Britains Toy Soldiers: The History and Handbook, 1893–2013

By James Opie

This is the first full-colour history of the world-famous toy soldiers to chart the whole story of their development from Victorian table toy to 21st Century collectable. Prior to 1893 the family toy business of the Britain family was struggling as the toy industry was dominated by German manufacturers and importers. Then came the fateful decision first to import, then to design and manufacture, toy soldiers, an area the German firms were particularly strong in. Britains Toy Soldiers were born and soon their boxes stamped with the slogan 'Best Quality English Make' were being eagerly opened by little boys across Britain and then around the world. The rest, as they say is history and it is all captured here by James Opie, the world's leading expert on the subject, as he lovingly traces the varying fortunes of arguably the most famous British toy company. Illustrated with lavish colour photographs, many of them featuring items from the author's own collection, the book includes feature sections such as collectors' favourites and prices, high-value and famous sets, artistic highlights, quirks and mysteries. It is without doubt the most authoritative book on the subject and will be welcomed by the thousands of devoted collectors world wide as well as many more with fond memories of childhood battles with these beautiful toys.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473885158

James Opie

James Opie is the toy soldier consultant to Bonham's auctioneers and recognized as one of the world's leading experts on the subject. He has a very significant collection of his own, which he has been building since childhood. For over a quarter of a century, until his recent retirement, James Opie was also editor and buyer for the Military and Aviation Book Society and various other book clubs. He has written seven previous books on various aspects of toy soldier collecting.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

The significance of Britains

Britains was and still is the greatest manufacturer of toy soldiers the world has ever seen. As a consequence of the industrial revolution, the manufacture and distribution of toys underwent profound changes in the late 19th century. In successive decades the semi-flat figure, the fully round solid figure and finally the hollowcast round figure came to prominence as the best quality that toymakers could produce.

In this same period, a public prosperous enough to purchase playthings for their children frequented in ever greater numbers the department stores and toyshops that sprang up to service their desires.

After a fair time engaged in manufacturing mechanical toys, the Britains family alighted upon toy soldiers as their breakthrough product in 1893. Through the innovative powers of hollowcast technology, consumer led marketing and mass distribution, Britains quickly claimed a pre- eminent niche in the market place. In relatively short order the firm was employing hundreds of people.

When sales of soldiers declined after the First World War, they successfully diversified into civilian subjects. When depression hit, they concentrated on exports. When new technology and materials threatened after the Second World War they embraced the new and discarded the old.

Picture 5: Rifle Regiments, Britains and New Toy Soldiers

Rifle Brigade on the left, King’s Royal Rifle Corps on the right with the red trim to collars, cuffs and plumes. Some of the earliest ‘New Toy Soldiers’, such as the kneeling Mark Time figures shown here, were created with the avowed intention of adding to displays of Britains in a similar style. The two standing officers are Soldiers Soldiers. The rest are Britains, but not of the best quality – the marching figures of the Rifle Brigade are the first version of set 9, but have been neatly repainted – you would have to look very closely to be sure of this. One figure has been converted to a pioneer, and a chip from the chest of the converted bugler shows the red paint of the Infantry of the line underneath. The two running fixed arm figures of the Rifle Brigade centre back are numbered 4k by Britains as a single second grade painted model. The running Rifle Corps figures come from various versions of set 98, and there are some that have been ‘got at’. One officer (with the white lanyard) is carrying a rifle and one rifleman is carrying a bugle. Some of the plumes don’t look quite right. The fixed arm boy bugler marching near the right edge has very little paint left, but as Britains did not normally include such a figure in a catalogued set, he would be worth a closer look. O

Picture 5A: Boy bugler of a rifle regiment

I have had this little figure for over thirty years, and having introduced him on page 88 of Britains Toy Soldiers 1893-1932, I am still not at all sure of where to place him. He is in poor condition, has lost his plume and the mouthpiece of his bugle, but as far as I can tell he doesn’t have a replaced head, and the red bugle cord he wears would suggest he belongs to the King’s Royal Rifle Corps. The only set of them in the first ten years of Britains was the running set 96, and I have certainly never seen this figure attached to that set. Maybe he was sold singly, maybe he is some kind of special. He remains my favourite junk box find. O

As a pillar of the British Toy Industry, they survived under their original family ownership for three generations while the other pillars, Meccano, Lines, Mettoy (Corgi), Airfix and Lesney (Matchbox) all changed hands and character.

When the very idea of toy soldiers as a ‘must have’ toy for boys receded, the name of Britains lived on, still creating new delights for adult collectors and still the most powerful name in the market.

Why another book on Britains?

When I finished writing The Great Book of Britains I heaved a sigh of relief and went to sleep with a clear conscience feeling job well done. Nothing anyone has yet told me about that book has made me change my mind, but there are several reasons why I felt within me yet another book on Britains.

While ‘The Great Book’, and Britains 1893-1932 before it did two different jobs of providing references, there has been no straightforward narrative history of the company and its products. I also wanted to summarise, with pictures and examples, the best bits of my knowledge, the parts that aspiring collectors of Britains should know as the basis for their further adventures.

