Buying, Collecting and Identifying Composition Toy Soldiers

During the 1850's a mixture used for the manufacture of doll heads and limbs was introduced in Germany. This consisted of sawdust and glue but because of the high water content there was problems with irregular shrinkage. A toy manufacture from Vienna, Emil Pfeifer added kaolin to the mixture which when put under high pressure in heated molds allowed for a durable and consistent product to be produced. This process was used to produce Composition Toy Soldiers . The mixture was applied over a wire armature in a mulitpart mold which was then baked. Pfeifer started using this process to make toy soldiers in the 1890's and it was soon copied by other manufacturers, most notably from Germany. O.& M. Hausser bought the toy soldier portion of Pfeifer's business in the 1920's. Hausser began toy soldier manufacturing in 1904 and in 1912 gave the name Elastolin to the material they used to produce the figures. Another German, Osker Wiederholz started producing composition figures 1903 and in 1906 started using the trade name Lineol. These two companies, Lineol and Elastolin are synonymous with composition toy soldiers and were much copied throughout Europe. Early production by these companies was a hodge podge of scales and sizes. Lineol produced figures in 8.5, 10, 14, and 18 centimeters while Hausser/Elastolin issued similar scales until settling on a standard 10.5 cm size. In the 1920's each company introduced small 5 to 6.5 cm scale figures and for a time were produced in conjunction with the large sizes. By the 1930's both companies had settled on the now standard size of 7 or 7.5 cm figures. Each company also issued a line of 4cm German Army figures just before the war.

Composition toy soldiers were produced up through the 1950's when the cheaper plastics came into vogue and are usually described as being pre-war or post-war by collectors. Immensely popular throughout Europe they caught on in the United States after the war perhaps as a result of the returning GI's bring them home as souvenirs. Today the buying and selling of composition toy soldiers is difficult and risky. Composition collectors tend to be older gentlemen who have been collecting so long that their collections are complete or lacking only a few super rare figures or the children who have inherited the collections from their parents. Because of the durability of the material, composition has survived in great quantities over the years. This coupled with lack of new collectors entering the market limits the potential value of composition figures. Recently composition has appeared in large quantities on the internet through such outlets as Ebay auctions. Generally the final sale prices are much lower then in the pre-internet market. The reason for such a increase in items for sale is two fold. First, collectors and dealers seeing the prices realized on certain auctions automatically assume that market is hot and the demand is high. Careful investigation of bidders shows that only a handful of collectors are purchasing composition more often than not, caught up in the excitement of discovery and availablity. Second, antique dealers who come across figures through estate sales and other avenues pick up a general price guide, automatically assume they have something old looking and therefore valuable and list the item with a vague description. Be Careful! The giddiness of internet auctions will level off, more collections will enter the market as older collectors die off and the price of composition toy soldiers will drop. Do not accept that because it is old composition will be a valuable investiment.

Unless you are purchasing for the personal joy avoid paying high prices and make sure you are fully aware of the potential value. Pre-war quality pieces in very good to excellent condition still command a high price and are generally worth it. This applies to World War II personality figures, tinplate vehicles, and other scarce figures. Western composition figures, especially post-war are not very popular, are overpriced and difficult to sell , and unless you can find them at a bargain they generally do not hold much value on the resale market. The exceptions to this being figures such as the mounted indian squaw with papoose and composition scenic pieces like teepees, trees, cabins etc. Avoid post-war military figures which are virtually worthless and are usually being sold by someone hoping pass on his own mistake (see the Elastolin section for more details.) Another thing to keep in mind is that in Germany were composition is still very popular and collectable a typical composition show draws fewer than 100 serious collectors and there are a number of regular auctions featuring large groups of high quality composition for sale which translates into a glut of figures currently on the market. A good example of the declining popularity of composition figures was a recent auction at Christie's of London featuring a large number of quality composition and tinplate pieces. The majority of the items never reached the minimum and went unsold.

In summery, Composition Toy Soldiers great figures to collect but reasonable judgement says to be careful of price versus value and appreciation. As with all collectibles, if you like the piece and are happy with the price you paid, then it is a great buy.

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