Fisher-Price is an American company that produces

educational toy Educational toys (sometimes also called "instructive toys") are objects of play, generally designed for children, which are expected to stimulate learning. They are often intended to meet an educational purpose such as helping a child develop ...

s for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in

East Aurora East Aurora is a village in Erie County, New York, United States, southeast of Buffalo. It lies in the eastern half of the town of Aurora. The village population was 5,998 per the 2020 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metrop ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The company was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Helen Schelle, and Margaret Evans-Price. Fisher-Price has been a

wholly owned subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sam ...

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

since 1993.

History

Founded in 1930 during the Great Depression by

Herman Fisher Herman Guy Fisher (November 2, 1898 – September 26, 1975), was born in Unionville Pennsylvania. He is best known as the co-founder of the famous toy brand Fisher-Price. Biography Herman G. Fisher was born in Unionville, Pennsylvania in 1898. ...

Irving Price Irving Lanouette Price (September 21, 1884 – November 23, 1976) was an American toy manufacturer. Price was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1884 had a successful career as an executive with Woolworth, retired at an early age and was elec ...

, Price's illustrator-artist wife

Margaret Evans Price Margaret Evans Price (March 20, 1888 – November 20, 1973) was a U.S. toy manufacturer. With her husband, Irving Price, and Herman Fisher, she co-founded Fisher-Price Toys in 1930. Margaret Evans was a children's book illustrator and artist. S ...

, and

Helen Schelle Helen M. Schelle (1893 in Piqua, Ohio – 12 April 1984 in Piqua, Ohio) was co-founder of the toy manufacturing company Fisher-Price. Schelle was born in Piqua, Ohio and moved to New York as an adult, where by the middle of the 1920s, she had beco ...

, the name Fisher-Price was established by combining two of the three names. Fisher worked previously in manufacturing, selling and advertising games for a company in

Churchville, New York Churchville is a village in Monroe County, New York, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population was 1,961. The village is named after Samuel Church, an early settler. The Village of Churchville is west of the City of Rochester in ...

. Price had retired from a major variety chain store, and Helen Schelle previously operated Penny Walker Toy Shop in Binghamton, New York. Fisher-Price's fundamental toy-making principles centered on intrinsic play value, ingenuity, strong construction, good value for the money, and action. Early toys were made of heavy steel parts and ponderosa pine, which resisted splintering and held up well to heavy use. The details and charm were added with colorful

lithographic Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

labels. Mrs. Price was the first Art Director and designed push-pull toys for the opening line, based on characters from her children's books. The mayor of Aurora, New York, supported Fisher by raising $100,000 in capital. In 1931, three of the four founders took 16 of their wooden toys to the

American International Toy Fair The North American International Toy Fair (formerly the American International Toy Fair and also known as Toy Fair New York) is an annual toy industry trade show held in mid-February in New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and at t ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

and they quickly became a success. The first Fisher-Price toy ever sold was "Dr. Doodle" in 1931. In the early 1950s, Fisher-Price identified plastic as a material that could help the company incorporate longer-lasting decorations and brighter colors into its toys. "Buzzy Bee" was the first Fisher-Price toy to make use of plastic. By the end of the 1950s, Fisher-Price manufactured 39 toys incorporating plastics. During the 1960s, the

Play Family Little People is a :Toy companies, toy brand for children ages 6–36 months and to ages 3 and up, originally produced by Fisher-Price, Inc. in the 1960s as the Play Family People. The current product line consists of playsets, mini-sets and a ...

(later known as Little People) product line was introduced and soon overtook the popularity of earlier toys. The 'Family House' was one of the more popular Little People playsets. Herman Fisher retired at the age of 71 in 1969 and

The Quaker Oats Company The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by PepsiCo since 2001. History Precursor miller companies In the 1850s, Ferdinand Schumacher and Robert Stuart founded oat mills. ...

bought Fisher-Price the same year. In 1991, Fisher-Price regained its independence from The Quaker Oats Company and became a

publicly traded company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (li ...

