Fisher-Price Toys
96+ years and still operating (founded 1930)
About Fisher-Price Toys
Founded during the Great Depression with the philosophy that toys must have 'play value.' Fisher-Price focused on durable, colorful toys for very young children. Their distinctive woodpecker logo and bright lithographed toys defined American preschool play for generations. Mattel acquired Fisher-Price in 1993.
Founding
Herman Fisher, Irving Price and Helen Schelle, who founded the company in East Aurora, New York in 1930 — with Price's wife Margaret Evans Price, a children's book illustrator, designing the early toys.
History of Fisher-Price Toys
Fisher-Price launched into the Depression on the theory that parents would still buy a toy that was intrinsically good, and it codified what "good" meant in a way that has outlasted the company's independence: intrinsic play value, ingenuity, strong construction, good value, and action. The early toys were ponderosa pine with lithographed paper labels and painted steel parts, and they were built to survive a toddler.
The postwar shift to plastic was handled better than by most contemporaries, because the design philosophy transferred intact. Little People, the Corn Popper, the Chatter Telephone, Snoopy Sniffer and the Rock-A-Stack are all essentially simple objects executed exactly, and several are still in production in modified form — the Little People figures having been redesigned over the decades in response to child-safety standards.
Quaker Oats acquired the company in 1969, it was spun off in 1991, and Mattel acquired it in 1993. Fisher-Price remains Mattel's infant and preschool brand, which makes it one of the few makers in this encyclopedia with a continuous product line from 1930 to the present.
Timeline
- 1930Fisher, Price and Schelle found the company in East Aurora, New York
- 1931Sixteen wooden toys with lithographed paper labels form the first line
- 1957The Corn Popper push toy is introduced
- 1959Little People begin as figures in the Safety School Bus
- 1962The Chatter Telephone pull toy is introduced
- 1969Quaker Oats acquires the company
- 1993Mattel acquires Fisher-Price
Notable & Best-Selling Toys
- Little People (1959)
- Corn Popper push toy (1957)
- Chatter Telephone (1962)
- Rock-A-Stack
- Snoopy Sniffer pull toy
- Creative Coaster
- Power Wheels
Identifying & Dating Fisher-Price Toys
- Toys carry a logo plate or moulded mark with "Fisher-Price Toys" and "East Aurora, N.Y."; the logo style is a well-documented dating tool, moving from the early black-and-white forms through the awning logo to the modern wordmark.
- Model numbers appear on the toy and the box and are the standard way collectors identify issues.
- Wooden bodies with lithographed paper over pine indicate pre-1960s production; all-plastic construction is later.
Collector's Notes
- Paper lithography on the wooden toys is the condition-limiting factor — it lifts, tears and abrades at every edge, and a clean unlifted label is what separates a good example from a common one.
- Little People sets are collected by figure and playset, and the small figures were lost constantly. A complete playset with all its correct original figures is much harder to assemble than it looks.
- Original boxes are scarce for anything preschool, since these were opened immediately and used hard. Beware of repainted wooden toys and reproduction labels, both of which circulate.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When was Fisher-Price Toys founded?
Fisher-Price Toys was founded in 1930, based in East Aurora, NY.
Is Fisher-Price Toys still in business?
Yes. Fisher-Price Toys is still operating today, 96+ years after it was founded.
What is Fisher-Price Toys best known for?
Fisher-Price Toys is best known for Little People (1959), Corn Popper push toy (1957), Chatter Telephone (1962), among other toys.
Where was Fisher-Price Toys located?
Fisher-Price Toys was based in East Aurora, NY.
What kinds of toys did Fisher-Price Toys make?
Fisher-Price Toys is categorized under preschool toys, educational, dolls, push toys.
Who founded Fisher-Price Toys?
Herman Fisher, Irving Price and Helen Schelle, who founded the company in East Aurora, New York in 1930 — with Price's wife Margaret Evans Price, a children's book illustrator, designing the early toys.
How can you identify genuine Fisher-Price Toys?
Toys carry a logo plate or moulded mark with "Fisher-Price Toys" and "East Aurora, N.Y."; the logo style is a well-documented dating tool, moving from the early black-and-white forms through the awning logo to the modern wordmark. Model numbers appear on the toy and the box and are the standard way collectors identify issues. Wooden bodies with lithographed paper over pine indicate pre-1960s production; all-plastic construction is later.
Are Fisher-Price Toys valuable?
Paper lithography on the wooden toys is the condition-limiting factor — it lifts, tears and abrades at every edge, and a clean unlifted label is what separates a good example from a common one. Little People sets are collected by figure and playset, and the small figures were lost constantly. A complete playset with all its correct original figures is much harder to assemble than it looks. Original boxes are scarce for anything preschool, since these were opened immediately and used hard. Beware of repainted wooden toys and reproduction labels, both of which circulate.