Maker record
Matarazzo
C. Matarazzo y Cía. was an Argentine toy maker based in Buenos Aires, producing lithographed tin toys from 1933. Its range included vehicles, trains and aircraft, with clockwork mechanisms on many larger models as well as simpler unpowered toys. The company also offered an economical Series B inspired by penny toys. Its original designs and broad catalogue developed during a period when war disrupted toy imports and Argentina expanded domestic manufacturing.
- Founded
- 1933
- Locations
- Unknown
- Founders
- Unknown
The story of Matarazzo
C. Matarazzo y Cía. emerged in Argentina in 1933, during a period of industrial expansion and efforts to replace imported consumer goods with local production. Businessman Costabile Matarazzo and three of his sons established a toy factory in Villa Devoto, Buenos Aires. The plant used machinery imported from Germany and grew rapidly; by 1942 the company had moved its headquarters to Corrientes Avenue, and production reached 5,000 toys a day. It supplied the domestic market and exported through representatives across Latin America, with an office in New York.
The early catalogues offered nearly one hundred lithographed tin toys, with and without mechanisms. Vehicles, trains and aircraft featured prominently, and many larger examples used clockwork. A lower-priced Series B brought simpler designs to a wider market. From 1944, some models kept their moulds but received brighter, simplified lithography. After Costabile Matarazzo’s death in 1948, the company’s postwar position weakened as foreign toys returned, plastic became established and Argentina’s political and economic climate shifted. Production declined between 1955 and 1959, with few new models. C. Matarazzo S.A. disappeared from industrial directories in 1961; its assets were sold the following year.