Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt)
48 years in operation (1922–1970)
About Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt)
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.
Founding
The brothers Georg and Johann Einfalt, who founded the firm in Nuremberg in 1922.
History of Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt)
Einfalt worked in lithographed tinplate and specialised in a particular kind of ingenuity: toys where the action came from track, ramps and gravity rather than from an elaborate mechanism. Vehicles ran down spiral ramps and figure-of-eight tracks, motorcycles chased each other round loops, and a single clockwork motor or a simple push could drive several minutes of movement.
The company traded under the Technofix name from early on, and Technofix became the better-known brand — to the point that the two names are often treated as separate makers when they are the same firm. The toys are notable for how much play they extracted from very little material, which mattered both in the Depression and in the material-scarce postwar years.
Production continued into the 1970s, latterly with increasing plastic content, before ending as the German tinplate industry as a whole gave way to imports.
Timeline
- 1922Georg and Johann Einfalt found the firm in Nuremberg
- 1930Ramp and track toys driven by gravity and simple clockwork define the range
- 1950The Technofix brand becomes the company's principal trading name
- 1965Plastic components increasingly replace lithographed tinplate
- 1970Production ends
Notable & Best-Selling Toys
- Technofix tin roller coaster
- Technofix figure-eight car set
- Einfalt tin bus
- Einfalt tin delivery van
- Technofix railway set
Identifying & Dating Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt) Toys
- Look for "GE" or the Einfalt name, and more commonly "TECHNOFIX", lithographed on the toy or the track base, with a German country mark.
- A "GE" monogram — for Gebrüder Einfalt — appears on prewar pieces; postwar output is generally marked Technofix.
- Country marks date the piece: "Made in Germany" prewar, "US-Zone Germany" or "Made in Western Germany" postwar.
Collector's Notes
- These are track toys and the track is the vulnerable part. A complete toy with all its ramp sections, undented and correctly interlocking, is much scarcer than a complete vehicle.
- Boxes carry printed setup diagrams and are essential to knowing whether a set is complete, which makes boxed examples disproportionately valuable.
- Check the lithography on the ramp surfaces, where the vehicles wore the printing away with use — this is normal but heavy wear reduces value markedly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When was Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt) founded?
Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt) was founded in 1922, based in Nuremberg, Germany.
Is Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt) still in business?
No. Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt) ceased operations in 1970, after 48 years in business.
What is Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt) best known for?
Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt) is best known for Technofix tin roller coaster, Technofix figure-eight car set, Einfalt tin bus, among other toys.
Where was Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt) located?
Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt) was based in Nuremberg, Germany.
What kinds of toys did Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt) make?
Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt) is categorized under tin toys, clockwork, vehicles, novelty toys.
Who founded Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt)?
The brothers Georg and Johann Einfalt, who founded the firm in Nuremberg in 1922.
How can you identify genuine Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt) toys?
Look for "GE" or the Einfalt name, and more commonly "TECHNOFIX", lithographed on the toy or the track base, with a German country mark. A "GE" monogram — for Gebrüder Einfalt — appears on prewar pieces; postwar output is generally marked Technofix. Country marks date the piece: "Made in Germany" prewar, "US-Zone Germany" or "Made in Western Germany" postwar.
Are Einfalt (Gebruder Einfalt) toys valuable?
These are track toys and the track is the vulnerable part. A complete toy with all its ramp sections, undented and correctly interlocking, is much scarcer than a complete vehicle. Boxes carry printed setup diagrams and are essential to knowing whether a set is complete, which makes boxed examples disproportionately valuable. Check the lithography on the ramp surfaces, where the vehicles wore the printing away with use — this is normal but heavy wear reduces value markedly.