestsellers":["Schuco Studio 1050 race car","Schuco Micro Racer (wind-up)","Schuco Piccolo 1:90 cars","Schuco tin acrobatic monkey","Schuco Varianto buses","Schuco Telesteering car","Schuco 'Yes-No' mohair bear"],"slug":"schuco"},{"name":"Selchow & Righter Company","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1867,"closed":1986,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["games","board games"],"desc":"One of America's oldest game publishers, Selchow & Righter — frequently misspelled as Richter — are best known as the original US publishers of Scrabble (1952). They also published Parcheesi and in 1983 licensed Trivial Pursuit, which became a cultural phenomenon. Coleco acquired the company in 1986.","bestsellers":["Scrabble (US license, 1952)","Parcheesi","Trivial Pursuit (US license, 1983)","Pin the Tail on the Donkey","Scrabble Junior"],"slug":"selchow-and-righter-company"},{"name":"SH (Horikawa Toys)","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1959,"closed":null,"origin":"japan","active":true,"tags":["tin toys","robots","space toys","battery operated"],"desc":"Horikawa (Showa) produced colorful battery-operated tin robots and space toys that are among the most beloved examples of the genre. Their litho-tin robots with opening chest panels revealing gears and mechanisms are wonderfully imaginative designs highly sought by collectors worldwide.","bestsellers":["Horikawa Attacking Martian robot","Horikawa Engine Robot","Horikawa Rotate-O-Matic","Horikawa Fighting Robot","Horikawa tin space station","Horikawa tin lunar vehicles"],"slug":"sh-horikawa-toys"},{"name":"Smith-Miller","loc":"Los Angeles, CA","founded":1944,"closed":1954,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pressed steel","trucks","cast aluminum"],"desc":"Smith-Miller produced some of the finest and most accurate pressed-steel and cast-aluminum toy trucks ever made. Their Mack L-Line trucks were faithful replicas of real commercial vehicles with detailed cabs and working components. Smith-Miller trucks are extremely valuable collector items today.","bestsellers":["Smith-Miller Mack L-Line truck","Smith-Miller B-Mack truck","Smith-Miller Aerial Ladder fire truck","Smith-Miller Bekins Van Lines truck","Smith-Miller livestock truck"],"slug":"smith-miller"},{"name":"Solido","loc":"Paris, France","founded":1932,"closed":null,"origin":"france","active":true,"tags":["die-cast","vehicles"],"desc":"Solido was France's most important die-cast toy manufacturer, producing accurate scale models of French and European vehicles. Their Series 100 vintage car models and military vehicle series are respected by collectors worldwide. Solido is known for particularly high casting quality and historical accuracy.","bestsellers":["Solido Series 100 vintage cars","Solido Citroen DS19","Solido military vehicle series","Solido Ferrari models","Solido Renault and Peugeot models","Solido 1/43 scale French cars"],"slug":"solido"},{"name":"Steiff","loc":"Giengen, Germany","founded":1880,"closed":null,"origin":"germany","active":true,"tags":["plush toys","dolls","stuffed animals"],"desc":"Margarete Steiff founded her company making stuffed felt elephants before her nephew Richard Steiff designed the first jointed stuffed bear in 1902 — displayed at the 1903 Leipzig Toy Fair, it was seen by a Borgfeldt buyer who ordered 3,000. That bear is one of the two origin claims for the Teddy Bear, the other belonging to Morris Michtom of Ideal in New York. Steiff's trademark 'Button in Ear' has guaranteed authenticity since 1904. Steiff toys are among the most collectible stuffed animals in the world.","bestsellers":["Original Steiff jointed Teddy Bear (1902)","Steiff Mohair bears","Steiff 'Zotty' bear","Steiff Manschili monkey","Steiff Floppy Cat","Steiff Lulac rabbit","Steiff 'Button in Ear' series"],"slug":"steiff"},{"name":"Strauss Manufacturing Co.","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1914,"closed":1940,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","mechanical toys"],"desc":"Ferdinand Strauss was a pioneer of the American tin toy industry. Louis Marx learned the toy business working for Strauss before founding his own competing company. Strauss's colorful clockwork toys including Zippo the Climbing Monkey were beloved.","bestsellers":["Zippo the Climbing Monkey","Ham and Sam Minstrels","Strauss Yell-O-Taxi","Strauss Interurban streetcar","Strauss Leaping Lena