Inevitably there is some touring of the possibilities for acquiring a unique and satisfying collection, but the main question has been what to leave out, and I decided that I would take as read all the general, as opposed to Britains, toy soldier knowledge set out in my recent publication Collecting Toy Soldiers in the 21st Century. I hope I will not be too annoying by referring to that book where it seems appropriate.

Picture 6: The First Age of Britains Set 44, 2nd Dragoon Guards

1896 saw the introduction of Britains first sets with movable arms using the stud and shoulder loop fixing method that was to be standard for the remainder of hollowcast production. The ‘rocking horse’ cavalryman was the first model to use this device, and in sets 8, 43 and 44 the cavalrymen were provided with arms with hands holding trumpets, swords, carbines and lances. CONDITION VG This is the sort of early set that can fetch a good sum of money, especially were it still to have its original box. B

Many of the pictures in this book have been chosen specifically because they show less than perfect figures. One purpose here is to show that even figures in just Fair condition can still look great in a collection. While any collectors can see for themselves when handling Britains that there is something wrong, it is the creation of common standards and shorthand between collectors that is necessary and often causes difficulty. In the captions, therefore, I try to point out defects under the heading CONDITION, and hope to hone your instincts through the use of a good number of examples, using the consistent language that I have used over thirty years of cataloguing for sale. The subject is discussed in some detail at the end of chapter eight under the title ‘What’s Wrong with My Britains?’

As a distillation of specialist Britains knowledge, therefore, this book offers overviews, opinions, definitions, terminology and collecting tools as well as some listings of particular interests. It is the foundation course for Britains buffs, intended to be neither exhaustive nor exhausting, but to provide an entry point to the enormous universe of Britains collecting, and in which I trust I will never have said the last word on any subject.

The specific example of progress in and change to the Britains company is an inspiring voyage to historical, social and artistic discoveries of enduring value. Seen through the lens of Britains endeavours, the advance of the western world from imperial roots to the computer age becomes a great deal more meaningful.

Finally, ‘The Great Book’ told just one hundred years of the story of Britains. Incredibly the name of Britains has not only continued for another twenty years, but also continues to thrive on new marketing opportunities devised by a series of different owners and managers. There is now the possibility to summarise the addition of another two decades to the century already told.

The history of Britains and its products

The main theme of the book is the evolutionary journey undertaken by the Britain family and its successors in developing their big ‘hit’ product – toy soldiers. This is set in the context of contemporary technology and competition, which are the two major influences on changes in the range outside the straightforward effect of whether the products offered did or did not sell.

The major decision each year was what to create for the following year, and trying to put motives to the decisions made brings up much fascinating speculation. Those familiar with my previous work will know that where the logic seems obscure, I try to apply the test of ‘Inherent Commercial Probability’ to how these decisions came about. The Britain family and the companies which followed were in the trade to make a profit, and they rarely undertook anything that did not have at least the prospect of making money. There was little room to do anything that would not hold out the hope of a decent return on investment.

There is no better start to understanding and appreciating the figures they made than to learn the overall career of the enterprise. The first releases of toy soldiers on the market must have been an almost instant success. The first decade was spent entirely on increasing the range and volume of production, as well as improving the models on offer. By the time that William Britain Senior died in August 1907 he had the satisfaction of knowing that the family firm had succeeded in becoming a substantial enterprise, and it was incorporated in December of the same year with his sons at the helm.

Until the First World War, the company continued on much the same course. There were various excursions into sidelines outside the armed forces first of Britain and then of the rest of the world. Notably Cowboys and Indians, Arabs, Footballers, Salvation Army, Boy Scouts, Railwaymen and Civilians took their places among the growing ranks of the military. There were even a couple of international commercial ventures afoot by 1906, a collaboration with C.W.Beiser, a toymaker from the USA, and the opening of a Paris office with the hope of opening a new market in France.

Picture 7: The Second Age of Britains, American Soldier Company Military Game No.119, Volunteers

The collaboration with Charles W. Beiser was one of Britains major expansion projects in the second age, providing an outlet to the USA at little risk, but also prompting the conversion of nearly every model on foot from an oval base to a rectangular one. The extensive range of American Soldier Company games on sale in the States largely used Britains figures (as here with the exception of the officer and drummer), which were fitted into rectangular hinged clips attached to the baseboard (hence the need for rectangular bases). This enabled the troops to be knocked over by the popgun, but to be stood up again automatically by turning the baseboard over. Particularly in America, this range, known as the Beiser sets, is much sought after. The two that were on offer through Britains, sets 148 and 149 in the Britains catalogue, are particularly valuable, and in good condition with their boxes can be worth £3,000 to £5,000 each. B

Picture 8: The Third Age of Britains, Re-armament

In 1938 to 1940 a large number of sets were issued associated with Aircraft, Anti-Aircraft and Air Raid Precautions. This picture shows a number of these sets from 1940, including, left to right, set 1759 Air Raid Precautions, sold as a training tool as well as a toy, set 1758 Fire Fighters of the Royal Air Force and Royal Army Medical Corps, set 1723, in its first version in service dress and an updated set 320 in full dress with the new shorter skirted nurses as in set 1723, the rarer stretcher bearers in full trousers and the very rare red and white plume on the senior medical officer. Between the two medical sets is an incomplete set 1920, the Home Guard, which was the final set issued before production of toy soldiers stopped for the remainder of the war.

