Maker record
Jouets de Paris (JEP)
Jouets de Paris, later known as JEP, was a French maker of metal toys whose factory was in Montreuil. Its early range included trains, cars, buses, aircraft, figures and beach toys. After the First World War, production focused on mechanical and electric trains, model cars and aircraft. The toys were first made from shaped and soldered tinplate, painted by hand; from 1918, lithography replaced paint and clips replaced solder. Later products also used plastic and die-cast metal.
- Founded
- 1902
- Final year
- 1968
- Countries
- France
- Locations
- Montreuil, France · 1908
- Founders
- Ducrocq Paillet
The story of Jouets de Paris (JEP)
Jouets de Paris was founded in 1902 as a group of metal toy makers. It opened a factory in Montreuil in 1908; a fire destroyed the building the following year. The company was then acquired by the Société industrielle de ferblanterie (SIF), while retaining a degree of autonomy and its own mark, first JdP and later JEP. Its early catalogue included metal figures, trains, cars, buses, aircraft, beach toys, toy kitchens and household sets. The toys were made from tinplate that was cut, folded or stamped, soldered and painted by hand. In 1918 lithography replaced hand painting and clips replaced solder.
During the First World War the factory produced helmets. After the war it specialised in mechanical and electric trains, cars and aircraft. Notable train models included the Train bleu in 1925, the Flèche d’or in 1928 and a railcar in 1935; car models included Hispano-Suiza replicas in 1927 and Bugatti replicas in 1935. The interwar period was the high point of JEP production. After the Second World War, material shortages, labour costs and competition from plastic toys prompted changes to products and equipment, including plastic toys and Zamac castings. SIF closed the Montreuil factory in 1964 and liquidated JEP in 1968.