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Fairbanks-Morse Trainmaster
In 1823, a wagonmaker named Thaddeus Fairbanks built a foundry at St. Johnsbury, Vermont to manufacture cast-iron plows and stoves. One year later, his older brother Erastus joined the business, which was thereafter known as the E & T Fairbanks Company. Every wagon load of raw material that was delivered to their plant had to be manually unloaded onto a scale for weighing. When the brothers realized that their scale was inaccurate [...] Click here to continue reading.
Kenton Lock Co./Kenton Hardware Co.
The Kenton Lock Manufacturing Company of Kenton, Ohio added toys and banks to its production line in 1894 and the company’s name was changed to the Kenton Hardware Manufacturing Company. However, its reputation as a quality lock manufacturer was not lost, as bank enthusiasts today still marvel at the well-constructed nature of their banks’ locks. Soon after the company changed its name it was destroyed by fire in 1903. [...] Click here to continue reading.
Courtenay Miniature Firgures
Courtenay Miniatures of Duran, England was founded in 1938 by Richard and Vida Courtenay as an extension of Doran toy makers which dates back to 1892. They continued in production until 1963.
The Courtenay specialty was very limited production figures, especially pewter royalty figures including Knights of the Round Table.
Peter Greenhill purchased the Courtenay molds in the early 1960′s and continues to market miniatures under both the Courtenay and Greenhill [...] Click here to continue reading.
The J. Chein & Co. Toy Manufacturers
Julius Chein (pronounced ‘chain’) established J. Chein & Co. in 1903 with a factory in Harrison, New Jersey. By the 1920′s Chein was a leading manufacturer of lithographed tin toys, many of them wind-up or mechanical toys, with over 250 employees.
Although lithography was a 19th century technology, it wasn’t until the 1920′s that toy manufacturers began extensively utilizing it. Lithography had many advantages for toy makers, [...] Click here to continue reading.
Schoenhut Circus Toys
Albert Schoenhut immigrated to the United States near the end of the American Civil War and began operations as a toy manufacturer in Philadelphia in 1872. Frequently linked to early composition Rolly Dollys and wooden toy pianos, the name Schoenhut is most synonymous with the wooden articulated Humpty Dumpty Circus figures made from 1903 to 1935.
Schoenhut’s first circus set was a simple ladder, chair and clown combination. Many different [...] Click here to continue reading.
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