November 1, 1914.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



103 



German Rubber Toys. 



WITH the practical cessation of the German export of raanu- 

 tured products of almost every name and nature, 

 comes the call, the world over, for the substitution of 

 the same goods of other makes. 



At tli is time of 

 the year none are 

 in o r e clamorously 

 sought than toys. 

 What a rubber in- 

 dust r y Germany 

 had built up of toys 

 of all kinds, the 

 whole world knows. 

 The total yearly 

 exports in toys and 



gol to be very expert in turning them 'int. The molds as a rule 



and made in one of the factory departments. 



\ special " >ld, it is said, was made Eoi certain oi the i 



goods out of soapstone. This oi course wa ei of hand 



^.m^tHxc^^^flWiI 



games, as given by 



a British compilation of statistics, amounted roughly to $7,017,201. 



This, of course, means toys of all kinds, but among them rubber 



toys were produced in greater quantity than anywhere else in the 

 world. 



In a great many of 

 the German facto- 

 ries immense de- 

 partments were de- 

 voted to the produc- 

 tion of rubber toys 

 alone. One factory 

 whose toy molds 

 ran into tens of 

 thousands pi >ss< ssed 

 different types for 

 over 500 varieties 

 in ordinary use. 

 These embraced for 

 complete dulls 100 

 patterns ; dolls' 

 heads. 20 patterns; 

 animals. 100; birds, 

 26 ; soldiers, 50 ; rep- 

 tiles, 10, and com- 

 binations — soldiers 

 and riders — and 

 novelties, many hun- 

 dreds. 



These rubber toys were very largely made by hand and where 

 popular types continued year in and year out certain workers 



engraving and difficult. Certain artisans, however, expert in all 

 kinds of engraving, did wonderful work and that very cheaply. 



Soapstone molds 

 have to be used with 

 care and are only 

 fitted tor goods that 

 do not require cool- 

 ing. The stone keeps 

 its heat a long time 

 and gives an 

 gentle heat. 



I liese toys were 

 made up in plain 

 white, nr red. and 

 oftentimes in white 

 rubber, gorgeously 

 painti '1 They were 

 all artistic concep- 

 tions, artistu- even 

 in their grotesque- 

 ness, and were cre- 

 ated to appeal to children in all parts of the world. 



From the hundreds of types a few typical illustrations serve 



to prove the excellence of the German rubber toys, an excellence 

 it will be difficult for any manufacturer to equal at short notice. 