CONDITION: G. Looking closely at these figures, they can be seen to have a number of paint embellishments that reduce their value by about a half, e.g. the armbands, and the tiny red crosses on the nurses’ headgear. B

The First World War thoroughly dampened British society’s love of the military, so much so that Britains found it expedient to extend their modelling into the Home Farm range. Between the two World Wars, they added Zoo, Miniature Gardening and many other civilian items. On the military side, they concentrated on the North and South American markets, before first the coronation of 1937 and then the gathering pace of re-armament and the re-awakened threat of war opened further opportunities to mirror these in the toy market. The firm ceased making toys and went over entirely to real life war production in 1941.

After the Second World War, the hollowcast ranges were re-established as soon as the availability of raw materials allowed. The technologies of diecasting and plastics had taken huge strides before and during the war, and plastics in particular emerged as the material of choice for toys. Although the hollowcast ranges of Britains toys made a fighting retreat, it was only by acquiring the design skills and know-how of the leading plastic toy soldier producer Herald that Dennis Britain, one of the third generation of the Britains family, was able as chairman to provide for the future of the company.

The acquisition ushered in another period of constant updating of the range, the backbone of which was now the series of die-cast farm vehicles and machinery together with plastic farm and zoo animals. Hollowcast production finally ceased in 1967. Diecast toy soldiers made a hesitant re-appearance in 1973, while plastic figures had gone through the reasonably successful launches of Swoppets, Eyes Right and finally the Deetail ranges with diecast bases that made them feel more substantial.

At this point, however, unpainted plastic figures had made too many inroads into the toy soldier market to make painted purely plastic figures any longer viable. Britains was existing on the diecast farm equipment, the new lines of diecast toy soldiers which had gone down quite well in the souvenir market, and the possible prospects in the collectable market. Dennis Britain and the remaining family shareholders finally sold up their company to Dobson Park Industries in 1984, and in 1992 the company facilities moved from East London to Nottingham.

Picture 9: The Fourth Age of Britains, Set 1722 Drum and Pipe Band of the Scots Guards

This set, which was first issued in 1939, existed in three versions, but only for two years in each version. This is the third version, with plastic drums, extra frogging on the drummers and the substitution of a tenor drummer for one of the side drummers of the previous version. One of the pipers was painted with a maroon pipe banner to denote a pipe major. Not many of these sets were sold in any version, perhaps because there were no exciting new figures within it to encourage collectors. The refurbishment of the band was part of the re-issue of all the Britains bands in 1956. This was one of the attempts by Britains to re-ignite the hollowcast toy soldier market in the face of the onslaught of plastic figures. On occasion, the difficulty of acquiring this particular band in order to complete the seventeen set tally of hollowcast bands with plastic drums, has sent the price to £2,300 at auction.B

In 1996, Dobson Park Industries, mainly a manufacturer of mining equipment, was acquired by Harnischfeger, a mining machinery conglomerate. In April 1997 they sold Britains Petite, the toy portfolio of Dobson Park, to Ertl, a company also based on die-cast models and collectables. In 1999, Ertl itself was taken over by Racing Champions, another collectables company. By 2005, Britains was yet again flagging, and Richard Walker was able to midwife the transfer of the toy soldier part of the brand from Racing Champions to join a smaller diecast collectables company, First Gear.

Under his management, the emphasis in production shifted further towards the latest style of meticulously produced collectable historical models. These are the cutting edge of marketing to collectors today, startlingly beautiful figurines at prices only made possible by the latest diecasting technology and high quality but low cost Chinese handpainting.

Picture 10 and Picture 10A: The Fifth Age of Britains, Diecast and Plastic

1973 was a pivotal year for Britains, with two innovations in progress that have greatly helped keep the brand afloat for the next forty years. Illustrated here is the first box of New Metal diecast figures, set 7225, the first models specifically designed for diecasting. As the second such experiment by Britains, they only started to be fully developed ten years later. The other recent innovation was the launch of the Deetail range in 1971, premium plastic figures with diecast bases (a feature shared with the New Metal range) that made them feel more substantial than ordinary plastic toy soldiers. These were an immediate success at the top end of the toy market, and some are still in production. The set shown here is 7255, which came out in 1977. This was a delightful mixture of poses harking back to the heyday of toy soldiers both metal and plastic, when the Foot Guards on ceremonial duty were expected to fire their rifles as well as adopt drill positions. The free medal awarded with this box made every boy into an Eisenhower.

