Early Strauss Tin Lithographed No. 430 New York American Roadster for Sale

Early Strauss Tin Lithographed No. 430 New York American Roadster

This is an early, unmarked, tin, lithographed New York American No. 430 Roadster that was manufactured by the Ferdinand Strauss Company/Strauss Mfg. Co. of New York City, New York.

This is unmarked but it corresponds with the StraussNew York catalog.

This piece is in excellent all original condition with no breaks, restorations, repairs, or touch-ups. This piece shows the usual patina, fading, dust, chips, scuffs, surface rust, scratches, missing accessories, and wear that are to be expected from age and play. This is approximately 5” L (13″ L with wood tongue). We invite you to view the photos to further determine the quality and condition.

A brief history of the Ferdinand Strauss Company of New York City, New York:  

The Ferdinand Strauss Company was founded in the early 1900s in New York City, New York by Ferdinand Strauss. Strauss was from the Alsace region of Germany. In the beginning, Strauss imported various toys that he sold from his New York Shop. Strauss specialized in importing tin mechanical toys and produced toys from 1914 to 1927.

During the early 1900s, European toy manufacturers had already perfected color lithography, and were manufacturing many tin toys and pressed steel toys for the North American market. Like most European toy manufacturers, Strauss also manufactured pressed tin toys with color lithography.  Many of the toys also had wind-up or clockwork mechanisms to have them move on their own. In 1912 Strauss hired Louis Marx, who later founded the Marx Toy Company.

In 1918 Strauss began manufacturing toys on his own instead of importing them. Strauss produced (wind-up) toys for the Abraham & Strauss Department Stores and was a pioneer in the friction tin toy industry. They managed to capture much of the 1920’s mechanical tin toy craze, but Strauss was eventually out-manufactured by other toy companies that had similar toys.

The Ferdinand Strauss Company’s eventual fate is unclear, but it appears that the company faded into history by 1927. There is some evidence that the company was absorbed by Louis Marx’s company as there are several items from the Strauss line that seem to have been incorporated into Marx’s own line.