Gescha Toys

Gescha was a German toy manufacturer established in Nurnberg in 1923 (Force 1990). About 1980, the company name was completely changed to Conrad Models.

History

File:GeschaSmallBus.jpg

This handsome 3.75 inch tin bus has Ges. Gesch. printed on the other side. Was it made by Gescha or is simply advertising Registered Trademark? It is marked "Made in Western Germany", so is post-World War II.

German tin toys, plates and other products from about 1900 to 1920 or so were often marked Ges. Gesch. (gesetzlich geschützt) which meant "trademark registered" in German. Today in the U.S. especially, many people think this is a toy brand. While Gescha Toys is reported to have been established in 1923, it is uncertain whether its name grew out of the copyright abbreviation or not, but if so, it was an ingenious idea. Conversely, tin toys (buses, cars etc.) until the 1940s marked "Gesch" are often attributed to "Gescha" when they may not have been made by the company, but simply marked "registered".

With this in mind, it can carefully be said that Gescha had a long history of toy manufacturing similar in many ways to Schuco or Gama Toys. Most of its early products were tin wind-up toys that were creative and moved in a variety of ways.

One example was a wind-up bellhop that would push a large trunk along a flat surface. Another example was tin butterflies, but then again, these may simply have been from a variety of manufacturers marking "registered" on their toys. Thus the name Gescha seems somewhat of a mystery, and muddies the waters when ascertaining which toys were specifically from the toy company of that name.

Post World War II

As with most German industries, World War II seriously disrupted or halted business. In the late 1940s and early 1950s Gescha still made a wide variety of tin and stamped toys, but began to focus on vehicles.

Among these were a windup tractor and trailer, colorful 4" buses, airplanes, tanks and whole variety of other vehicles, including cars. Among these was a Porsche speedster-like sports car, very much in the post-war tin Shuco or Gama tradition.

Approaching Diecast

Sometime in the 1960s, Gescha started a few brand names for various toys and models. One of these was Conrad Models, from a family name in the company. The name Conrad appeared as early as the late 1950s. Another was Strenco which may have been a separate company purchased by Gescha at some point.

Gescha entered the realm of diecasting zamac about this time. The company specialty became a variety of cast metal heavy equipment vehicles: road graders, front loaders, bulldozers, etc. This was to start a brand new trend that would explode during the 1980s and 1990s - the supply of sophisticated diecast vehicles as promotional models for a variety of heavy equipment manufacturers. Gescha appears to have blazed this trail as a new model / toy specialty niche with newly established NZG Models close on its heels.

Forgetting Gescha

During the 1970s the name Conrad was used more and more often and Gescha less and less. By 1980, the Gescha name was pretty much eliminated, but there are reports of it still being used during the mid-1980s. By this time the company name was completely changed to Conrad. The history of Conrad Models on the website does not even mention the venerable name of Gescha!

The business approach of Conrad is similar to that of NZG Models, also of Nurnberg. They compete heavily for similar contracts to make precision models for truck, crane and other heavy equipment manufacturers all over the world (see Conrad website listed below). This now ubiquitous business, however, was started under the Gescha name.

References Cited

Edward Force. 1990. Classic Miniature Vehicles Made in Germany. Schiffer Publications.

External links

• Official website of Conrad Models.
• History of Gescha and other tin toy manufacturers