Maker record
Doll & Cie
Doll & Cie. was a Nuremberg toy maker founded in 1898 by Peter Doll and John Sondheim. It specialized in model steam engines and mechanical drive models, then added model railways from 1927 and steam-powered toy cars and lorries during the 1920s. Its products included working models that demonstrated steam power on a small scale. The company was transferred to Fleischmann in 1938 under Nazi persecution of its Jewish owners, and its products continued to be sold under the Doll name until 1949.
- Founded
- 1898
- Countries
- Germany
- Locations
- Nuremberg, Germany · 1898
- Founders
- Peter Doll · John Sondheim
The story of Doll & Cie
Peter Doll and John Sondheim founded Doll & Cie. in Nuremberg in 1898. The company’s principal products were model steam engines and mechanical drive models. It began building its own model railway range in 1927, and expanded that range through 1936. In the 1920s it also made steam-powered toy cars and lorries.
The company was Jewish-owned. Under Nazi persecution, it was transferred to the competitor Gebr. Fleischmann in 1938, and the former owners and their families fled to the United States. Fleischmann developed its postwar steam-engine range from Doll stock and expertise; products continued to be sold under the Doll name until 1949.