car"],"slug":"strauss-manufacturing-co"},{"name":"Strombecker Corporation","loc":"Chicago, IL","founded":1961,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["die-cast","vehicles"],"desc":"Strombecker was the company that acquired the Tootsietoy line from Dowst in 1961 Manufacturing, continuing to produce Tootsietoy die-cast vehicles and also venturing into plastic model kits and slot cars in the 1960s.","bestsellers":["Tootsietoy die-cast vehicles","Tootsietoy Midget series","Strombecker slot cars","Strombecker model kits"],"slug":"strombecker-corporation"},{"name":"Structo Manufacturing","loc":"Freeport, IL","founded":1908,"closed":1976,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pressed steel","trucks","construction toys","vehicles"],"desc":"Structo was a major producer of pressed-steel construction and vehicle toys for over 50 years, competing with Buddy L and Tonka. Their spring-wound clockwork mechanisms and detailed lithography made them a beloved brand for generations. Structo was acquired by King-Seeley Thermos and then by Ertl in 1975. The separate Structoys record in this encyclopedia covers the same company's early construction sets.","bestsellers":["Structo Dumping Utility Truck","Structo earth mover","Structo Hydraulic Dump Truck","Structo Army truck set","Structo Road Builder set"],"slug":"structo-manufacturing"},{"name":"Structoys (Structo/Coleco)","loc":"Freeport, IL","founded":1908,"closed":1975,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["building toys","tin toys","construction"],"desc":"Structoys was an early Structo product line, not a separate company, and is listed here because the name is encountered on its own. It produced metal building construction toy sets — precursors to Erector-style kits — in the early 20th century, allowing children to build bridges, cranes, and simple structures with nuts and bolts.","bestsellers":["Structoys metal construction set","Structo early builder kits","Structo erector-style sets"],"slug":"structoys-structocoleco"},{"name":"Sturditoy Corporation","loc":"Providence, RI","founded":1920,"closed":1934,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pressed steel","trucks","construction toys"],"desc":"Sturditoy produced large, extremely heavy pressed-steel toys — among the most ruggedly built toys of the era. Their pressed-steel toy dump trucks, tankers, and fire trucks were built large enough for a child to sit on and extremely durable. Pristine Sturditoy trucks are rare and highly collectible.","bestsellers":["Sturditoy pressed-steel dump truck","Sturditoy oil tanker","Sturditoy fire engine","Sturditoy motor bus","Sturditoy army truck"],"slug":"sturditoy-corporation"},{"name":"Sun Rubber Company","loc":"Barberton, OH","founded":1930,"closed":1974,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["rubber toys","vehicles","dolls"],"desc":"Sun Rubber produced soft rubber toys designed for young children — squeezable, floatable, and safe. Their rubber toy cars, Sunbabe dolls, and floating bath toys were popular throughout the 1930s–1960s. Walt Disney licensed Sun Rubber to produce rubber versions of Disney characters.","bestsellers":["Sun Rubber Sunbabe doll","Sun Rubber Disney character squeaky toys","Sun Rubber floating bath toys","Sun Rubber squeeze cars","Sun Rubber So-Wee doll"],"slug":"sun-rubber-company"},{"name":"Taiyo Kogyo","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1950,"closed":null,"origin":"japan","active":true,"tags":["tin toys","battery operated","radio controlled","vehicles"],"desc":"Taiyo Kogyo was a prolific Japanese producer of battery-operated tin toys and later radio-controlled plastic vehicles. Their battery-operated tin Mystery Action cars (with reversing bump-and-go action) and their 1980s RC cars were popular worldwide.","bestsellers":["Taiyo Mystery Action car","Taiyo battery-operated tin cars","Taiyo radio-controlled cars","Taiyo tin construction vehicles","Taiyo RC motorcycle"],"slug":"taiyo-kogyo"},{"name":"Technofix (Gebruder Einfalt)","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1922,"closed":1970,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","novelty toys"],"desc":"Technofix was the trade name of Gebruder Einfalt, producing some of the most charming lithographed tin clockwork toys of the postwar era. Their tin roller coaster, figure-eight racing sets, and highway playset are particularly sought after. Technofix and Gebrüder Einfalt are the same