Notably, the Deetail range of Scots Guards only lasted from 1977 to 1986, although there was an attempt to revive them as a counter pack from 1993. Evidently the diecast figures were more suited to ceremonial use, while combat could be left to the plastics. The diecast figure from 1973, with some modifications, is still in production today. Look at the marching figure from the diecast and Deetail range – they are almost identical, maybe taken from the same master and adapted slightly. In the diecast box is the only regular New Metal figure to be adorned with sergeant’s stripes.

Picture 11: The Sixth Age of Britains, The Hollow Cast Collection

40196 17th Lancer Officer on rearing horse. Perhaps the most ambitious of all the attempted revivals for collectors in the traditional Britains hollowcast style were the three years of production of actual hollowcast figures from 2001 to 2004. The difficulties of training new workmen in the old techniques and paint styles were underestimated, and after three years of introducing what were in effect fifteen new lines, the series was discontinued. Some of the individual figures such as this one are very pretty. B

Picture 12: The Seventh Age of Britains, Napoleonic personalities 2002 to 2005

Napoleon wins at last! One hundred and ten years after the first Britains toy soldiers were made, Napoleon made it into the ranks. Doubtless in 1893 CBG Mignot was already selling models of Napoleon. I have not seen Mignot figures of Nelson or Wellington. From the 1950s, the collecting of military miniatures swiftly became a bigger hobby than collecting toy soldiers, and from 1999, helped by the decreasing costs of production and painting in China, the Britains brand was ready to do battle. Individual models were soon a majority, with bulky packaging and ever better quality. The rather wide open eyes of the three on the left still give a slightly toy-like look, but the Napoleon produced for the William Britain Collectors Club, while with a simpler overall finish, is even more model-like with a mostly matt finish. In fact Toy Soldiers and Model Soldiers have converged. To start with, if you wanted model armies, you made them from toy soldiers. Now, if you want toy soldiers, you are provided with models. B

The Seven Ages of Britains

In The Great Book of Britains I detailed ten ages of Britains, corresponding roughly with the ten decades until its centenary. Here, I have tried to apply a similar logic to a rather longer period, and have settled on Seven Ages, each corresponding to a particular characteristic of its history. Each is also a natural period of production from which to form a collection. These Seven Ages are set out in the contents page and a very large proportion of collectors of Britains collect from within one or more of these periods, to the exclusion of others.

Of course the characteristics of the Ages are actually not so clear-cut as the dates shown imply. Thus undated models continued after 1900, while dated ones were still in use after 1918. The major move into non-military models of the 1920s persisted and intensified through the post-war decades, while the technological battle between hollowcasting, diecasting and plastic started in earnest in 1953. Britains had always produced collector’s toys, but only came to depend on that market from 1983, and shortly afterwards, under new ownership, technology made possible the collector’s models which have been the backbone of the range for the past decade.

So what can I offer collectors here that they have not had before? I will not revisit the basics of collecting which I have reoffered recently in Collecting Toy Soldiers in the 21st Century. Nor will I be working my way through either the sequences of model types by subject as in Britains Toy Soldiers 1893-1932 or the year-by -year minutiae of product lines as in The Great Book of Britains. Rather, I will be extracting the characteristic highlights of each age, so the normal features within each chapter will be from the following list:

History of Britains during the Age

Historical background and reflections

Contemporary events and wars

Summary of catalogue numbers created

Commercial practice and progression

Characteristics and packaging

Technical advances

Firsts

Review of the competition

Collecting terminology specific to the Age

Cameo collection suggestions (mainly the groups of sets as set out)

Collectors favourites with prices

High value and famous sets

Character figures

Artistic highlights

Quirks and mysteries

Contemporary events and wars affected Britains production from the earliest days, as when in 1894 they issued their first character souvenir figure, ‘Kaiser Bill’. Britains were very much an establishment that tried to echo or even foresee the demands of the market, as well as developing promising untried products. The history of Britains would be incomplete without placing it in the context of what else was going on in the worldwide manufacture of toy soldiers during each age.

Picture 12A: Collector’s delight

Enormos satisfaction can be had from owning examples of the rare times when Britains issued non-standard variations of individual sets. This is a very rare variation of set 3, 5th Dragoon Guards, using the long rein Scots Grey horse dated 1.11.1902. It was only issued until the trotting horse dated 12.12.1902 was created, which then became the standard horse for this set. C & T

From 1983, when the W. Britain brand under five new ownerships in thirty years turned far more to depicting history for collectors than serving the toy market, character figures became an increasingly important feature, and I have tried to mention every single one produced.

One of the features of Britains production was the relatively simple and meticulous catalogue numbering system, particularly when compared to their competitors. The numbering for each age is explained, and a summary is included under Numbering in chapter 8.

The nicknames I and others have used for the various models, particularly from the early years when there was rapid introduction of improved versions, seem to have stood the test of time, and together form a valuable shorthand for describing which model of the various regiments is being dealt with. They will be explained as they happen within the chapters, may well appear in chapter 8 under general subjects as well, and can be looked up in the index.