. Two years later, in November 1993,

bought Fisher-Price. A new management group set the company's focus on basic, infant and preschool products and began expansion into international markets. By 1997, Mattel decided to market all of its

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary scho ...

products under the Fisher-Price name. In 2004, Royal Caribbean Cruise lines launched Fisher-Price Cabanas, play laboratories for children on each of their cruise ships.

Products

Fisher-Price has created approximately 5,000 different toys since the early 1930s. One of Fisher-Price's best-known lines is Little People toys, which includes people and animal figures along with various play sets such as a house, farm, school, garage and vehicles. The figures, which originally were wooden peg-style characters, are now molded of plastic and have detailed features. In addition to Little People, some of the toys and toy brands that have remained popular for many years include

Power Wheels Power Wheels is a brand of battery-powered ride-on toy cars for kids ages one to seven years old. Power Wheels ride-ons are built with kid-sized, realistic features – in some cases, real working features like FM radios, opening/closing doors and ...

View-Master View-Master is the trademark name of a line of special-format stereoscopes and corresponding View-Master "reels", which are thin cardboard disks containing seven Stereoscopic 3-D pairs of small transparent color photographs on film.Mary Ann & Wo ...

Rescue Heroes Rescue Heroes are a line of action figures targeted towards Preschool age children, released by Fisher-Price. The line was first introduced in 1997, depicting various rescue personnel, such as firefighters, police officers, and construction worke ...

, the

Chatter Telephone The Chatter Telephone is a pull toy for toddlers 12 to 36 months of age. Introduced in 1961 by the Fisher-Price company as the "Talk Back Phone" for infants and children, which was updated to the name Chatter Telephone in 1962, is a roll along pu ...

, and the

Rock-a-Stack Rock-a-Stack is a toy by Fisher-Price with colorful rings that have to be placed in order of size onto a tapered pole mounted on a rocking base. When stacked correctly the hollow plastic rings follow ROYGBIV color progression. The Rock-a-Stack is d ...

. Other brands marketed under the Fisher-Price name over the years include

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) and ...

Dora the Explorer ''Dora the Explorer'' is an American children's animated television series and multimedia franchise created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes and Eric Weiner that premiered on Nickelodeon on August 14, 2000, went on hiatus on June 5, 20 ...

, and

See 'n Say See 'n Say is an educational toy created by Mattel in 1965 after the success of Chatty Cathy. It was the first Mattel talking toy allowing children to choose the exact phrase as heard. Although the first release focuses on farm animal sounds, it ...

. Fisher-Price also designs and sells infant care products and has begun developing electronic toys for preschoolers. In 2009, Fisher-Price bought all toy rights to

Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

except for the Wooden Railway line. Through Mattel's 2012 acquisition of

HIT Entertainment HIT Entertainment Limited (commonly written as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and So ...

, which subsequently became a division of Fisher-Price, Mattel now owns the property outright. With this, toys based on

Mike the Knight ''Mike the Knight'' is a CGI-animated children's television series created by Alexander Bar and written by Marc Seal. The series premiered in Treehouse TV in 2011. Premise The series is about Mike whose father, the King, is a knight who is away ...

and

Bob the Builder ''Bob the Builder'' is a British animated children's television series created by Keith Chapman for HIT Entertainment and Hot Animation. The series follows the adventures of Bob, a building contractor, specialising in masonry, along wi ...

have been subsequently released.

Recalls

On August 2, 2007, Fisher-Price recalled close to a million toys, including the Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street toys because of possible hazards due to the toys being coated in lead-based paint.

Rock 'n Play

Fisher-Price recalled all 4.7 million of their Rock 'n Play sleepers on 12 April 2019, days after the company recalled 250,000 infant soothers. The product was introduced in 2009, and holds the sleeping baby in an inclined position. More than 30 infants have died while sleeping in a Rock 'n Play. The

Consumer Product Safety Commission The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC, CPSC, or commission) is an independent agency of the United States government. The CPSC seeks to promote the safety of consumer products by addressing “unreasonable risks” of in ...

said these deaths occurred "after the infants rolled over while unrestrained, or under other circumstances." Years before the introduction of the Rock 'n Play sleeper, in the mid-1990s, the

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was found ...

