Ideal Toy Company was an American toy company founded by

Morris Michtom Morris Michtom (September 12, 1869 – July 21, 1938) was a Russian-born businessman and inventor who, with his wife Rose, also a Russian Jewish immigrant who lived in Brooklyn, founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. Michtom came up with ...

and his wife, Rose. During the post–World War II baby boom era, Ideal became the largest doll-making company in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Their most popular dolls included Betsy Wetsy,Hays, Constance L. "Judith Albert, 59, Toy Designer Whose Doll Led to Buyer Frenzy," ''New York Times'' (Aug. 1, 1998). Toni, Saucy Walker,

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

, Miss Revlon, Patti Playpal, Tammy,

Thumbelina Thumbelina (; ) is a literary fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with "The Naughty Boy" and "The Travelling Companion" in the se ...

, Tiny Thumbelina, and Crissy. The company is also known for selling the Rubik's Cube.

History

1903–1939

Morris and Rose Michtom founded the "Ideal Novelty and Toy Company" in Brooklyn when they invented the

Teddy bear A teddy bear, or simply a teddy, is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. The teddy bear was named by Morris Michtom after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt; it was developed apparently simultaneously in the first deca ...

in 1903. Rose had made the original "Teddy's Bear" for their children. Morris and Rose sent a bear to President "Teddy" Roosevelt, as well as asking permission to use his name for the bear. Roosevelt "adopted" the bear and had it present in his campaign and on display at White House functions. After Morris Michtom's death in 1938, the company changed its name to the "Ideal Toy Company", and Michtom's nephew Abraham Katz became chief executive. Ideal began making dolls in 1907 to complement its line of

teddy bear A teddy bear, or simply a teddy, is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. The teddy bear was named by Morris Michtom after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt; it was developed apparently simultaneously in the first deca ...

s. Their first doll was “Yellow Kid” from Richard Felton Outcault's

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

of the same name. After that Ideal began making a line of baby and character dolls such as Naughty Marietta (from the Victor Herbert operetta), and Admiral Dot. Ideal advertised their dolls as "unbreakable," since they were made of

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

, a material made of sawdust and glue, rather than ceramics. Ideal produced over 200 variations of dolls throughout the composition era.Izen, Judith.
Collector's Guide to Ideal Dolls: Identification and Value Guide
, 3rd Edition.'' Collector's Books, 2005 In 1914, Ideal had a boy doll launched named the Uneeda Kid, after a biscuit company. It was patented on December 8, 1914. The 15-inch boy doll wore a blue and white bloomer suit and held a box of Uneeda Biscuits under his arm. One of Ideal's most lasting products was Betsy Wetsy, introduced in 1934 and in production for more than 50 years. The doll was named after the daughter of Abraham Katz, the head of the company. Ideal, via the Betsy Wetsy doll, was also one of the first doll manufacturers to produce an

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

version of a popular doll.Waggoner, Susan. ''Under the Tree: the Toys and Treats That Made Christmas Special, 1930-1970''. Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2007. In 2003, the Toy Industry Association named Betsy Wetsy to its Century of Toys List, a compilation commemorating the 100 most memorable and most creative toys of the 20th century. Debuting in 1934, the Shirley Temple doll was their best-selling doll. Ideal followed this with licensed

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

dolls and a Judy Garland doll.