firm and are frequently treated as two makers when they are one.","bestsellers":["Technofix tin roller coaster","Technofix No.255 figure-eight race","Technofix highway set","Technofix tin trolley","Einfalt tin bus"],"slug":"technofix-gebruder-einfalt"},{"name":"Thomas Toys","loc":"Clifton, NJ","founded":1944,"closed":1955,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["plastic toys","figures","vehicles"],"desc":"Thomas Toys was an early postwar producer of plastic toys including cowboy and Indian figure sets, plastic vehicles, and construction toys. Their inexpensive plastic toys were sold widely through dime stores.","bestsellers":["Thomas Toys plastic cowboys","Thomas Toys plastic Indians","Thomas Toys plastic farm sets","Thomas Toys plastic vehicle sets"],"slug":"thomas-toys"},{"name":"Tipp and Company","loc":"Nuremberg, Germany","founded":1912,"closed":1971,"origin":"germany","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","military","vehicles","clockwork"],"desc":"Tipp & Co. produced lithographed tin toys including military vehicles, aircraft, and ships widely exported before and after WWII. Their postwar tin toys for the American market — buses and delivery vans — are colorful and highly collectible.","bestsellers":["Tipp & Co. tin military truck","Tipp & Co. tin bus","Tipp & Co. airplane","Tipp & Co. tin delivery van","Tipp & Co. tin race car"],"slug":"tipp-and-company"},{"name":"Toledo Metal Wheel Company","loc":"Toledo, OH","founded":1887,"closed":1930,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pedal cars","pressed steel","outdoor toys"],"desc":"Toledo Metal Wheel produced the Blue Streak line of pedal cars and outdoor ride-on toys, competing with American National and Gendron in the Toledo region.","bestsellers":["Toledo Blue Streak pedal car","Toledo pressed-steel wagon","Toledo pedal car sets"],"slug":"toledo-metal-wheel-company"},{"name":"Tonka Toys","loc":"Mound, MN","founded":1955,"closed":1991,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pressed steel","trucks","construction toys"],"desc":"The Tonka name was adopted in 1955 by Mound Metalcraft. 'Built Tonka Tough' wasn't just a slogan — these nearly indestructible pressed-steel trucks became the definitive toy truck of American boyhood. Hasbro acquired Tonka in 1991.","bestsellers":["Tonka Mighty Dump Truck","Tonka Mighty Loader","Tonka Steam Shovel","Tonka fire engine","Tonka Jeep","Tonka Mighty Crane","Tonka Road Grader"],"slug":"tonka-toys"},{"name":"Topper Toys (DeLuxe Reading Corp.)","loc":"Elizabeth, NJ","founded":1955,"closed":1972,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["dolls","action figures","battery operated","games"],"desc":"Topper Toys (a division of DeLuxe Reading) produced innovative and TV-marketed toys including the Johnny Seven OMA (One Man Army) — the best-selling toy of 1964 — and its own Dawn fashion doll, a smaller and cheaper Barbie competitor that sold in large numbers in the early 1970s. The company overreached and collapsed in 1972.","bestsellers":["Johnny Seven OMA gun (1964)","Dawn fashion doll (1970)","Topper Jet Screamer toy","Topper Suzy Homemaker appliances","Topper Davey Crewcut figure"],"slug":"topper-toys-deluxe-reading-corp"},{"name":"Toy Tinkers / Tinkertoy","loc":"Evanston, IL","founded":1914,"closed":1952,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["building toys","educational","wooden toys"],"desc":"Charles Pajeau invented Tinkertoys in 1914, inspired by watching children play with pencils, sticks, and empty spools of thread. The round wooden spokes-and-hub construction system was an immediate sensation — nearly a million sets sold in the first two years.","bestsellers":["Original Tinkertoy set (1914)","Tinkertoy Super Set","Tinkertoy motorized kits","Giant Tinkertoy"],"slug":"toy-tinkers-tinkertoy"},{"name":"Transogram Company","loc":"New York, NY","founded":1915,"closed":1969,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["games","puzzles","preschool toys"],"desc":"Transogram was a prolific producer of board games, card games, puzzles, and toy sets sold through mass retailers. They produced many low-cost licensed games and original titles that competed with Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers in the middle-price market.","bestsellers":["Transogram Robin Hood game","Transogram Casper the Ghost game","Transogram Lone Ranger game","Transogram Cheyenne board game","Transogram Winky Dink