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Fisher-Price was founded in 1930 by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, his wife Margaret Evans Price and Helen Schelle. Two of the three family names were used to establish the company name. Price had previously worked for a major variety chain store. Fisher had a background in manufacturing and advertising and selling games. Helen Schelle operated a toy store in New York. |
| Their initial principles for designing and manufacturing toys were: - Intristic play value - Ingenuity - Strong Construction - Good value for money- Action
First ranges were actually made from heavy steel parts to ensure durability. To make the toys more interesting they added colourful labels. Mrs Price who was a professional illustrator and artist was the art director for the company and designed a lot of toys based on characters from her favourite children's books. In 1931 they took their wooden range of toys to a toy fair in New York where they quickly became a success. Soon after the first Fisher-Price toy was sold. It was called Dr. Doodle (this toy in good condition can be sold for a very considerable amount to toy collectors). In 1950s the owners realised the value and potential of plastic as it could combine the durability and colours that they so wanted for their toys to have. In 1993 Fisher-Price was purchased by Mattel and to this day remains one of their most successful subsiduaries. In 1997 Mattel started to market all of their preschool products under the Fisher-Price name. Fisher-Price has manufactured over 5,000 different toys since it was started. The best-known of them is the Little People collection, which features miniature people, pets and a range of vehicles and playsets for them. |
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