Collecting Britains

Finally, I round off the exercise in Chapter 8 with some overall observations on being a Britains collector. I do not resist my normal and totally subjective habit while writing about Britains of sharing my own favourites, at which time I find I am often on common ground. I will also remind you of the many fascinating cameos to be assembled around Britains and their competitors, as well as some of the areas where there are doubtless many more discoveries yet to be made. One of the prime attractions of Britains, as I find almost daily as new collections arrive at C & T for me to sort and sell, is that there is still a great deal to be learned. I hope to be able to re-awaken the passion in those of you who have said to yourselves ‘I have got it all – where do I go next, or have I finished?’

Everyone is inevitably interested in prices and values. Many people have pointed out that it is nearly twenty years since I wrote my Pocket Price Guide to Britains Hollowcast Toy Soldiers, and so I am certainly considering an updated version of this for the near future. For the present, I will only include general comments on prices for collectors of the products of each Age, and occasional spot prices within the illustration captions.

I believe that once you have read through and digested this book, you will be fully equipped to discuss figures and discoveries on equal terms with anyone in the Britains collecting fraternity, myself included, and I look forward to doing just that. I promise you that if you can’t work out what’s going on from reading this book, I will personally answer your query (if I can) via my e-mail, [e-mail]

James Opie 2013

Picture 12B: Britains first cavalry

In this second version, the Germanic figures of sets one, two and three have had the beautiful officer on the rearing horse added to them to complete the classic early sets. C & T

CHAPTER 1

Start-up 1893-1899

The Toy Industry in Britain in the 1890s. The Britain family before 1893. Germany leads the world in toymaking. How it all began. Hollowcasting. Test models. Breaking into the market. The first Souvenirs. Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. Heroes of the Sudan. Defining Versions and Variations. Collecting Ancient Britains. The first hundred sets.

In these seven years, the Britains family perfected a new product, hollowcast toy soldiers. Both manufacturing and distribution were different from the imported toy soldiers previously available in British toyshops. The method of manufacture, the range available, the attention to detail, the advertising and marketing, all contributed to a mass market success that was very much a product of its time. By mid-1900, Britains had become, on a small scale, a national institution, a success story in the making. Most of the problems were connected with expansion and moving faster than the burgeoning competition, both innovatively and reactively.

As this was the first age, everything was new, and during it the first cavalry, infantry, artillery, bands, marching, firing, foreign, colonial, naval, personality and souvenir figures all appeared among the first hundred sets of best quality large figures, along with small size and probably second quality figures as well.

While William Britain Senior provided a grand old head of the family, several of the five brothers in the next generation were playing a leading part in operations, most notably William Britain Junior, forty-one at the turn of the century, who designed most of the figures, and his younger brothers Alfred and Frederick who were engaged primarily in management and sales respectively. All having been in at the start, it is likely that each of them were capable of any of these roles. We know that Alfred designed some very nice figures, dated in 1907. It was the father and these three sons who were the partners in William Britain and Sons, the partnership as which the firm was organised in its early years.

The British Toy Industry in 1890

Towards the end of the reign of Victoria, all seemed reasonably well with the British Empire. The ‘scramble for Africa’ was in full swing, and success in dominating that continent, fending off European rivals by agreeing lesser prizes, seemed assured. That this had been accomplished without sparking a major conflict was possibly the greatest achievement of the ‘Pax Britannica’. In spite of normal cycles of boom and bust, post-Industrial Revolution Britain was relatively prosperous, reaping the benefits of peace and worldwide trade increasingly fostered by improving rail, steamship and telegraphic communications. It was a time of change and hope comparable to today.

This atmosphere fostered the growth of a world toy industry that had not previously existed. While children had always played with objects that they found or had been fashioned for them, only the better off had been able to afford good workmanship in their toys. The industrial revolution made possible the manufacturing and distribution of all sorts of consumer goods to a wider public. Mass-market toy manufacturing in Britain, however, got off to a slow start. The British were the earliest into industrialisation, and as such were continuing to exploit the basics, coal, steel, transport, food, medicine and cloth, which together with finance and empire building were at the forefront of commerce.

Toys, however, were much less well established, and while the skills were certainly there, there were no large enterprises of manufacturing, even if there were plenty of wholesalers and retailers. Much of what was sold was made locally, and many of the retailers were not specifically toy specialists, but combined what we would now think of as toys with sporting goods or giftware. By far the majority of all British toymakers were individual craftsmen, perhaps utilising family or friends, but in hard times falling back on other crafts, or making a few toys for the Christmas market. This is not to say that there were not plenty of toys, because toy making was widespread as a source of extra income, as it has continued to be. One Charles Chaplin, for instance, made such a sortie into toys at an early age.

