Alwyn Brice assesses the contribution made by German manufacturers.
Do you collect tinplate toys? Alwyn Brice assesses the contribution made by German manufacturers.
Mention tinplate toys today and the chances are that the image conjured up is that of brightly coloured Japanese collectables, often tied into the themes of space exploration or robots. It’s undeniable that the Japanese contribution to the genre is terrific – and you’ve only got to take a look at some of the auction results to see that certain manufacturers and models are highly prized indeed. But even though there’s great British tinplate out there, as well as stuff from France and the USA to a lesser degree, the whole thing started in Germany.
Well, not exactly Germany, but Bohemia, which was an adjacent country before becoming in latter years the Czech Republic. It was, though, German-speaking, one reason that Germany tried to take it under its wing post World War One.
Amazingly, tinplate or more precisely tinware, can be traced back there to the Middle Ages. The process wasn’t for producing toys, of course, but rather tinplate was fashioned into more domestic objects, like pots and pans. But the proximity of Germany, with its traditions of craftsmanship and manufacturing, wasn’t slow in adopting the technology, and by the 1500s that country was the principal source of tinplate in Europe. Surprisingly, it would be a couple of centuries before the UK set up its own production facilities.
OTHER AVENUES
A huge success story in terms of kitchenware, tinplate was eventually viewed by manufacturers as having further potential. Germany’s background in woodcarving, as well as pewter figurine manufacture (a craft which dates from the 1700s), led inexorably into the world of the infant – and so attention turned to tin toy production.
Looking back, historians suggest that some of the earliest German toys date from the mid19th century. One the greatest names, that of Bing, commenced manufacture in 1863; its success encouraged others to get in on the act, and Marklin, Gunthermann, Lehmann, Gama and Fleischmann were all manufacturing before the new millennium.
These are the stalwarts in terms of collectable tinplate. It’s safe to say that their output certainly wasn’t aimed at the lower classes: the quality was high, the range extensive and the engineering exquisite. Bing, Marklin and Fleischmann have since become synonymous with railway-related items, and not just locomotives; trackside accessories and buildings all bear testimony to the impressive skills of these manufacturers, which is why many pieces command high prices today. That said, there are plenty of other collecting areas that they encompassed: ships and boats, steam-powered models, vehicles and even working figurines, to name but a small selection.
By the 20th century, though, Germany was well and truly established in this genre. Notable amongst the latecomers to the party was Tipp & Co and Arnold, but there was also Lineol, Schuco, Hausser and Levy in the years leading up to the second world war… the list goes on.
Of these names, some are still about today: Schuco, famed for its vehicle output, continues to produce models, and you’d be hard pressed to know the difference between some of the modern production and that of the 1940s. Schuco excelled in its gimmicks: cars that could turn automatically when running or be steered by remote control; it even came up with a garage, the doors of which could be opened by unhooking a phone on the side whilst the car within could be made operative (once wound up) by simply blowing on it! This had its roots in the US War Zone, more of which anon.
MILITARY TOYS
Whilst military tinplate toys from the likes of Chad Valley, Triang and Joustra turn up fairly regularly at toyfairs, seeking out the older German examples is more difficult. Many now command three or even four figures sums, so tend to head for the auction houses rather than the draped wooden table. But with diligence they can be found. Lineol and Hausser produced a wide range of (German, funnily enough)
military vehicles, including staff cars, troop carriers, anti-aircraft guns and cannon, together with motorbikes and other wheeled transport. Oddly, tanks were not too much in evidence, though: Tipp & Co was one of the few to market such vehicles. Hausser’s output is keenly collected these days and amongst the gems is a very realistic 88mm flak gun, which comes with two sets of carriage wheels and which can be dismounted and set up, ready for action. Such huge play value wouldn’t have come cheap back in the 1930s or 1940s, needless to say. Today, a good example without the towing tractor might set you back £400 or so.
Probably the most common tanks to be found when trawling the Internet are those by Gama: clockwork, they can suffer from perished or drooping rubber tracks but sufficient quantities seem to have been manufactured, meaning that prices remain affordable.
THE US WAR ZONE
This period, which saw the US partly occupy and oversee German production in the aftermath of the war that ceased in 1945, could form a collecting area in its own right. A big attraction has to be the affordability of such tinplate toys from this era: it was, perhaps, the last gasp of a European industry that was slowly recognising the rise of plastic. Moreover, legislation, elf ‘n’ safety and cost were also eroding this staple, which would result in tinplate being pushed to the toy sector periphery by the 1970s, with producers like China and Hungary becoming the most likely sources for the collector.
I’m unaware of any specific reference books on this short historical period but one of the key manufacturing names has to be that of Gama. Although the company has its roots in the 1880s, it was long-lived and was still manufacturing in the 1990s. Strangely, it seems to have morphed into tinplate again around 2000, when its name crops up in connection with with 1/24 scale German and US tinplate vehicles under the Gonio brand.
Arnold was also very active during the 1950s, producing cars, tanks, ships, motorcyclists and functioning figures. These can be found today without too much difficulty.
THE COST OF COLLECTING
In closing, it’s obvious that your tinplate collection will be dictated by your wallet. German tinplate can be picked up for just a few pounds, but the magnificent early output from the likes of Bing and Marklin could set you back thousands. You have been warned…