Antique Tin Toy Kitchens

Tin toy kitchens, also known as doll kitchens, were made in Germany and America through the 1800s in a wide range of styles and price points. All were based on an open, three sided room box model. Large deluxe versions often featured working water tanks, functional sink taps, and a vast array of accessories, while tiny, simply made varieties offered only the merest suggestion of an oven, and relied heavily on children's imagination to make up for their lack of amenities.

I received these two tin kitchens for Christmas this past year. The first was made in Germany in the 1870s, and although small, measuring a mere 6 inches wide by 4 inches tall, features some fine details. There is a functioning tank on the right side which delivers water through a spout on the inner wall. The stove has a hood, a door that opens, and a rarely seen heat regulator (the tiny tab above the door: it slides to reveal an opening which would allow heat to escape from the oven.)

The kitchen still retains its unusually bright color scheme of yellow walls, salmon floor, and turquoise shelves.

This second kitchen is the tiniest and crudest I've ever seen, and yet it has a primitive charm. Measuring just 4 inches wide, it's almost pocket sized, and its stove is just a piece of folded tin, creating the merest suggestion of an oven. It retains traces of its original green paint on the side walls, and was clearly much loved and played with by its original owner. It dates from the late 1800s.

To learn more about the history of these playsets and to see a larger, more deluxe model, click here.

Tin Toy Grocery Stores by Wolverine: the Corner Grocer and the General Grocery

This tin grocery store playset was one of a variety of such miniature shops made by the Wolverine Supply and Mfg. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1903, Wolverine began as a tool and die manufacturer before transitioning to toy making. From the 1930s - 1970s, the company made a huge range of toy stoves, refrigerators, kitchen cupboards, tea sets, and many more domestic playthings, all crafted from lithographed metal.

This store, known as the Corner Grocer, was made by Wolverine in the 1930s - 40s. The two wings of shelves fold in for storage. When extended, the entire shop measures 31 inches wide by 14 inches tall.

The highly detailed main panel features an historic grocery store interior. Visible in the lower left are glass fronted cracker or biscuit bins, and a variety of carefully arranged dry goods line the shelves.

The store's actual shelves came filled with miniature packages, and the original child owner added a few additional pieces, including some salesman samples she probably got while shopping for real groceries with her mother.

The free standing counters and accessory pieces that came with these stores are usually missing today, since they couldn't be stored inside the closed shop as the groceries themselves were. We were very lucky to find this one intact, along with its original shop phone. The scale and cash register were added, but fit the playset perfectly.

The front of the counter is illustrated to look like a deli case, complete with cold cuts and cheeses.

The miniature tin cash register actually works: as the levers are moved, numbers ring up on the other side, and the drawer springs open to take in tiny coins. 

 

The Corner Grocer was one of this year's best Christmas gifts. A few years ago, I received another Wolverine tin shop, the General Grocery, which also dates from the 1930s - 40s. This one is smaller, measuring 20 inches wide by 12 inches tall. It is structured differently from the Corner Grocer, with its shelves in the center panel. The side wings still fold in for storage, but they feature beautifully lithographed images of children shopping. Although this set is missing its counter, it still has its original shop phone, along with a feature unique to this particular grocery, a fold out awning. 

 

These shelves are better stocked than my own cupboards....I'd better stop blogging and head off to the real grocery store!

1960s Monster Colorforms

Classic movie monsters were all the rage in the 1960s, thanks in large part to the showing of Universal's 1930s-40s horror films on television.

At the height of the monster craze, the Colorforms line of playsets, which feature removable vinyl pieces and cardboard backdrop scenes, came out with this fabulous item, the "Glow in the Dark Create a Monster Cartoon Kit."

Inside the colorful box are a playboard, two sheets of vinyl character pieces, and an instruction booklet.

The playboard is a cartoony scene of a mad scientist's laboratory, complete with electrical equipment, beakers and vials, and a slab for the Monster:

The instruction booklet offers suggestions on setting the scene, and advice for parents on the wholesomeness of the activity set. Colorforms can teach children such skills as finger dexterity, sense of spatial relationships, and size matching, according to the booklet. I expect children could have cared less about those things, and were largely interested in the glow in the dark features.

My set, purchased last year from the collection of a comic book artist, had never been opened, but that is no longer the case. How could anyone resist playing with this fabulous toy?!

Click here to see another vintage Colorforms monster-themed set, the Castle Dracula Fun House, and here for an Addams Family set.

1950s Tin Toy Space Port by T. Cohn/Superior/Pyro

Found at a toy show recently in a booth full of vintage space stuff, this tin litho space port was made in the 1950s by T. Cohn (who also made tin litho dollhouses) and released by Pyro, who manufactured the spaceship housed inside.

