Maker record
Ernst Plank (E.P.)
Ernst Plank was a Nuremberg, Germany, maker of metal toys and optical instruments, active from 1866 until its sale in 1934. Its products included magic lanterns and model steam engines, followed by clockwork and electric model railways, steam locomotives, ships, and railway accessories. The firm also made physics teaching apparatus and experiment kits. Plank lanterns used a petroleum lamp to project images on glass strips, and were sold in several sizes and configurations. The E.P. initials appeared as the firm's mark.
- Founded
- 1866
- Final year
- 1935
- Countries
- Germany
- Locations
- Nuremberg, Germany · 1866
- Founders
- Ernst Plank
The story of Ernst Plank (E.P.)
Ernst Plank founded a metal-toy factory in Nuremberg in 1866. The firm specialized in magic lanterns and model steam engines. In 1882 it presented an electric model railway; spirit-fired locomotives and ships soon joined the range. Around 1900, Plank added railway cars and accessories, some made by Märklin and exchanged for steam engines. Physics teaching apparatus and experiment kits were another specialty. The firm's products carried the initials E.P. as a trademark.
During the economic crisis of the 1920s, the company lost commercial importance. In 1934 it was sold to Hans and Fritz Schaller, who discontinued toy manufacture and used the Noris name for film projectors. Plank had also made cinematographs, and the lantern projector catalogue included devices lit by a petroleum lamp that projected images from glass strips. The Deutsches Kameramuseum records one such Plank lantern as dating to about 1890 and describes several versions, including models for strips of different heights.