' ''Back to Sleep'' campaign recommended that "babies should not sleep for long periods in inclined devices". In babies under one year old, dying during sleep is the leading cause of accidental death. The recommendation that babies sleep flat on their backs, in an empty crib, has cut this death rate in half. The Rock 'n Play was designed 15 years after these sleep recommendations were published, and according to a Washington Post article, violated them. Fisher-Price sold the Rock 'n Play without first getting medical advice from more than one pediatric specialist, and without doing any real-world safety tests. They continued to sell it for years after the first deaths were reported.

Current brands and products

* Bright Beats * EZ Play Railway *

Imaginext The Imaginext System is a brand of role-playing, adventure toys designed for kids 3 or older made by Mattel, as part of their Fisher-Price brand. History At the time of its introduction at the 2002 Toy Fair,

(2002–present) * Laugh & Learn (2000–present) * Little People (update of the

line) (1959–present) * Loving Family Dollhouses and accessories *

Mega Bloks Mega Brands Inc. (formerly Mega Bloks Inc. and Ritvik Holdings) is a Canadian children's toy company currently owned by Mattel. Mega Bloks, a line of construction set toys, is its most popular product. Its other brands include Mega Construx, Mega ...

(2014–present) *

(1985–present) * Quizard the Learning Wizard *

(1997–present) * Rainforest Jumparoo * Smart Toy * Spinnyos * Think & Learn

Baby Gear products

* Baby bouncers * Baby monitors * Baby swings * Booster seats * Car seats * Entertainers & activity centers * High chairs * Infant seats * Play yards * Rainforest Collection * Strollers * Tubs & potties

Historic brands and products

3rd & Bird ''3rd & Bird'' is a children's animated television series created by Josh Selig. Selig's company, Little Airplane Productions, animated the series and opened a new studio in London to produce it. The show revolves around a community of birds and ...

Video games

Starting in the 1980s, seven games which carried the Fisher-Price name were developed by

GameTek GameTek was an American video game publisher based in North Miami Beach, Florida known for publishing video game adaptations of game shows in the late 1980s and early 1990s. GameTek was a trade name for IJE, the owner of electronic publishing r ...

for the PC and the Commodore 64. In 1990, three of these titles were ported to the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

: * ''Fun Flyer'' (1984) (never shipped initially, but eventually released in 1990) * ''Firehouse Rescue'' (1988) * ''Little People Bowling Alley'' (1989) * ''School Bus Driver'' (1989) * ''My Grand Piano'' (1989) * ''Perfect Fit'' (1988) * ''I Can Remember'' (1989) Titles developed by

Davidson & Associates Davidson & Associates, Inc. was an American developer of educational software based in Torrance, California. The company was founded in 1984 by husband-and-wife Bob and Jan Davidson, the latter of whom led the company as president until Januar ...

include: * ''Fisher Price ABC's'' * ''Fisher Price 123's'' * ''Fisher Price Sing Alongs: Barnyard Rhythm and Moos'' * ''Fisher Price Dream Dollhouse'' * ''Great Adventures Castle'' * ''Great Adventures Pirate Ship'' * ''Great Adventures Wild Western Town'' * ''Puddle Books Series'' * ''Learning in Toyland'' * ''Ready for School Toddler'' * ''Ready for School Preschool'' * ''Ready for School Kindergarten'' * ''Ready for School Reading'' * ''Ready for School 1st Grade'' Other titles published by Fisher-Price include: * ''Great Adventures Pirate Ship'' (1998) * ''Time to Play Pet Shop'' (1999) * ''Big Action Construction'' (2001) * ''Big Action Garage'' (2001)

Other Fisher-Price products

Other Fisher-Price products include Activegear for families on the go, books, software, car travel accessories, footwear, infant carriers, music, eyeglasses and videos.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Mattel subsidiaries Toy brands Toy companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in New York (state) Companies based in Erie County, New York American companies established in 1930 Toy companies established in 1930 1930 establishments in New York (state) 1969 mergers and acquisitions 1993 mergers and acquisitions