So many people have happy memories of their childhood waking up on Christmas morning full of excitement and finding the toys under the Christmas tree.
Before the computer game era, boys received model trains and cars, while girls usually received dolls and dolls’ houses accessories.
Japanese toy makers were to change this with their fantastic mechanical toys, especially robots for boys and mechanical animal toys for girls.
It is interesting to see how all generations can relate to these intricate tin toys. I have always thought of tin toys being an invention from the 1950’s, Indeed that was arguably the peak, however my research has some interesting finds.
Tin toys are a cheaper more durable alternative to wooden/cast iron toys and date back to the 1850’s. The invention of sheet metal in 1815 allowed mass production of these inexpensive toys.
Thin sheets of metal plated with tin gave way to the invention of tin toys or tinplated toys. In Germany in the 1850’s spring activated tin toys were being made and this were assembled and painted by hand.
Other countries quickly joined the new tin toy manufacturing era with England and France producing penny toys. The United States were producing tin toys, when tin ore mines were opened in Illinios and could provide easily available and cheap raw materials.
For more than 100 years, German mechanical toys were traditionally the best quality and the most expensive. They were better than the British and French products. But from the 1950s, Japan became a major producer of cheap toys for the world market.
Lets take a slight step back from 1950’s to the second world war where production of tin toys were discontinued due to the need for such materials during the war effort.
What happened after the war leading up to the 1960’s? Well that gets interesting. Chad Valley Toys a well known brand even today were increasing in popularity in England making tin toys. Japan at this time were producing tin toys they were granted the rights to production under occupation.
Early Japanese tin toys borrowed heavily from German techniques. However, Japanese tin toys were usually made from recycled food cans from the U.S., and Californian canned tomatoes were a particular favorite!
Having perfected their skill with tin plate, the Japanese toy makers began producing possibly the most unique toys the world has ever seen. Japanese ingenuity in toy design was truly amazing.
By the 1960’s plastic was the new cheaper alternative to tin and the introduction of government safety regulations meant tin toys would become a product of the past.
Japanese tin plate toys are highly collectible now, since they’re becoming very scarce due to their age. Tin plate toy manufacturing ceased with the advent of plastic toys in early 1970s, and almost immediately the market for tin plate toys disappeared.
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We love history and enjoy keeping the memories and nostalgia alive. We love anything curios or unusual, alongside more mainstream antiques, vintage and retro.