1940–1969

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the company's value rose from $2 million all the way to $11 million. The company's dolls were so popular during the post–World War II baby boom era, they began selling dolls under license in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Two cosmetics-based doll series were launched after World War II: Toni was introduced at the end of the 1940s, followed by the 1950s-dominating Miss Revlon series. Doll designer Judith Albert worked for Ideal Toy Company from 1960 to 1982. Key Ideal employees during the 1950s, '60s, and '70s were Lionel A. Weintraub and Joseph C. Winkler. Weintraub, the son-in-law of Abraham Katz, joined the company in 1941 and rose to become president, chairman of the board, and chief executive officer. Winkler joined Ideal in 1956, rising to vice president by 1971.Sloane, Leonard
"Business People: Ideal Toy Gets A New President,"
''New York Times'' (May 27, 1981). Master sculptor Vincent J. DeFilippo spent 27 years creating dolls for Ideal from 1963 to 1980. Some of the company's most popular dolls during this period were Tammy (1962–1966), Flatsy dolls (1969–1973), Crissy (1969–1974), and Tressy (1970–1972). Ideal had a hobby division in the 1950s, then shifted from that to games in 1962. By the early 1970s, 30% of the company's sales were games such as Mouse Trap and Hands Down. In 1951, Ideal partnered with its competitors the American Character Doll Company and the Alexander Doll Company to establish the United States-Israeli Toy and Plastic Corporation. The company was created to produce material for toys in Israel; the U.S. Ideal CEO Abraham Katz was named president of the new company."PLANT IN TEL AVIV TO MAKE PLASTICS: New $1,000,000 Concern Plans Range of Products From Toys to Building Items To Make Plastic Parts,"
''New York Times'' (November 8, 1951), p. 49. In 1953, Ideal won the licensing rights to produce the U.S. Forest Service's Smokey Bear. They kept their licensing until 1968 when the U.S. Forest Service switched to Knickerbocker. In 1966, Ideal released toy puppets of Muppet characters, including Kermit the Frog and Rowlf the Dog. In 1968, Ideal joined the New York Stock Exchange. In 1968, the American Character Doll Company filed for bankruptcy, and Ideal acquired the defunct company's dyes, patents, and trademarks,"American Character Dolls 1919-1968,"
DollReference.com. Accessed Dec. 26, 2014. as well as specific products like the " Tressy" Gro-Hair doll.

1970–1999

Popular Ideal toys in the 1970s included a full line of

Evel Knievel Robert Craig Knievel (October 17, 1938November 30, 2007), known professionally as Evel Knievel (), was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Throughout his career, he attempted List of Evel Knievel career jumps, more than 75 ramp-to-ra ...

toys, Snoopy toys, and the Tuesday Taylor and Wake-up Thumbelina dolls. By 1970, Ideal had outgrown its manufacturing complex in Hollis, Queens. The company wanted to build a new plant in College Point, Queens, but was unable to strike a deal with the Lindsay administration. Consequently, the company opened a new facility in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, in the early 1970s, while continuing to operate its factory in Hollis."Ideal Toy Corp. Moving Queens Offices to Jersey,"
''New York Times'' (May 14, 1982). In late 1971, Ideal joined the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

; valued at $71 million, it was one of the U.S.'s top three toy companies.Sloan, Leonard
"Ideal Toy's Weintraub Tries to Create Fun Potential,"
''New York Times'' (Oct. 24, 1971). In 1979, a Hungarian inventor, Erno Rubik, pitched his "Magic Cube" to Ideal Toy Company, who renamed it the "Rubik's cube." The toy was sold in stores beginning in 1980. Ideal had earnings of $3.7 million in fiscal year 1979–1980, but lost $15.5 million in fiscal year 1980–1981. (Sales both years averaged around $150 million.) Trying to maximize profits on the Rubik's Cube craze, Ideal filed

civil suit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. T ...

s in May 1981 against dozens of distributors and retailers selling knockoff cubes. For a short time, the company had a huge seller with the Magic Cube, which it imported from Hungary in 1980 and renamed Rubik's Cube. The Rubik's Cube was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2014. In May 1981, Joseph Winkler was named Ideal's president, succeeding Lionel Weintraub, who remained chairman and CEO. In 1982, the company moved its headquarters from Hollis, Queens, to Harmon Meadow, New Jersey. It was sold to CBS Toys later that year for around $58 million. In 1984, CBS sold Ideal to Viewmaster International, which renamed itself "View-Master Ideal" in the process. In 1989, View-Master Ideal was bought by Tyco Toys of Mt. Laurel,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, for $43.9 million. The Ideal line remained part of Tyco until Tyco's merger with Mattel, Inc., in 1997. Ideal's United Kingdom assets were sold to

