Very rarely does an opportunity present itself  to look  “behind the scenes” of the Marklin factory.  Original instruction sheets, customer catalogs, and dealer items often give added value to Marklin items and set the context of the toy pieces, allowing us to imagine how they were originally sold to Marklin enthusiasts long ago.  Sometimes we are even given the chance to look at a Marklin dealer’s side of the operation such as in the article on Richard Marklin Toys.   Browsing through dealer catalogs, binders, and price-lists also gives us added insight in how dealers interacted with the Marklin factory, but how often do we actually get to see what happened on the production side of the toys at the Marklin factory in Goppingen, Germany?

Marklin Patents Folder

Marklin Patents 1909 & 1938

A blue, musty folder riddled with the signs of old age and many years of storage holds the secrets of Marklin’s engineering brilliancy in the form of original Marklin patents issued from the years 1909 to 1942.  Undoubtedly an incredible insight into Marklin’s clear advantage in the toy industry in the early 20th Century.  Here, the detailed design plans of some of Marklin’s greatest inventions and ingenuous designs are revealed for all to see.

A patent for “Gebr. Marklin & Cie.” dated 15.JANUAR 1942: