Schuco Classic Tin Toys: The Collector's Guide [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Chris Knox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2003

The history of Schuco can be traced back to the birth of Heinrich Muller in 1887. Muller had begun making his own toys as a teenager, and he soon joined the Bing Company. In 1912, he left Bing and, together with Heinrich Schreyer, a local merchant, formed the toy company Schreyer & Co., which in 1921 became known simply as Schuco. The company began by making small felt and plush covered mechanised figures and animals. One very famous Schuco toy, which was first produced in the 1920s, was the Pick-Pick Bird. An incredible 20 million were made in a production run that lasted until the 1960s. It was in the mid-1930s that Schuco came up with its Schuco-Patent-Motor-Car. As early as 1946 Schuco toys were appearing in American stores and the boom was about to begin. Sadly, by the mid-1960s, the writing was on the wall and the end of the tin toy was not far away. Diecast metal and particularly plastics were the new high-tech materials, which had begun taking over as early as the late 1950s; tin was perceived to be slightly old-fashioned. There was also the so-called 'safety issue' of tin toys with sharp edges and small children. The company did not turn to plastics until the early 1970s; by then it was very much a case of too little to late. By 1976, Schuco had gone out of business. This informative and beautifully illustrated book is an absorbing record of the history of this internationally famous mechanical toy producer. Anyone interested in collectable toys will be entranced by the illustrations; anyone who is interested in the history of transport will be fascinated by the changes that this century has seen.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chris Knox is an advertising and editorial photographer and life-long collector of Schuco toys. Over the years, he has united his passions for photography and the toys to create a wide-ranging, amusing, and visually stimulating collection of gorgeous and often quirky photographs. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Krause Pubns Inc; illustrated edition edition (January 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873495454
• ISBN-13: 978-0873495455
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,637,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic book about classic toys, July 27, 2003

By 

Paul F. Wegloski "avalon84" (Downers Grove, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Schuco Classic Tin Toys: The Collector's Guide (Hardcover)

Chris Knox's book, "Schuco Classic Tin Toys", is wonderfully illustrated with stunning photography. He covers Schuco through the early years, it's rise as an innovative creator of toys, it's demise, and finally, it's resurrection.

What sets the book apart from other toy books is the beautiful photographs of Schuco toys. The photography is nothing short of spectacular.

While the book offers Schuco history and pricing, it's more of a "coffee table" book. Enjoy it for the images of classic (and collectible) toys from the Schuco line.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Amazon has wrong cover picture for this ISBN, March 17, 2009

By 

L. CO "Buk_werkz" (Northwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Schuco Classic Tin Toys: The Collector's Guide (Hardcover)

The book is great, just wanted to make other buyers aware that Amazon is showing the wrong cover for this edition/ISBN 0-87349-545-4. The correct cover has a picture of about 1/2 of the back of a Schuco car,shows the insignia and has a license plate, still in red, but not as shown here. We have the book in our hand right now and have tried to convince Amazon to change their picture, but have had no luck. If you are looking for the one shown above - you want the title put out by Antique Collector's Club. This ISBN belongs to the book published by Krause, which is a hardback and with a dust jacket - with a different front cover photo.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thoroughly "user friendly" collector's guide, January 14, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Schuco Classic Tin Toys: The Collector's Guide (Hardcover)

Schuco Classic Tin Toys is a thoroughly "user friendly" collector's guide to the Schuco tin toy collection is packed from cover to cover with everything a toy collector could need ranging from histories of models of toys to technical features. Enhanced with color photos, prices and rarity ratings, Schuco Classic Tin Toys is an excellent and very highly recommended survey of classic tin toys produced by this famous German toy maker.