All About
 Old Toys

Toys for Sale Toy Articles Toy Collections Services & repair Toy Research Toy Catalogs Toy Companies Toy Web Sites Toys Wanted Contact Us Search This Site Auctions

WELCOME TO THE PLACE FOR
OLD TOYS and DOLLS

For this site, an old toy is any push, pull, crib, or stand up children's toy made prior to 1945 and made of wood or metal. Most of the toys featured here were made between 1890 and 1935 but we do have pictures, catalogs, and descriptions of toys made up to the 1970s. 

Here you will find toy photos, toy company histories, and online Old Toy Shops where you can buy great old  toys. New information is being added daily. We now have over 586 pages of toy articles, identification guides, and  old toys catalogs with more than 10,000 photos of old toys and dolls. Most of these articles were written by toy researchers, toy collectors, and family members of the old toy companies. We now have the largest collection of Schoenhut circus photographs on the Web and the best Humpty Dumpty circus identification guide too.

Let us know what interests you.

This page last updated: Tuesday, October 06, 2020

Search All About Old Toys using this Google form:
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Our Toy Shops

 

Restoration Services 
 We do restringing and cleaning of the Schoenhut circus, Jaymar, and other wooden toys and dolls. Prices range from $12.00 to $20.00 per item. Contact me for details. We have a list of recommended craftsmen for more extensive restorations. See all of our services here.

 

The Humpty Dumpty Circus


Humpty Dumpty Circus 
Identification Guide

We have moved the guide to the Schoenhut Collectors' Club Website at:

Join the Club at:
www.schoenhutcollectorsclub.org

Schoenhut Toys and Dolls

We have moved the Schoenhut Dolls and Toys identification pages to the Schoenhut Collectors' Club Website at:

www.schoenhutcollectorsclub.org

 
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Join the Schoenhut Collectors' Club.
Whether you collect Schoenhut wooden toys, dolls, rolly dollys, or the Humpty Dumpty circus, you will want to join the Schoenhut Collectors' Club and meet other collectors with similar interests. 
 
 
The Club publishes a 20-page, full color Magazine every three months.  Each issue contains lots of Schoenhut doll and toy collecting information and classified ads as well.

Some Magazine covers

Our Club's 34th annual convention will be in Charleston, South Carolina, November 3rd, 4th, and 5th 2019.
 
The Boston Area Toy Collectors Club invites YOU to be our guest at our next meeting.  Visit our website at:

www.bostontoyclub.com

 

Featured Articles

Tryon Toy Makers and Wood Carvers

Kevin McGuire has written a remarkable story about the toy making cottage industry that was in upstate South Carolina in the early 1900s.  Read his story here.

Spirit of St. Louis

Dave Pecota has discovered a remarkable early glider - the Spirit of St. Louis. Read about it here.

Bucherer Character Dolls

Thanks to Theriault's Antique Doll Auctions and Susana from DaisySusanCo, Argentina, we have created pages on the Swiss-made Bucherer dolls from the 1920s. See them here.

An American Judy

The Search for a Missing Puppet and her Origins

Read this new article by Judith Lile here.

Read Judith's recent update.

Scarey Anns

See these popular 1920s novelty dolls here.

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1931 Toy Catalog
We have scanned all 350 pages of the 1931 Supplee-Biddle Toy Catalog. This amazing catalog shows samples of almost all of the toy types being sold at that time. See this catalog here.

A Punch and Judy History

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Judith Lile has written a fascinating article about the history of Punch and Judy plays. Read it here.

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O'Brien's "Collecting Toys" 12th Edition
 is now shipping. Click on the cover above to buy your copy from Amazon.com. We have an updated chapter on wooden toys in this edition. Karen O'Brien is the editor. There are 792 pages of old toy information. 

I am glad to announce that a brand new book about " Early Toys from Thuringia and the Erzgebirge Region" is now available in my publishing company and can be ordered via email or my website:
www.swantje-koehler-verlag.de
It is written in German and English and shows a lot of never published catalogue pages of these toys.
More information can be seen at:
www.oldwoodtoys.com/hacker.htm
Swantje Koehler
 

Antique Toy Books

 We have a page with our recommended antique toy readings with ordering linksBuy antique toy reference books. to Amazon.com. We hope you will order any toy books you may want through this site as we are an Amazon.com associate and referral fees are used by us to support our wood toy research.

 

 

Schoenhut Toy Price Guide

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A beautifully photographed price guide for the Schoenhut circus is now available for $15 postage paid.
 Click here for details. 

Toy Company Histories and Toy Lists

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Histories
We have histories for over 50 early wooden toy makers.  
Click here for a list.

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Ready to Fly Gliders
Dave Pecota has written a fascinating article on Ready-to-Fly wooden gliders from 1915 to the 1950s. Dave has recently added some new information to his article. This is our most popular article. Read it here.

Wood Trains
Dave has also given us new articles about wood trains Read them here.

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S. A. Smith Co.
 Family descendent Sanford A. Smith has written for us a new history of the famous American toy maker S. A. Smith. He has many photos of the old factories, catalog pages of their toys, and photos of toys and other items from his collection. Read his history here.
Click here see other old toy company articles.

 

Collectors and Authors wanted!!
We are looking for other collectors who would like to participate in this Web site. We need photos, price lists, and articles on pre-1950 toy companies.  
Click here for details.

 

Use of Photographs
The photographs in this Web site are protected under domestic and international Copyright laws. We often and generously grant permission for noncommercial use of our own photos. However, many of the photographs herein are not the property of the Web site but are being used with the permission of the owner. 
Please contact Jim at jlsneed2@bellsouth.net concerning any photographs for both commercial and noncommercial uses.

 

Contact Us

* Please contact us anytime as we are always interested your comments and questions.  We will need an email photo of your toy if you want some information about it. 
* We sometimes buy pre-WWII toys or find buyers for your early toy or toy collection. 
* We will do restringing of Schoenhut circus and certain other toys (usually $12.00 - $20.00 each) and some repairs.
 

Don't contact me if you think you can improve my website. This site is already ranked NUMBER 1 in both Google and Bing searches for "old wood toys" and many other "old toy" related search terms.

Click here to email Jim:  JLSNEED2@BELLSOUTH.NET
 Be sure to indicate a "Subject:" that is old toy related so we can tell it is not junk email. Emails with no Subject will not be opened. I'll need to see pictures of your toy to identify it.  I don't know very much about non-wooden toys nor toys made after WWII. Except for Schoenhut dolls, I know next to nothing about dolls.

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Since August 14, 2016