Who Made That Toy?

One of the first questions a toy collector usually asks is, " Who made it?" Part of the fun of collecting is researching a toy and learning more about it. But you need a place from which to start, so here are few facts about patents, characteristics and identification of marks that may help.

Only a few U.S. toys were patented before the mid-1800s. After 1870 most were patented or trademarked. If the toy has a stenciled, embossed or printed patent number on it or its original box, it can be verified by its inventor and manufacturer by the U.S. Patent office. However, patent dates can be misleading, since patent rights can be purchased and toys can be manufactured for many years afterwards.

In compliance with the McKinley tariff Act of 1891, all foreign-made toys had to be marked with a country of origin. There were many toy manufacturers in Europe, especially in Germany, and a lot of German toys ended up in America.

Some of the best sources for identifying unmarked toys are manufacturer's wholesale and retail catalogs, flyers, job lists and order forms, toy organizations and museums. Many times examples are advertised in toy trade journal such as Antique Toy World and Collector's Showcase.

There can be a lot of confusion in attempts to identify a toy. For instance, George Borgfeldt marketed many toys under a "no name" line and was also the American representative for Steiff and Nifty toys and the New York broker for Gibbs Mfg. of Canton, Ohio. The Harris Toy Co. of Cleveland performed work for their competition, Dent, Hubley, and Wilkens. In their early years, Hubley made all kinds of spare parts for other companies.

The study of toys spans many years and hundreds of manufacturers who were in and out of the business in many forms, reorganizing several times over the course of their existence. It is difficult in this publication to address them all, but some of the major ones can be covered here.

The Arcade Manufacturing Co. was established in Freeport, Illinois in 1868. Originally it was called Novelty Iron Works. Their slogan was "They Look Real." Yellow Cab was their first successful toy, and Andy and Chester Gump toys are still popular with collectors. Arcade also made toy banks, dollhouse furniture, and cast-iron penny toys. Its mark was a horizontal oval with "ARCADE TOYS" and "They Look Real."

The company that made Buddy "L" toys was known under several names beginning with Moline Press Steel and ending with the Buddy "L" Corp. Buddy "L" toys started with a small pressed pickup truck and expanded to a veritable fleet of 30 cranes, steamrollers, trucks, and other construction equipment.

The Francis W. Carpenter Company of Port Chester, NY manufactured several outstanding toys through the first decade of the century. For the most part they made cast iron horse-drawn vehicles (including the crème de la crème for many collectors) the tally-ho. They sold many of their patent rights to Pratt and Letchworth.

The Dent Hardware Company of Fullerton, PA had a specialty of cast-iron and aluminum transportation toys and banks. They made the Pioneer fire truck, the Ford Tri-Motor and large hook and ladder toys.

"They're Different" was the slogan of Lancaster, Pennsylvania's Hubley Manufacturing Co. They first made cast-iron toys, horse-drawn wagons, and fire engines, circus trains, and cap guns. Hubley used the name Lancaster Brand Iron Toys. During the Depression they avoided financial woes by changing to the manufacturer of cheaper, smaller toys. Their specialty was electric toy train equipment and parts.

The Ives Corporation made the finest of cast-iron toys in the late 1800's and early 1900's, and fine clockwork toys. Clockwork toys were the Rolls Royce of motion toys, since they used brass clock mechanisms, rather than a windup mechanism, to give the toys motion. Ives used two different marks. One was the face of a boy in an oval with the words "IVES TOYS MAKE HAPPY BOYS." The other was an oval with the front view of a locomotive with the words "IVES TOYS" above it. Lionel took over the company during the Depression.

The Kenton Hardware Co. of Kenton, Ohio began toy manufacturing in 1894 with horse-drawn fire equipment, banks, and toy stoves. Their slogan was "The Real Thing In Everything But Size." Kenton's mark was the bold letters KT with "KENTON TOYS" overlaid on them inside an elongated octagon.

Louis Marx & Co. originally placed large orders with Girard Model Works, Strauss, and C.G. Wood, who produced toys under the Marx trademark. They specialized in tin windup toys and were one of the Big 4 among electric train manufacturers.

Pratt & Letchwork of Buffalo, NY was originally known as Buffalo Malleable Iron and made fine cast iron horse drawn hansom cabs, pumpers, artillery wagons, and toy trains

One of the few West Coast manufacturers was the Smith Miller Company of Santa Monica CA., but they didn't begin until the 1940's. Nevertheless they made very collectible Mack truck pressed steel toys.

Stevens & Brown made quality tin toys that were soldered rather than having a tab and slot construction.

These are some identifying marks, features, and characteristics of but a few makers. The field is so vast that we recommend some study before any major purchase is made. Of course, if you find an inexpensive toy that you just can't resist, you can always hope you've discovered a very fine collectible!