The Britain Family

William Britain Senior, founder of the Britain dynasty, was apprenticed as a brass finisher. Married in 1852 at the age of twenty-one, his wife Anna Maria proceeded to give birth to a typical Victorian family of four daughters followed by five sons. Less typically, only one of the daughters failed to survive into the 20th Century, and evidently the family was not too impoverished. They moved steadily up the property ladder as their fortunes improved. The 28 Lambton Road house which became the core of the later toy soldier factory was only the family home for a period before 1893, and was probably in use for toy production after the family moved out, with at least two of the sons moving to new matrimonial homes.

The Britain toy business was reckoned as substantial in the toy trade before 1893 and it was as manufacturers of mechanical toys that they first made their name, trading by 1893 as W. Britain & Sons. Just how substantial remains a mystery, but a catalogue of that period still exists showing twenty-three different and relatively expensive mechanical toys. Once the Britains had switched their main efforts to toy soldiers, Alfred Britain recalled the previous years as having been somewhat precarious, as the German toy industry had become increasingly competitive in the novelty mechanical toy market. ‘We were in a difficult position. Something had to be done’. That something turned out to be the launch of Britain’s Toy Soldiers, and the ongoing consequences are the subject of the rest of this book.

The Toy Soldier Trade in 1893

Today we may well forget by just how much the armed forces were important in society towards the end of the 19th century. In Great Britain, the Royal Navy was the senior service, and half the not very large and generally volunteer army tended to be overseas as Empire policemen. Not on the European Continent – there, every boy knew that they were in for a period of service as a conscript. Huge rivalries existed between the great powers of France, Germany, Austria and Russia, with Germany steadily in the ascendant and Italy shaping up to join in. A vast pool of trained potential soldiery was needed in every country so that the politicians could join in this game, or at least strike a credible posture of defiance. War was always a possibility.

Picture 13: The Rotary Express

This was a very early toy marketed by the Britains family. It is a railway floor toy depicting a train looking as though it dates from the 1850s. By the time of the only known surviving Britains undated toy catalogue, probably from before 1893, this toy is no longer featured. The train with two carriages is pulled round the motor by clockwork. When it comes to a stop, one carriage is discarded, after which the clockwork can take it a bit farther, at which point a second carriage can be uncoupled. Then the engine alone can travel again, a total, the box lid declares, of some 300 feet in all. B

Germany and France both had a tradition of toy soldier manufacture during the 19th century, with large varieties of solid cast metal figures from flat through semi-flat to fully round models. German flat figures were the most widely sold in Britain, and the cheapest. Small semi-flats around 30mm scale were also popular, and there were also rather rounder figures at about the same size. Figures larger than this were more recent and relatively expensive, but were there for the asking, and often extremely well made and painted.

German toy soldier makers* active at this time included Georg Heyde, Georg Spenkuch, Johann Haffner, the brothers Heinrich, and Karl Krause. Those most energetically engaged in exporting to Great Britain were Heyde, Heinrich, often branded as Noris, and Haffner, in that order of volume. From France, the products of CBG Mignot occasionally appeared in British shops, but by far the major volume of imported toys at this period came from Germany. Indeed, about half of the toy importers established in this country were actually Germans**.

Since there were no commercial toy soldier makers native to Britain at this time, all of the demand was being fulfilled by imports or crude homemade products. This had been true for so long that most people took it for granted that toy soldiers came from Germany.

* The best authors for German toy soldiers is the late Hans Henning Roer, Old German Toy Soldiers Palagonia Verlag 1993 and Pictorial Handbook for the Identification of German Toy Figures in Lead by Hanns Roth

** Kenneth D. Brown The British Toy Business Hambledon Press 1996

Picture 14: Heyde Napoleonic British Infantry

These 47mm scale solidcast infantry are typical of the best small scale product of Georg Heyde, the leading German manufacturer in 1893. Note the variety of poses and the plentiful extras: officers on foot and mounted, colour bearer and drummer. These additional figures were normal in sets of German and French toy soldiers. CONDITION: these were made of a high lead content alloy, and so susceptible to oxidisation, which can be seen here where the paint has been worn away as a powdery grey look to the bare metal. Good to Fair (G-F). B

Picture 15: CBG Mignot early British Infantry of the Line

These may well pre-date 1893, and similar figures have been taken into account in deciding on the scale of Britains first soldiers. The on guard sets 16-18 were of a very similar size. The CBG Mignot soldiers are very attractive, but any British boy would know that British greatcoats are grey. CBG were using a French figure that would normally have a greatcoat, with a German head to get a British result.

The Britain family makes a start in toy soldiers

As with any family firm struggling to make ends meet, records of how decisions were made and what exactly took place at the start of the switch to toy soldiers do not exist.

The best evidence remains that connected with surviving examples of their earliest products, but based on the slenderest of evidence there is one other possibility that fits nicely with Inherent Commercial Probability.

Gamages 1913 catalogue says that their ‘famous Toy Galleries’ started twenty years ago – in 1893, and this mention is made in the heading to the toy soldier pages. Maybe this infers that the start of a much larger Gamages toy department went hand in hand with the start of Britains toy soldiers. Maybe there was even a conversation between Britain and Gamage such as ‘We are thinking of greatly enlarging our toy department, but we need more product to fill it. How about you go into toy soldiers and we make it something of a joint venture?’