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

, which has since released Mouse Trap, Buck-a-roo! and KerPlunk under its MB Games brand. Other toys that originated with Ideal continue to be marketed and sold by other companies, including Rubik's Cube by

and Magic 8 Ball by

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

21st century

The Ideal trademarks, and most toy molds not purchased by Hasbro or Mattel, were purchased by Jay Horowitz of American Plastic Equipment, who later transferred all rights to American Plastic Equipment's subsidiary, American Classic Toys. Mr. Horowitz licensed the trademark and toy rights to Plaza Toys, to be used on its Fiddlestix building sticks products, and eventually sold the mark and toy rights in January 2011 to Poof- Slinky. In January 2014, the Ideal brand and toy rights became part of a new company, Alex Brands, after the May 2013 acquisition of Alex Toys by Propel Equity Partners. In early 2019, Jay Horowitz of American Classic Toys entered into an exclusive license agreement with the Juna Group to represent worldwide select Ideal brands (not included in the sale to Poof-Slinky) in all categories outside of toys and playthings. In 2023, this license agreement was acquired from The Juna Group by CSN Press LLC, publishers of the weekly newspaper, '' Comic Shop News''.

Product lines

Toys and games

* Alexander's Star * Alligator Game * Astrobase * Babar *

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

Playset * Battle Action Tank Trap * Battlefield Blast * Battling Spaceships * Battling Tops * Beat The "8" Ball * Big Bird Storymagic * Bing Bang Boing * Boaterific * Bongo Kongo * Bop the Beetle * Be a King or Queen outfit * Buck-a-roo! * Building Boards
Checkpoint: Danger!
* Careful * Clancy the Great * Comic Heroines (AKA Superqueen) * Composa-Tune * Cover-up * Criss-Cross * Crossfire * Deduction * Disney Dough * Don't Tip The Waiter * Don't Upset Me * Dukes of Hazzard Racing Set * Dr. Evil * Electroman * Electronic Detective * Electronic Jet Pilot (Cockpit Instrument Panel) * Escape from Skull Canyon *

toys * Fiddlestix * Flintstones toys * Fort Cheyenne * Frontier Logs * Game of the Generals * Gaylord the Walking Bassett Hound * Gunfight at OK Corral Playset * Hand Puppets (DC Comics Superheroes i.e.

, Robin,

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

, TV Series Characters i.e. '' Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'', '' The Addams Family'', ''

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),Episodes referring to the fact that Herman is ...

'') * Hands Down * Hang on Harvey * Hoopla *

Howdy Doody ''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F. Campbell

doll * Impact * ITC Models * The Game of Jaws * Jay J. Armes action figure. *

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

of America Playset * KerPlunk * Kindles * King Kong * King Zor * Lamb Chop puppet * Magic 8 Ball * Magic Shot * Magilla Gorilla * Maniac * Manglor * Marblehead * Mark Three * Mighty Mo * Missing Link * Model cars * Monkey Stix * Motorific * Mr. Machine * Mr. Rogers Neighborhood Trolley * My Dog Has Fleas * Odd Ogg * Oh, Nuts! * Pac-Man Panic * Pay-Off * Payoff Machine * Peter Potamus * Poison Ivy * Poppin Hoppies * Powermite Mini Tools * Phantom Rayder Ship 1964 * R-r-r-raw Power * Rack 'N' Roll Bowling * Rebound * Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-Long * Robert the Robot * Robo Force * Robot Commando * Rocks & Bugs & Things * Rubik's Cube (license) * Ryan Oakes Magic Show * Scare Cycles * Shaker Maker * Skeeters (micro sized toy cars (12 different models plus carrying case and 2 track sets) * Sky Battle * Smokey the Bear Ranger * Snap Bowling * Solar Works * Speedball (Electronic) * Stretchie dolls * Super City (toy) * Sure Shot Baseball * Swack! * Tank Command *

Teddy Bear A teddy bear, or simply a teddy, is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. The teddy bear was named by Morris Michtom after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt; it was developed apparently simultaneously in the first deca ...

