New-York tribune., 1909-09-06
.. s. TOY INDUSTRY
1mer1cans Used 500 900 900 of the
Product IN Ten Years.
rFrom Tho Trihune Bureau

euJOyed a
ion dolls RS worth of toys according the Bureau
OF Statistics of the Department OF Commerce and
Labor. This valuation is placed by importers and
nome manufacturers, and is not based the prices
at which the toys were sold to customers Halt OF
this enormous production represents importations
TO the United States in the last decade while only
100000 worth were exported during the same
period. The htgh-water mark in the expectation OF
this class OF American manufactures was reached
IN the fiscal year just ended the total of toys
exported exceeding for the first time 81 10000 On
the import side the hsh-water mark reached
In 1905 when the value OF toys imported was
S'Z50,oO. dropping to about $50 600 in 1909.
Despite the fact that the manufacturers of the
United States have increased their Investments OF
capital IN toy making from less than $1,0o0Oo0 In
100" 10 siiaoVJ in 1906 and increased the value OF
their output of toys from sl5C0G0 I'm 1S0 To s 00 m
IN lS0o the importatons OF this class of rnerchan-
dlse nave grown steadily meantime To no srre the
hgures OF the fiscal year 1909 are slightly below
lhose OF 1903 the record year but this Is mart or
the general reduction in imports Of manufacturers
"ilch characterizes the record for the fiscal wear
~ ana cannot be looked upon a permanent de-
preston in this line Of Importation strca tha
-hthy hgures In the closing part OF the year 1sD9
showed larger totals than the corresponding months
toys. 80 '-'0 HiP"I'S Ot
10y imports were valued at $3.50 O97 In The e.os,
year 1st9 s7.206 423 worth in the AscaI ,,oo 1ooo
v''".ooI worth In 1891 and $5SS7 s6S worth in 1906
M -Vs 'he total was. In round terms s5UaOO0
~ IN 1905 %2S0,o0; In 1900. S4.OO00o; in 1901
II. EIr
the aggregate for the decade approx;r,a+.I-- s-n
V"'Uo IN value. Meantime toy manufactures in the
Oi-''so states apparently amounted to about IN
elual sum- or an average of about S5oo0000 year
SINCE me census record shows tie product oP 1on5
at s05776s3 and that OF 1900 at 81 C24 aaa This od
ndlcate that the toys supplied to the peope Of -he
Chlted States during the decade have aggregated
about s100oo00oo in value
This trade in TOYS both as n i,,ro~+- ,-5 -
ports. is largely a development Of the last dacada
me total value OF toys imported in 1899 a decade
ago was about s25o00o; in 1900 IT. already indi-
cateo, reached approximately S. oO00oo then slowly
out steadily increased. passing the s4c00oo mark
IN 1902 the s,000N0 mark in 1906 the SsUat.o mari.
IN 1907 and the s7.ooo0Oo line in 1905 but droppng
n -SS ule year OF general depression in importa-
uohs OF manufactures, TO little less than S. 100 000
our with an upward movement again IN the closing
months Of the year IN June 1909 for exannpe the
value or toys imported s5445a2 against s24 37s
N the corresponding month of the preceding wear
indicating that the record for the fiscal year 1910
VII! probably exceed that Of 1903 and may equal |
that OF the high record year 1903 Meantime the |
expectation Of toys. which amounted to only $3.50 o
in 1900 passed the 100000 lire in 1904 the $500 coo
line N 1905 nearly touched the s75oooo line in 1903
and passed the Sl.ooo0oo line in 1sOs the total for
that year being S1.osSls7.
Germany IS the worlds leading purveyor OF toys |
at least by far the largest source OF supply for :
the United States. and presumably larger manu- /
tacturer than any other country, Sonneberg alone g
It IS said. producing annually some twenty-four !
million articles, repr- sentng about s4.0CoC00 value
while Nuremberg and other cities OF Germany are
also large producers in this line. The OF toys
tmpoi ted into the United States from Germany In |
1903 the high record year. was S50Oo00 out OF g |
total Of S72500o0 imported in that year The larg-
est value Of toys imported from any other coun- |
try in that France $3.50 472: Austria Hun
gary, s7941S Japan. Sl77790: Belgium. S6l $751; and
the United Kingdom. s57,725.
The growth OF the production OF toys in the !
United States has, despite this large importation
and despite the activity in manufacturing in other !
countries, been rapid in recent years the value
OF the manufactures classed as toys and games ,
ing reported at S.5G0O00 in 1880. 50 10000 in 1890
100000 in 1906 and s. 10000 in 1905 the amount OF
capital employed increasing from little less than
81 600 in 1880 70 nearly 100000 in 1905, the
Der Of factories from los in 1880 Isl in 1905 tbs
number OF persons employed from 4 little over
600 in 1880 to than 1900 IN 1905 the wages
paid f ON 100000 in 1850 to than s1Jo0O0 in
1906. The growth Of toy making in the United
States has been chiefly in the classes which could
be manufactured by machinery, especially those of
wood and metal
American toys are. it would seem, especially pop
ular among those OF English birth or ancestry,
since OF the $780, 600 worth Of toys exported in 1893
s231 600 worth went to the United Kingdom $4,000
worth 70 Canada and $4,000 worth 10 Australia and
New Zealand. making more than half the total
exports Of toys 10 the United Kingdom and her
two principal colonies. Canada and British Aus
traasia. The next largest explorations vera: To
Germany, s560 900 worth: to Cuba $4,000 worth; 10
the Philippine Islands, s26.oo0 worth; TO France,
S24 900 worth, and TO Japan, $1,000 worth.
GERMAN TOY INDUSTRY.
Incident to the above report issued by the De-
partment of Commerce and Labor. the manu-
United Stats Consul George Nicolas lift, sta
toned at Nuremberg. Germany. furnishes a very
report Of the manufacture OF toys in
his district For many years Nuremberg has been
the of the 10Y trade Of the world he says
The principal products being metal toys of infinite
variety, tin soldiers. toy engines. railways, boats,
magic lanterns, musical toys.
swords, rattles, etc and extent also
wooden and pasteboard toys. blocks. puzzles. etc.
About twelve thousand persons employed in
this industry in the twin cities of Nuremberg and
Fuerth, about one-half Of the number being woT-
en- and girls There are about half a dozen fac
tories, employing several hundred workmen each.
the largest of which gives employment TO an
average of fifteen hundred persons and, besides
these there are hundreds of concerns employing
from half u dozen TO hundred persons. II is
not unusual to find q factory IN which, besides the
proprietor and his wife and children, only or |
three extra men employed.
Tin toys are mostly cut out by machinery, /
which Is often ingenious, but simple in operation,
and most Of the operatives, even in the larger
factories are women OF girls. The workshops, |
with their so-calted trade secrets. generally |
very strictly guarded and ii Is a difficult mat |
Ter to gain admission Al local toy factory. The
wages OF female employees about 5ia cents an |
Aour-much lower than those OF the male work | q,
men, who about 1oi4 cents hour. In nor | ,
nal times the toy factory employees work nine and ,
oue-half hours day with enc hour less Satur- I
days.
The total value of the Toy output of this district
or 1898 is estimated at about SfO00GO0 which was ,
perhaps, 25 per cent under that of 1907 The toys
we're exported to every land on the globe but con-
siderably more than one-third of the entire prod
uct went the United States. The exports of
toys from the Nuremberg district to the United