INTRODUCTION TO THE BARCLAY CATALOG

The Barclay Manufacturing Company of New Jersey set up shop between 1922 and 1924 (probably the latter) and remained in business until 1971. From about 1934 through the beginning of 1942, it was the largest manufacturer of toy soldiers in the country. Though its output was considerably diminished after the Second World War, it still remained a significant force.

Barclay issued catalogs from the beginning. Despite this, and almost a decade of search by collectors, till now virtually nothing had been found; only a few post-War order sheets and three pre-War jobbers' pages.

What appears in this book was saved by Barclay's last owner, Stanley Goldsmith, when he closed the factory in 1971. Except for one photo and a four-page post-War catalog, all of this will be new to collectors. The following material now allows definite identifications of previous mysteries, gives company numberings and descriptions, illustrates other toys that have yet to surface, and shows plaster figures and sketches of projected toys that seem never to have made it to production.

The Goldsmith collection passed into the hands of collector Lee Schaffer in late 1985, and from him to me. I'm deeply grateful to Lee for agreeing to the transfer. In addition I'd like to thank collector Terry Culpepper for allowing me to borrow the printing block for page 3, Hank Anton for the advertising insert on page 56, Evelyn Besser, the daughter of Barclay sculptor Frank Krupp, for her advice on the sketches and Jim Poyer, of The Poyer Press of Belvidere, New Jersey, for pulling such beautiful proofs from the printing blocks.

Codings in parentheses are from the various editions of "Collecting Toys" and my forthcoming book on toy soldiers. Numbers and descriptions in bold print are Barclay's own.
 

Richard O'Brien

 December, 1985