Modern Metal Dolls and Mechanical Dolls, From Chapter 7

While most modern dolls are made of plastics with a few collector's items made of cloth, bisque, and other materials, there are still some made of metal. In fact, some modern vinyl dolls of the fifties, sixties, and seventies contain metal, which causes their vinyl skin to develop green stains after awhile.
Noted authority Charles Bartholomew writes that many popular mechanical toy trends of the twentieth century really have their origins in the late nineteenth century (127). By the turn of the century, clockwork and friciton driven toys of all types were very popular, and were becoming more and more sophisiticated, with electricity more widely used in toys than ever before. British firms began making all types of mechanical toys of metal before World War I. One of these was the Meccano Company of Frank Hornby, originally called Mechanics Made Easy in its patent papers. Hornby got the idea to make mechanical toys after he made metal toy parts for his children (127). The children were able to construct entire toys from these parts. Other companies soon followed, including Dinky Toys, another of Hornby's lines, and the Louis Marx Company of New York (Bartholomew 128). Marx was able to imitate more expensive toy lines, including the Hornby lines, and could sell cheaper versions in great quantities directly to stores like Woolworth's. This was his one great advantage (129). By the time Marx turned to plastics and other materials, Japan had entered the toy market. Mechanical and tin toy production was halted, according to Bartholomew, during World War II, when many toy manufacturing plants were turned "over to war production" (129).
During the 1930's, German companies like Schuco produced interesting toys that danced, played instruments, or beat drums (135). Another German company made a Charlie Chaplin who could swing his cane.