Maker record
Tippco
Tipp & Co., also known as Tippco, was a toy manufacturer based in Nuremberg, Germany, producing tin toys from 1912 to 1971. Its range centered on road vehicles, including cars, buses, trucks and motorcycles, alongside clockwork trains, mechanical figures and track sets. Many vehicles used lithographed tin bodies and clockwork mechanisms; some later models added electric lighting or motorized operation. The company’s products changed with the postwar market, shifting from military toys before and during the Second World War to civilian vehicles such as construction and delivery trucks, buses and cars.
- Founded
- 1912
- Final year
- 1971
- Locations
- Nuremberg, Germany · 1912
- Founders
- Ernst Carstens · Viktoria Tipp
The story of Tippco
Tipp & Co. was founded in Nuremberg in 1912 by Ernst Carstens and Viktoria Tipp, whose surname supplied the company name. Tipp transferred her shares to Philipp Ullmann in the same year. Ullmann became sole proprietor in 1919 and led the business until 1933. The company’s early range included lithographed tin road vehicles such as cars, buses, trucks, motorcycles and road rollers, as well as mechanical figures, clockwork trains and track sets. Some 1920s vehicles had electric lights or searchlights.
After the Nazi seizure of power, Ullmann, who was Jewish, was forced to leave Germany in 1933. The business passed to new management and made military-themed toys, including vehicles and weapons. Following the war, the Ullmann family recovered the company. Tipp & Co. stopped making military toys and returned to civilian products. Its 1950s and 1960s range included construction vehicles, delivery vans, motorcycles, scooters, ships, aircraft and touring buses, while tin track sets remained part of the line. The Ruhr Museum documents a 1960s electrically driven touring bus controlled through a wired, battery-powered remote. Tipp & Co. continued producing tin toys until 1971, when the firm closed.
