Unknown known

Sometimes you see toys you recognize, but you really don/t know who was the manufacturer. One of those are cars – vans made by “Giacomo de Andreis” (France – Marseille) with their appealing lithographies. The car model stems from a real original: the Peugeot 201. An important product by this car manufacturer just during the recession years from 1929 onwards. Although De Andreis seems to have manufactured objects, this tinplate toy car must be dated a bit later than 1929. A funny thing is that it seems to be used as a biscuit box; the roof can be opened for putting something in it. A very clever and handsome idea. De Andreis was, however, not the only who has designed such cookie boxes.

The three versions shown are all fitted with a fragile clockwork mechanism. There are, however, also versions known without the clockwork mechanism. There is another difference between those three pictured vans: two of them do have fenders and one does not. Was this a matter of degree of luxury you could choose as an option?

Finally there is a puzzle about the number plates. Two of them might reflect real French number plates back then: 72 47.X1 and 72 32.C1. The third one may refer to “Service Pompiers”, hence S P 9. Anyone who can shed more light on this aspect? Just let us know by reacting to this post.

The beautiful vans do have different looks. Three of them are pictured here. We would love to see more and other versions. We are open for offers to complete our range. For more pictures view our Digital Museum.