Picture 16: Gamage Price sticker

Usually placed on the end of the box, these stickers are an interesting addition to any box lid. They show that Gamages was offering one and a half pence off a shilling box of soldiers, a twelve and a half per cent discount. B

Several decisions had to be taken once the idea of toy soldiers was agreed upon. How would the models to be produced be designed? The answer for this was to get them, possibly off the shelf, in Germany, hence the first group of figures put on the market by the Britains, known as the Germanic figures, are rather different to the pieces designed by William Britain Junior which followed. To put a toe in the water, the Britains acquired six models in three varying sizes. Everything about them was devised to cut production costs while not compromising on quality.

First of all, there was a fixed-arm cavalry figure at the walk with a plumed helmet and tin sword, in 52mm scale. This Germanic Life Guard figure was to be used for the first three sets. Britains preferred to be able to mould each figure in one piece where possible, as hand soldering was costly and time consuming. The tin sword was added to the figure as a thin strip of tinplate of the right length, which could be inserted in the mould and used to represent the sword, rather than using a soldered part, as with most continental competitors. A version of this figure with separate soldered on reins recently came to light, both as Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards, that I have never previously seen. It could well be that Britains decided that the extra cost of the reins cut too deep into their profit margin, but this discovery holds out the possibility that there is an extremely rare pre-first version variation to be found if you are incredibly lucky!

Then there was a rather chubbier charging lancer, the Plug shoulder lancer. This figure was provided with a movable arm on a plug that fitted through the shoulders of the model. It was in much the same scale as the Life Guard. Also roughly in the same size was an infantryman of the line marching, with the rifle sloped on the right shoulder as would be normal in Germany. This little figure was first used for set 36, the Sussex Regiment, and is known as the Fixed arm valise pack figure. Slightly larger than these, about 54mm scale, was a running highlander, the Plug handed highlander. Finally, in 60mm scale, was a marching fusilier, the Plug handed fusilier, with the rifle sloped on the left shoulder as normal in Britain. For this set there was an accompanying mounted officer, which had a plug shoulder similar to the lancer. This mounted officer was also used to offer a set of Royal Scots Greys, and thus came to be known as the Plug shoulder Scots Grey. Whether just the master figures were commissioned from Germany, or whether the moulds were made there as well, they all have a distinct resemblance to contemporary German products, the fusilier in particular being almost identical to figures made then or subsequently in Germany.

Picture 17: The Germanic Group of figures

Germanic Life Guard (back centre) here painted as the officer of the 5th Dragoon Guards with gold sash, collar and helmet. In the earliest sets 3, only the officer had a painted gold (brass in real life) helmet, the other ranks helmets being left as bare metal. From 1894 this set had all gold helmets and an officer on the rearing horse.

The Plug Shoulder Lancer (back right) is the first of three variations of paint style and mould. Here in this 12th Lancer trumpeter, the lancer cap is left as bare metal, and there is no moulded cap line. Shortly after, the cap is painted black (in real life this is black leather), and in the third variation the cap is moulded with a cap line from the back base of the cap to the collar of the tunic.

The Germanic infantryman known as the Fixed arm valise pack figure (front right) is here painted in second grade as a Royal Marine Artilleryman. There has been some speculation as to whether the figure was issued in best quality for a first version of set 35, but I have never seen one, and as the set 36 figures of the Royal Sussex Regiment using this model are quite common, I am inclined to think not. The Plug handed highlander (front centre) was the only Germanic figure that was 54mm scale, and this may account for the long run of this figure in the catalogue until 1904. The figure illustrated here is the officer from set 15, who has a plug hand with sword. The painting of the kilt tartan is the unusual early style for the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders: black with white stripes instead of the later dark green with light green stripes.

The Plug handed fusilier (front left) is larger than 54mm scale, and has a standard fusilier cap, also used for the mounted officer, which had a plug shoulder similar to the lancer.

The Plug shoulder Scots Grey (back left) was the same as the fusilier officer appropriately painted, which meant that the cap was inaccurate to real life, where the bearskin cap would have been considerably taller and bushier. The example here is of the trumpeter.

CONDITION All these six figures are G-F, except the Royal Marine, which is F-P. With rare early figures of this sort, it is quite normal to forgive a fair amount of paint missing, and they retain a great deal of charm. The lancer looks as though his horse has a crease in the metal at the base of the neck, perhaps from having had something heavy dropped on it. The Scots Grey has a front leg bent back, a common fault with this figure, probably from being dropped on a hard floor front leg down. Once there is as much paint missing as from the Royal Marine, and also because it is a second grade figure, the price for it might be no more than a few pounds. The other figures individually might well fetch between £100 and £300 each, the highlander and dragoon guard being less than the others. O

RARITY The Plug handed fusiliers and Plug shoulder Scots Greys are some of the rarest figures ever distributed by Britains, and very few survive – in boxed sets, they are a holy grail item. I have only ever seen one boxed set of fusiliers and have never seen a box for the Scots Greys. Two TOP 100 items. Boxed sets could easily exceed £5,000 at auction.

