Maker record
Quiralu
Quiralu was a French toy brand created in 1933 by the Quirin foundry in Luxeuil. Its early products were cast-aluminium figurines, including soldiers and other subjects; the company added miniature cars in 1955. Production combined metal casting with painted finishes, and the figures’ bases, wheels, size and sculptural style changed over time, helping collectors distinguish different production periods.
- Founded
- 1933
- Countries
- France
- Locations
- Luxeuil-les-Bains, France
- Founders
- Lucien Quirin
The story of Quiralu
The Quirin foundry had operated in Luxeuil before Émile Quirin sought permission in 1924 to move it to a former factory building. Trading as Quirin et Cie, it worked in brass, bronze and nickel silver, making decorative fittings and hardware for the electrical, mechanical and railway industries. In 1933 the company added cast-aluminium figurines under the Quiralu brand.
The foundry expanded its facilities in the first half of the twentieth century, including a painting and finishing workshop. Émile Quirin’s son-in-law Hubert Desgranges succeeded him in 1941, followed by Bernard Desgranges in 1948. Around 1950, production reached about ten tonnes of aluminium a month. Quirin et Cie introduced miniature cars in 1955. The regional heritage inventory records the foundry’s closure in 1961, attributing it to competition from plastics. A later textile business occupied the site from 1964. Quiralu figures were painted by hand, and collector documentation describes changes in their size, bases, wheels and sculptural style over successive periods.