Collection of Circus Toys
Maker: Made in Japan
Materials: Plastic, Tin
Construction: Tinplating, Molded Plastic
Labels/Tags: Made in Japan
Age: 1960
Description: There are five items:A drumming clown, a balancing clown, a car-driving monkey, a merry-go-round truck, and a boxed up circus plane.
Size: H. 7.0x W. 3.0x D. 4.0"
Provenance: NJ Estate
Weight: 1lbs 0.7oz
Condition: These items are in good condition, with very minor faults. The drummer's hat is no longer glued to his head. The clothing on the balancing clown has grown marginally sullied, and the paint of the tin toys has sustained a small amount of losses.
History: The production of tin toys was discontinued during World War II because of the need for raw materials in the war effort. After the war, tin toys were produced in large numbers in Japan. Under occupation and the Marshall Plan, manufacturers in Japan were granted the right to resume production. The idea was to give Japan all of the low profit; high labor manufacturing and the US companies could sell the imported product. It worked better than they had expected and Japan became a tin toy manufacturing force until the end of the 1950s. In the 1960s cheaper plastic and new government safety regulations ended the reign of tin toys. Presently, China has taken over the role of the leading tin toy manufacturing country.