Strauss Clown Scissors Grinder Windup *SOLD*

Strauss Clown Scissors Grinder windup for sale

We have a familiar grinder toy, but this is the EARLY version by Strauss (not the later Woods/Girrard).  It is also in incredible condition and works perfectly.  So many are close to this condition, but few are this near-perfect.

Our toy winds up for quite some time then torques out a hefty grindstone into action.  Then you drop the hand flint & it sparks.  You can see our example sparking with a few action shots.

Strauss toys were pre-Marx and led to Mr Marx’s experience, and ultimately became part of his toy lineup.  -Superb toy, Superb history, modest price for a 100 year old toy.

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

The Ferdinand Strauss Company was founded in the early 1900’s 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 early 1900’s, 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 that had color lithography on them.  Many of the toys also had wind-up or clockwork mechanisms in order 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 in to Marx’s own line.