Collectors’ Corner

You may recognise these little Peugeot 201 vans without knowing their maker. They were produced by Giacomo de Andreis in Marseille, France, with colourful lithographed tinplate bodies. The real Peugeot 201 appeared in 1929. These toy versions are thought to date from somewhat later. Their roofs open, and the bodies appear to have doubled as biscuit boxes: a practical container that became a toy once the biscuits were gone. The…

A single horse at full gallop: this delicate clockwork carriage was made by Greppert & Kelch in Brandenburg, Germany. The firm began making toys in 1919, when horse-drawn carriages were still a familiar sight. In German, a carriage drawn by one horse is called an Einspänner. The same name is used for a Viennese coffee topped with whipped cream. The drink is traditionally associated with coachmen waiting beside their carriages:…

This could be the perfect title for this little tinplate telephone booth, although the toy itself was manufactured long before the 1981 film. Its exact age remains a mystery. It could date from the 1920s or perhaps even earlier. There are no markings, logos or manufacturer's names to help identify it. Could it have been made by Ernst Plank? Possibly, but we have yet to find a catalogue reference confirming…