Maker record
Distler
Distler was a Nuremberg maker of tinplate toys and mechanical models. Its early products included inexpensive penny toys, and its range expanded in the 1920s and 1930s to include clockwork vehicles, aircraft, trains and mechanical figures. After the Second World War, the company made electric trains and cars, including the Electro Matic 7500 FS, a battery-powered model of the Porsche 356 introduced in 1954. A flexible shaft let users steer the car and select gears. The model was made in Nuremberg until 1962 and in Belgium through 1965.
- Founded
- 1895
- Locations
- Nürnberg, Germany · 1895
- Founders
- Johann Distler
The story of Distler
Distler’s early production in Nuremberg included inexpensive, unpowered tinplate penny toys. A 1908 toy in the London Museum collection is attributed to Johann Distler and records the firm’s place in the city’s penny toy trade. In the 1920s and 1930s, the range broadened to more elaborate toys, with and without clockwork mechanisms, including cars and trucks, aircraft, tinplate trains and mechanical figures. A 1931 wholesale catalogue listed about 800 products.
In 1936, under the Nazi regime, Jewish owners Frieda and Alfred Beselau and their son-in-law Julius Weinschenk were forced to sell the business to Ernst Voelk. Voelk also took over the Vereinigte Spielwarenfabriken in 1938. The companies’ product ranges were reorganized, with Distler assigned vehicles and simpler toys for mass production. After the Second World War, Distler made electric trains and cars. The Electro Matic 7500 FS, presented at the 1954 Nuremberg Toy Fair, reproduced a Porsche 356 Cabriolet. Its battery-powered motor drove a multi-speed gearbox, while a flexible shaft enabled steering and gear selection. The model was produced in Nuremberg from 1954 to 1962, then in Belgium from 1962 to 1965 using the original tools.
