Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-14
THE WORLDS GREAT WARS
Kept in Memory by the Little Tin Soldier
"A Famous Collection in Chicago
Confederate Soldiers Fun-A Variety

Kept in Memory by the Little Tin Soldier
"A Famous Collection in Chicago
Confederate Soldiers Fun-A Variety
of short Sketches.
Everyone remembers the pathetic ballad
of the little tin soldier-"and one little leg
had he" "Gounod's March of the Mari
onettes" is in reality the march ofa tin soldier
brigade, says the Chicago Tribune. They are
very important folk.
A State street toy man is connoisseur in
tin soldiers and has the history down pat.
off you'll come over to the house some
night" he remarked, "I'll show you the
finest collection of tin soldiers in this coun-
try. In fact there is only one collection in
existence that is more completes; that is the
famous one in the Trades Hall in Nurem-
borg"
The newspaper man had heard of any
number of odd collections-collections of
shoes, and hairpins, postage stamps, snuff
boxes, and has himself q weakness for old
china-but this struck him as about the
most whimsical of all. So one evening he
went out to Oak street and saw 800 odd little
tin soldiers in glass case. The gem Of the
collection was a squat little fellow in jerkin
that had once been buff and breeches that
had probably been red. He has no name but
his history is fairly authentic.
He was made in Nuremberg and dates from
the days of military enthusiasm aroused by
FREDERICK the Greats surprising exploits in
the Seven Years. War. Then there were
others, French guardsmen, who owed their
existence 60 Napoleon's campaigns; Turks
and Paynims, little Italians, and red-shirted
Garibaldians, Austrians and of course any
mum ber of little tin warriors trtcked out like
the French and Germans of 1870.
you see," said the collector, "the tin
soldier industry is n sort of war thermome-
ter. When bellicose affairs are hot the tin
soldier sold Industry goes up When nst there a is
tell you there have been fortunes made by
shrewd men who looked ahead
"There was a man named GetZler In Some
berg who forsaw the last Franco-German
war and cornered the tin-soldier market.
When the war broke out the demand for tin
soldiers on the part of patriotic juvenile
Germans was simply immense. Settler
made his fortune. I'm afraid that his con
founded example has cost me pretty
penny. When our trouble with Italy was
threatening, and it looked as though there
order for tin soldiers in Nuremberg. They
are drug in the market now. All, WELL"
he added, eve must hope for the best"
Tin soldiers have been made for l30 years.
The industry is altogether German. The
best artists are hired to furnish models for
the soldiers and they are scrupulously care
full to conform to the military costume OF
the period and country to which the minia-
ture warriors are supposed to belong.
The designs are engraved upon molds of
slate or brass. Then the tin Is poured into
the molds, and there you are-or rather,
there the tin soldier is. OF course, he has to
be painted packed in boxes, and-to achieve
his ultimate end-sold.
There are lead soldiers. But the toy dealer
does not think much of them. He says
that lead is a low-down sort of metal and
has no military ardor; in addition, it Is pois-
onous.
The capital invested in this business is, he
asserted, over $1,0O00OO. By the way, an
other fact: The workmen who make lead
soldiers all die of consumption; the mem
who make tin soldiers don't.