Maker record
Schoenner
Jean Schoenner was a German maker of tin toys based in Nuremberg. Founded in 1875, the firm produced steam-powered toys, including model railways, boats and fire engines, as well as other vehicles. Its range also included steam engines and, from 1898, the Oratiograph phonograph. Schoenner’s products combined mechanical play with optical and sound devices, reflecting the breadth of Nuremberg’s toy and instrument trades around the turn of the twentieth century.
- Founded
- 1875
- Final year
- 1913
- Countries
- Germany
- Locations
- Nuremberg, Germany
- Founders
- Jean Schoenner
The story of Schoenner
Jean Schoenner founded his toy-making business in Nuremberg in 1875. The firm made tin toys and became especially associated with steam-powered models. From about 1890 to 1910, its products included model trains, boats and fire engines, alongside other vehicles. By around 1900 the business employed about 250 people, and its toy production had reached more than 300,000 units by the end of the nineteenth century.
Schoenner also entered the early phonograph trade. In 1898 it introduced the Oratiograph, advertised at 18 marks; the firm’s 1899 catalogue also promoted phonographs and related patents. Its production activity declined in the early twentieth century. Parts of its production were taken over by Johann Falk between 1905 and 1913, and the company was closed in 1913.