game"],"slug":"transogram-company"},{"name":"Turner Toys (Turner Mfg.)","loc":"Wapakoneta, OH","founded":1915,"closed":1946,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pressed steel","trucks","vehicles"],"desc":"Turner Manufacturing produced pressed-steel toy vehicles during the 1920s–1940s. Their realistic pressed-steel sedans, buses, and trucks are collected for their quality construction and detailed lithography.","bestsellers":["Turner pressed-steel sedan","Turner pressed-steel bus","Turner pressed-steel delivery truck","Turner pressed-steel open touring car"],"slug":"turner-toys-turner-mfg"},{"name":"Tyco Toys","loc":"Mt. Laurel, NJ","founded":1926,"closed":1996,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["trains","games","action figures","vehicles"],"desc":"Tyco produced HO-gauge trains, slot car racing systems, and action figure lines across 70 years. Their HO trains were a more affordable alternative to Lionel. Tyco also produced the popular Mantis slot car system and Dino-Riders action figures. Mattel acquired Tyco in 1996.","bestsellers":["Tyco HO electric train sets","Tyco Mantis slot car system","Tyco Dino-Riders figures","Tyco radio-controlled cars","Tyco US-1 Electric Trucking"],"slug":"tyco-toys"},{"name":"Unique Art Manufacturing Co.","loc":"Newark, NJ","founded":1916,"closed":1952,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","clockwork","mechanical toys"],"desc":"Unique Art produced colorful lithographed tin wind-up toys sold through five-and-dime stores. Their animated figures of Li'l Abner, Howdy Doody, and GI Joe Jouncing Jeep are charming and collectible.","bestsellers":["GI Joe Jouncing Jeep (1944)","Unique Art Howdy Doody Xylophone","Unique Art Li'l Abner Dogpatch band","Unique Art Rodeo Joe","Unique Art Capitol Hill Racer"],"slug":"unique-art-manufacturing-co"},{"name":"Universal International","loc":"Hong Kong","founded":1980,"closed":2000,"origin":"oth","active":false,"tags":["die-cast","vehicles"],"desc":"Universal Group of Hong Kong bought Lesney's Matchbox business out of receivership in 1982 and owned it until selling to Tyco in 1992, moving production to Macau and then China. It also held the Dinky name for a period. This record covers a corporate owner rather than a design house.","bestsellers":["Matchbox 1-75 (Macau production)","Matchbox Models of Yesteryear","Dinky Collection die-cast"],"slug":"universal-international"},{"name":"Vindex (National Sewing Machine Co.)","loc":"Belvidere, IL","founded":1929,"closed":1932,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["cast iron","vehicles","farm equipment"],"desc":"Vindex was a short-lived but remarkable cast-iron toy line produced by the National Sewing Machine Company. Despite operating only a few years during the Depression, Vindex produced exquisitely detailed cast-iron toys — scale models of Indian motorcycles, John Deere tractors, Mack trucks and Buick sedans, not the machines themselves — that are among the most prized cast-iron toys in existence.","bestsellers":["Vindex Indian motorcycle cast iron","Vindex John Deere tractor","Vindex Mack truck cast iron","Vindex Buick sedan cast iron","Vindex farm equipment set"],"slug":"vindex-national-sewing-machine-co"},{"name":"Wham-O Manufacturing","loc":"San Gabriel, CA","founded":1948,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["outdoor toys","sports toys","novelty toys"],"desc":"Richard Knerr and Arthur 'Spud' Melin started Wham-O with a hand-crafted slingshot. The company sparked some of the biggest toy crazes in American history. The Hula Hoop (1958) sold 25 million units in four months. Wham-O bought Fred Morrison's flying disc and renamed it the Frisbee, and went on to sell the Slip 'N Slide, the Super Ball and the Hacky Sack. The founders sold the company in 1982 and the brand has passed through several owners since.","bestsellers":["Hula Hoop (1958) — 25M in 4 months","Frisbee (1957)","Slip 'N Slide (1961)","Super Ball (1965)","Hacky Sack (acquired 1983)","Boogie Board"],"slug":"wham-o-manufacturing"},{"name":"Whitman Publishing Co.","loc":"Racine, WI","founded":1907,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["games","puzzles","books","paper toys"],"desc":"Whitman Publishing produced a vast range of children's coloring books, paper doll books, jigsaw puzzles, and games. Their licensed Big Little Books, Tell-A-Tale books, and card games featuring Disney, TV, and movie characters are