Mercury (toy manufacturer) Marklin, the company was started in 1932, by Attilio Clemente and Antonio Cravero, but its first toy was a gun produced about 1939 (Batazzi et al 1974; Force 1992, 5; History of Mercury 2013; Ralston 2009, 62). The company first began making toy cars just after World War II, so is one of the earliest diecast model makers preceding Corgi and many others and it was the earliest producer in Italy (Richardson 1999, 134). In Italy there was little competition for Mercury through most of the 1950s (Force 1992, 5). Early cars were more Tootsietoy-like with simple cast bodies, wheels
The Toy Wife The Toy Wife The Toy Wife is a 1938 American drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Luise Rainer and Melvyn Douglas. The period film was produced by Merian C. Cooper and written by Zoë Akins. Set during the American Civil War, "The Toy Wife" tells the story of Frou-Frou, a 16-year-old coquette. She has been in France to attend a prestigious school, but is now returning to her family plantation in Louisiana. Craving to go to New Orleans, she fakes a toothache to visit a dentist there. She is chaperoned by Madame Vallaire, but soon ditches her to