Sunday, March 17, 2013

Tippco Toys

Sunday, March 17, 2013
(St. Patrick's Day) 


Tippco Toys
(Germany)

    When you look at toys too often, they begin to look alike. I guess you could say that for alomost any topic such as cars, flowers, cloth sees, and so forth. However,  if you look close enough, you can see the differences among the manufacturers. 

    The Tippco Toys company was established in 1912 by Mr. Philipp Ullmann. The company  established itself as a major producer  of lithographed tin toys in Europe. However, in 1933 Mr. Ullmann, being Jewish was forced out of Germany during the rise of Naziism.  The company continued to produce toys without its Mr. Ullmann.

     The company produced interesting and complex toys such as its airplane bombers with working bomb doors. It also produced some of the first battery-operated cars with front headlights.  During  WWII, many toys were melted down for scrap to provide arms for the war effort, both in Europe and in North America.  As a result, many toys that were more expensive and rarer at the time, became even rarer and more expensive on the used-toy market.

     With the end of the war, Tippco made very detail-oriented tin toys of common civilian aircraft.

(Please click on the address above to be redirected to the fine Website of Bertoia Auctions)













   You can see how these particular toys (Tin Lithographed - European) of the 1930's and later,  may look similar to most other European toys of that era. However, when you look more closely and even compare,they  are a much better than the others. Colour, design, design features (doors open, detailed human figures, bombs drop from airplane) all add up to separate this particular Tippco brand from the rest.


Well that's it for another Sunday.

Thanks for dropping by to visit.

Have a nice restful Sunday, and if you're here on any other day,
have a great part of the day, wherever you may be.

Stacey


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I received as a Christmas gift around 1955, a two engines airplane "Tipco World Airlines" by Tippco. This was a superb tin toy with green and red lights, running propellers and landing gear moving up and down automatically, actioned by a mechanical motor with a key. Sadly when I was still a little boy I destroy this toy. It seems very rare now, one has been sold recently, I don't see the picture. Daniel (aged 66), Paris, France

Anonymous said...

Daniel Pithoud (aged 66), Paris, France - I just send a first comment. I remember the plane was very next to a Convair 440 Metropolitan of the '50. It has a wingspan about 40 cm, and beautiful and realistic paintings. German toys were good quality products.I never see another toy the same as I.

toysearcher said...

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for reading my blog and adding your comment. I did a fast search and I found a toy (below):

http://www.historytoy.com/Tippco-60-7-DC3-World-Airlines-airplane-with-clockwork-red-beige-blue

HAve a look at see if tghat's the one.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year,

Stacey Bindman
writer of this blog

Anonymous said...

Hi Stacey,
Thank you very much, you have found the toy I've played with fifty-eight years ago ! I have happy memories of this plane, I suddendly become a little boy again; This plane was very realistic and well finished.
I wish you a Merry Christmas ans a Happy New Year.
Daniel Pithoud