What was new about the Britains soldiers was that they were moulded hollow rather than solid, which saved both raw materials and transport cost, and enabled them to be sold in Britain at roughly half the price of German imports of a comparable size. Britains in later years credited themselves with the invention of the hollowcast figure, and there is really no way to prove it one way or the other. Several makers in Germany produced hollow toys by the same method, but they could have started later than Britains. Because the design of the figures was crucial to the process of pouring molten metal into the mould and then pouring the inner metal out again, I would incline to thinking that the process was already known. As the Britains family were astute enough to see the benefits of what must have been a relatively new method at the time, they were able to base their production on hollowcasting from the start.

There now follow listings of what I consider to be the significant sets, i.e. the sets that contain new figures or subjects. Some of the very early set numbers remain unknown, and for the First Age, which runs to 1899, the list is ordered by year. A brief idea of what every catalogue number contained, where known, is included. Further details on small size and second grade figures are in Chapter 2A.

For the early sets to set 197 (Chapters 1 and 2) the short description of the content of the set is followed by the number of versions e.g. 1V or up to 6V, and the last date at which the set was still in production. A U after the set denotes that the figures used for the set is unique to that set alone (if just for part of the set, the U is in brackets following the entry). Otherwise, the figures will have been used for other subjects, and will appear in Chapter 8. Set numbering was changed to a four-figure number in 1962 (given in brackets if relevant) but the date given includes production after that change.

Picture 18: The Hanks plug handed highlander

Hanks Brothers produced the most annoyingly similar copies of Britains competitors, here with a figure painted as an Argyll and Sutherland highlander. The base is slightly smaller than the Britains, and the shape of the foot a little different, among other discrepancies. The sheathed bayonet of the Hanks figure is broken off. The metal from which Hanks figures were cast was slightly harder and brighter than Britains alloy, and the paint on the face was a distinctively pinker colour than Britains and most of their other competitors. The Britains figure to the left with which it is compared is an early black kilted highlander from set 15, similar to the officer in picture 17, but viewed from the other side. Both figures have lost their plug hands. B

1893, twelve significant known sets

The Germanic figures, with the exception of the smaller infantryman, were used to make the first production sets in 1893, as follows:

1. Life Guards, five mounted, one with a gold sash representing the officer, 6V-1966 (9205) TOP 100

2. Royal Horse Guards, similar, 6V-1966 (9209)

3. 5th Dragoon Guards, similar, 5V-1941

4. 12th Lancers, seven mounted with officer and trumpeter, 2V-1897 RARITY

5. 17th Lancers, similar, 2V-1897 RARITY

6. Royal Scots Greys, four of the fusilier officer figure, with officer and trumpeter 1V-1897 RARITY

7. Royal Fusiliers, eight fusiliers and a mounted officer, 5V-1941 1V-1897 RARITY

8. Number used for unknown set, or left blank, until 1896

9. Number used for unknown set, or left blank, until 1896

10. 16th Lancers, similar to set 4, 2V-1897 RARITY

11. Black Watch, six running highlanders and an officer, 4V-1966 TOP 100

It would seem that while production of these sets was being set up, William Britain Junior had not been idle, since the figure used for the next two sets shows all the signs of being designed by him. This was a hussar slightly bigger and chunkier than the first Life Guard figure (See picture 21 below). Presumably once William Britain Junior had proved he could create masters to the right standard, there was no further need to source figures from Germany.

12. 11th Hussars, five mounted, 4V-1941 TOP 100

13. 3rd Hussars, similar, 4V-1941 TOP 100

14. Not known what would have fitted into the list at this point.

15. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, six running highlanders and an officer, 3V-1941 TOP 100

Pictures 19, 19A and 19B: Britains first set and box

A highly iconic set: the first ever set of Britains – this particular example must have been produced in 1893 or 1894, in all probability in the first year of production, first of all because the officer is not the one on the rearing horse which was added to the set in 1894. The officer is the figure with the gold sash, only easily visible when the figures are taken out of the box. Equally, the box itself has a packing of paper covered straw very similar to the contemporary German made sets. Very soon, this style of packing gave way to paper over card compartments in cavalry boxes.

CONDITION G-F, box F. Not very wonderful condition is easy to put to one side when a set is as significant as this one. Differences as opposed to later variations of the same model include rather slimmer tin swords on later figures, and the painting in of white cross belts over the cuirass.

A careful check of the paint style along the set reveals that the trooper in the centre of the box has much ruddier cheeks than the others, and a slightly different colour to what is left of the paint on the reins, as well as a different width, less rusted, tin sword. At some point it is likely that a different not matching figure found its way into this box. The price of this particular boxed set on resale will vary from the possible likely price at auction by the desire of the top collectors not only to own this box, but also to own a really nice and perfect example, where this one does not quite make the grade. On the other hand, it