Toy Show space toy finds.

The space port measures 10 inches long, and features wonderful imagery of helmeted spacemen, rocket ships, flying saucers, fantastic machinery, and futuristic cityscapes:

The spaceship can be launched via a lever at the back of the port. Unfortunately, launching tended to damage the fragile plastic craft, often snapping off its fins, which makes finding the port complete with an intact ship quite a stellar feat. This one is in remarkable shape, and the whole playset is just an out-of-this-world-gorgeous toy.

The Pyro X-300 Space Cruiser

Remco Mini Monster Play Case

Ah, the classic Universal Studios monsters: Dracula, the Mummy, the Wolfman, Frankenstein's Monster, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Phantom of the Opera. These movie monsters of the 1920s - 1950s saw a resurgence in popularity in the 1960s, when their films became late night television movie fodder, and again in the 1980s when Universal Studios featured them in their theme park merchandising and stepped up their product licensing. 

One of the best toy lines to result from these efforts came from Remco, which released their Mini Monsters in 1981. The 3 3/4 inch figures were the same scale as the era's popular Star Wars characters, making cross-over playtime dreams come true: Princess Leia captured by the Creature from the Black Lagoon! Darth Vader and Dracula in a battle royale: who would win? The Wolfman and Chewbacca becoming best friends. The Phantom playing with the Cantina band on Tatooine. The possibilities were endless. 

To house the figures, Remco created a play case, made of vinyl covered cardboard like so many playsets from this time period. With an interior of vacuum formed, brittle plastic and cardstock paper, it's fragile by today's standards, but nonetheless it's a gorgeously designed toy with tons of imaginative potential. Let's take a tour. 

The case is about 10 inches tall, and comes with a carrying handle. The front has a photo of the interior and describes the play features, while the back is illustrated to look like a haunted house. 

The action features described on the front are all made of heavy cardstock paper, and required some serious assembly work. Check out the instruction page: I don't think I would have the patience to follow this now, let alone when I was 12.

But once assembled, the monster playset was worth the effort. A little cardboard bridge helped monsters cross over a moat with a bottomless pit; a slab for Frankie came complete with rubberbands to hold him in place, and the table could be turned over to make him "disappear;" the mummy case opened; and the Creature from the Black Lagoon could be put into his cage covered holding tank whenever he needed a refreshing dip. 

All three of these items, the Creature tank, mummy case, and slab, had to be punched out, folded, and assembled, as did the bridge over the "bottomless pit," below.

The set featured great illustrations, as in the lab background above. But the much touted glow in the dark features simply consisted of three stickers to place over various items on the playset: the mask on the mummy case, the skull on the lab shelf, and the instrument panel for Frankie's table. 

The monsters themselves are very detailed, especially for such small figures. The Wolfman in particular is well done, capturing Lon Chaney, Jr.'s anxious expression well. 

He'll never be able to break free of those rubberbands, don't worry....

The set required careful closing and storage due to the fragility of the interior, and the detailed instructions included (unintentionally funny) directions on how to pack up the monsters: "Make sure that none of the monsters interfere with the closing of the playcase." Every time I read this, I picture the little monsters shouting, "Nooooo," shaking their tiny fists, and desperately struggling to prevent the case from closing, maybe by sticking an arm or leg in the way. 

1930s Playskool Pullman

Two years ago, I finally found one of my most longed for toys: the Playskool Pullman, made for a very brief period in the early 1930s. You can read the original post about it here. Recently I found another one, in much better condition, with many of the accessories and details that were missing from my first find.

The pressed steel Pullman playset measures 11 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches, and was designed to resemble both a Pullman train car and a little suitcase. The leather handle made it easy to carry on a real train trip.

Two clear windows allow the little passengers to look outside, while a third window is covered with a decal printed to give the look of frosted glass.

The Pullman opens from the back, revealing  a compartment tucked behind green curtains.

Behind the curtains, a cozy compartment is unveiled, complete with benches and a fold away table. I've fitted it out with a tablecloth and some refreshments for the miniature French doll and Steiff bear travelling inside.

Above the passengers' heads, the sleeping berth is tucked away, ready to be pulled down in the evening.

Here's the berth pulled down, complete with sheets, pillows, and blankets.

To the left of the compartment is a small closet holding a porcelain sink, perfect for freshening up after a long journey.

I also found some old dollhouse sized luggage, perfectly scaled for the Pullman playset. The largest is a cardboard candy container, made in Germany in the early 1900s. The tiny red hat box is also German, while the black tin trunk was made by the Marx company.




All aboard the Playskool Pullman!