Barclay was the largest producer of toy soliders in the United States during the 1930’s and early 1940’s. Established sometime between 1922 to 1924, the most popular figures, the “dimestore” soldiers were produced starting around 1935 with a hollowcasting process and antimonial lead.. The description as “dimestore” soldiers is attributed to collector and author Don Pielin to describe the American-made tody soldiers sold individually in five and dime stores made poplar by the F.W. Woolworth Company. When production halted in April 1942 for World War II, the company never managed to become as successful in the post-war period and eventually closed in 1971.
Barclay Gallery
My collection includes all of the medical pieces with some paint variations. One of the variations includes the color of the “red cross” which was sometimes done in blue. The number system below for individual pieces comes from the O’Brien book listed in references and is often used by collectors. The figures listed as “podfoot” were produced post-war starting around 1950 while the other figures were all produced pre- and post-war. Combat Ready Collectibles, a modern manufacturer of toy soldiers, would later make a series of American and North Korean figures to compliment the podfoot line. This included a set of stretcher bearers, wounded, and additiona nurse holding a plasma bottle.
Of note, other manufacturers sometimes copied pieces from other producers. I’ve included an example below for a doctor produced initially by Barclay and later copied by American Metal Toys.
R O’Brien. Collecting American-Made Toy Soldiers: Identifcation and Value Guide. 3rd ed. Books Americana; 1996.
