Books of Penny Toys - Hardcover

Penny Toys were literally that - small toys sold at a retail price of one penny, principally in the years between 1895 and 1914. Usually they measured no more than 10cm overall (and often much less) and were made of a variety of materials, including paper, plaster, wood, diecast lead alloy and tinplate. The vast majority of tinplate penny toys were made in and around Nuremberg and were widely exported. Some were made for particular markets, so that we may find London omnibuses and ambulances, French postal delivery vans, and American locomotives. While several of the larger manufacturers such as Distler made Penny Toys, the most important single manufacturer was J P Meier of Nuremberg. Penny Toys were widely sold in shops and arcades, and also by street vendors. Wholesalers sold penny toys in gross lots for eight shillings per lot, or 96 old pence. Thus street traders were able to make a 50 per cent profit by selling the toys for a penny each.

David Pressland spent his childhood in Dorset and later went on to become a distinguished veterinary surgeon. His passion for tin toys developed from an early interest in Dinky Toys and '50s memorabilia. He is now probably the world's foremost expert and author on tin and penny toys. His first book, The Art of the Tin Toy, still stands as a landmark in toy collecting history. The Book of Penny Toys embodies the same qualities of visual excellence and thorough research. As well as illustrating virtually all of David's world-famous collection of printed penny toys, the book includes a section with undecorated lead alloy cast and celluloid penny toys, on which nothing has previously been published. He is also the author of The Great Book of Tin Toys, now a collectors' item in its own right.