treasured by pop culture collectors.","bestsellers":["Whitman Big Little Books","Whitman paper doll books","Whitman Disney jigsaw puzzles","Whitman Tell-A-Tale books","Whitman card games","Whitman TV character coloring books"],"slug":"whitman-publishing-co"},{"name":"Wilder Manufacturing (Jokari USA)","loc":"Dallas, TX","founded":1960,"closed":null,"origin":"usa","active":true,"tags":["outdoor toys","sports toys","novelty toys"],"desc":"Wilder Manufacturing introduced the Jokari paddleball game to the American market — a rubber-ball-on-elastic game played against a wall that became enormously popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Jokari sold in large numbers through the 1960s and 1970s.","bestsellers":["Jokari paddleball game (US)","Wilder novelty outdoor games","Jokari tennis set","Wilder sports toy line"],"slug":"wilder-manufacturing-jokari-usa"},{"name":"Wolverine Supply & Mfg. Co.","loc":"Pittsburgh, PA","founded":1903,"closed":1970,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","sand toys","household toys"],"desc":"Wolverine produced colorful lithographed tin toys focused on domestic, beach, and novelty play. Their famous Sandy Andy sand toy has been produced for generations, and their tin grocery stores and kitchen sets are beloved. Wolverine toys have a cheerful, domestic aesthetic. This is the same firm as the Wolverine Toy Company record listed separately in this encyclopedia; the two describe one company, which changed its name in 1962.","bestsellers":["Sandy Andy sand toy","Wolverine Corner Grocery store","Wolverine Sunny Suzy kitchen","Wolverine tin ironing board set","Wolverine tin tea set","Wolverine dishwashing toy"],"slug":"wolverine-supply-and-mfg-co"},{"name":"Wolverine Toy Company","loc":"Pittsburgh, PA","founded":1903,"closed":1970,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","sand toys","household toys"],"desc":"Wolverine produced colorful tin lithographed toys focused on domestic and novelty play. Their Sandy Andy sand toy was an iconic beach toy for decades. Wolverine also produced a lovely range of tin kitchen and grocery play sets. This is the same firm as the Wolverine Supply & Mfg. Co. record listed separately in this encyclopedia; the company traded under the earlier name until 1962.","bestsellers":["Sandy Andy sand toy","Wolverine Corner Grocery store toy","Wolverine tin kitchen set","Wolverine tin tea set","Wolverine Sunny Suzy kitchen"],"slug":"wolverine-toy-company"},{"name":"Wyandotte Toys","loc":"Wyandotte, MI","founded":1921,"closed":1956,"origin":"usa","active":false,"tags":["pressed steel","tin toys","vehicles","cap guns"],"desc":"Wyandotte produced affordable pressed-steel and tin toys sold primarily through Woolworth's and Kresge stores. Their colorful lithographed cars, trucks, airplanes, and cap guns are popular collectibles today.","bestsellers":["Wyandotte pressed-steel dump truck","Wyandotte tin airplane","Wyandotte lever-action cap gun","Wyandotte streamlined car set","Wyandotte bus"],"slug":"wyandotte-toys"},{"name":"Y / Yonezawa (STS/Yone)","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1950,"closed":1972,"origin":"japan","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","battery operated","vehicles","robots"],"desc":"Yonezawa produced exquisite battery-operated and friction tin toys primarily for the American export market in the 1950s and 1960s. Their Cadillac and Buick tin cars are prized for their meticulous detail. Yonezawa also produced battery-operated robots and space toys.","bestsellers":["Yonezawa tin Cadillac (battery-operated)","Yonezawa Cadillac 62 friction car","Yonezawa tin bus","Yonezawa Mystery Action car","Yonezawa astronaut robot"],"slug":"y-yonezawa-stsyone"},{"name":"Yoshiya (KO Kogyo)","loc":"Tokyo, Japan","founded":1950,"closed":1975,"origin":"japan","active":false,"tags":["tin toys","battery operated","robots","space toys"],"desc":"Yoshiya (KO) produced battery-operated tin robots and space toys that are among the most colorful and creative of the postwar Japanese tin toy era. The Cragstan Astronaut — sold in America under the importer Cragstan's brand — and the Talking Robot are particularly prized by collectors, and their space vehicles are boldly designed.","bestsellers":["Yoshiya KO Cragstan Astronaut robot","Yoshiya Talking Robot","Yoshiya tin space patrol car","Yoshiya tin moon buggy","Yoshiya battery-operated figures"],"slug":"yoshiya-ko-kogyo"}]