Toy Soldiers

The first lead figures used as toys were made in the third century B.C. Lead, wood, and tin figures were known in almost every civilization and in every century. Until the eighteenth century, the toy soldier was mainly a plaything for royalty and the wealthy. German craftsmen began to make flat tin soldiers in the […]

Favorite Vintage Games

Generations of children and adults have played these popular games: Monopoly (1936) Candyland (1949) Clue (1949) Scrabble (1949) Wiffle Ball (1953) Yahtzee (1956) The Game of Life (1960) Twister (1965) Dungeons & Dragons (1973) Rubik’s Cube (1977) Trivial Pursuit (1982) Pictionary (1986) This is an early version of the Monopoly game.

Popular Toys and Games Pre 1900

Most of the toys and games popular today were invented years ago. This table helps to date toys by furnishing the approximate dates some toys and games were first manufactured. Toys Starting Date of Commercial Manufacture Board games Late 18th century Cap guns and cap exploders Mid-19th century (most popular 1885-1915) Card games (Authors, Old […]

Electronic Games

The 1970s saw the introduction of electronic games. One of the first was Hasbro’s Simon, with its pattern of flashing lights and beeps. Magnavox’s tennis video game Odyssey, invented in 1971, was followed by the popular Pong tennis game that Atari brought out for home television in 1974. 1980 was a big year in the […]

Doll Makers

Doll Maker Country Dates of Operation Amberg, Louis, & Son U.S.A. 1878-1930 Bärh & Pröschild Germany 1871-1919 (Purchased by Bruno Schmidt and operated until 1930s) Bru Jne. & Cie. France 1866-1899 Greiner, Ludwig U.S.A. 1840-1883 (Operated as Ludwig Sons, 1874-1883) Handwerck, Heinrich Germany 1876-1932 Heubach, Gebrüder (Bros.) Germany 1843-1938 Jumeau France 1842-1899 Kämmer & Reinhardt […]

Some American Doll Makers

Manufacturer Location Dates of Operation A & H Doll Manufacturing Company Long Island City, New York 1947–1969 Alexander Doll Company New York, New York 1923–present Louis Amberg & Son New York, New York 1878–1930 American Character Doll Company New York, New York 1919–1968 American Doll & Toy Manufacturing Company Brooklyn, New York 1892–1909 American Girl […]

Vogue Doll Company and Ginny

Jennie Graves founded The Vogue Doll Shoppe in the early 1920s as a cottage industry employing women to sew doll clothes in her home in Somerville, Massachusetts. She designed the clothes, then dressed and sold dolls made by other companies. The business prospered, and in 1945 the company was incorporated as Vogue Dolls, Inc. In […]

Doll Types and Manufacture Dates

Doll Type First Date of Manufacture Baby dolls c. 1850. Before this time, all dolls were adults. Brownie 1883 China head (European): curls on neck of head 1840 China head (European): short curls 1850 China head (European): chignon or waterfall hair style 1860 Cloth dolls 1880s Composition head 1800-1850 Closing eyes in head 1800 Glass […]

Ravca

Bernard Ravca (1904–1998) made dolls in Paris from 1924 until 1939. His early dolls were made using French bread that was molded and later treated. Each of his dolls had a unique personality. The dolls usually depicted old French peasants. Some of his early dolls were large figures of young people. Among the many dolls […]

Storybook Dolls

In San Francisco in 1936, doll maker Nancy Ann Abbott started a business that became the Nancy Ann Storybook Doll Company in 1945. Nancy Ann Storybook dolls were made of painted bisque until the mid-1940s, when hard plastic dolls were introduced. The dolls were often issued in series—Little Sister, Mother Goose Rhymes, Around the World, […]