* Think & Learn (Preschool play sets) * ThunderStreak (hydro wing rubberband powered toy) 1967 * Tiger Island * Tin Can Alley * Tiny Mighty Mo * Tornado Bowl * Toss Across * TCR: Total Control Racing * Triple Up * Up Against Time * Upset * U.S. Marine Air-Sea Rescue Floating Mechanical Seaplane * U.S. Royal Giant Tire Mechanical Toy - from the New York World's Fair 1964 * Video Varmints *

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

toys * Zeroids

Board games

* The $128,000 Question * All-Pro Basketball National Basketball Association Game * All-Pro Football National Football League Game * All-Pro Hockey National Hockey League Game * Bible Trivia * Blast (The Game of Blast) * The Chase * Cloak & Dagger * Crazy Clock Game * The Diners' Club Credit Card Game * Double Exposure * Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (board game) * Fish Bait * The Fugitive * The Generals (game) *

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...

* The Great Escape * The Hollywood Squares * I Vant to Bite Your Finger * Let's Make A Deal * Mouse Trap * Mystic Skull: The Game Of Voodoo * Old Maid * Pop O Matic Yipes! * Rain Rain Go Away * Rattle Me Bones * Salvo * The Sinking of The Titanic * Solid Gold Music Trivia * Ten Commandments * Tic-Tac-Dough * Tip-It * The Winning Ticket * Yipes!

Dolls

DeFilippo Dolls

* Baby Baby * Baby Dreams — the doll with "velvet skin" * Baby Tickle Tickle * Betsy Wetsy * Dorothy Hamill *

toysHollie, Pamela G
Assault by Knieval Halts Boom in Ideal's Daredevil Toy Sales,"
''New York Times'' (Dec. 9, 1977). * Jody An Old Fashioned Girl (1979) * Joey Stivic * KaMy Bottle Baby * Karen & her magic carriage * Lazy Dazy (1970s) * Magic Hair Crissy * Movin Groovin Cricket/ Tressy * Patti Playpal * Rub-a-Dub Doggie * Rub-a-Dub Dolly * Sara Stimson/

* Spinderella Flatsy dolls * Tearie Betsy Wetsy * Tiffany Taylor * Tiny Tears (after 1968 when American Character Doll Company went out of business) * Tippy Tumbles (American Character Doll Company) * Tuesday Taylor and Taylor Jones * Upsy Dazy * Wake up Thumbelina * Zem 21 & Knight of Darkness

Other Ideal dolls

* Bibsy — 23" baby doll (1960s and 1970s) * Bye Bye Baby (1960s) *

Captain Action Captain Action was an action figure created in 1966, equipped with a wardrobe of costumes and facial masks allowing him to become Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Aquaman, the Phantom, The Lone Ranger (and Tonto), Flash Gordon, Buck ...

(1966–1968) * Cream Puff Baby (1950s) * Crissy — fashion doll with growing hair feature * Crown Princess— 10" vinyl glamour doll * Deanna Durbin * Dick Tracy — including Bonnie Braids and Sparkle Plenty * Flatsy dolls — flat vinyl dolls in two sizes: tall "model" dolls and smaller childlike dolls; many had blue, pink and other bright hair colors; came in picture frame packaging * Flexy — composition head and hands, wooden body and feet, and posable tubular wire mesh arms and legs * Flossie Flirt — composition (1920s and 1930s) * Hugee Girl baby dolls (1950s) * Harmony * I Love Lucy 28 inch Rag Doll (1950s) - a rare promotional give-away in partnership with Philip Morris Company, NY * Jane Withers * Jelly Belly * Judy Garland — part of publicity for original theatrical release of '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939/1940) * Kissy doll * Little Lost Baby — three faces: happy, sad, sleeping, also with sounds; "I'm Little Lost Baby. You can make me happy!" (1968) * Little Miss Revlon — 10" vinyl glamour doll, advertising tie-in with Revlon cosmetics * Lolly doll * Magic Lips * Mama doll * Petite Princess Fantasy — dollhouse furniture * Playpal dolls: Patti, Penny, Suzi, Bonnie, Johnny, Peter, Daddy's Girl * Playtex Dryper Baby * Princess Patti Fantasy — dollhouse furniture * Sara Ann * Saucy Walker *

* Snookie dolls (Pete & Repete) * Snuggles dolls * Tammy * The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1986) * Thirsty Baby doll (1960s) * Thumbelina * Toni — hard plastic doll, advertising tie-in with Toni Home Permanent * Tressy — one of the Gro-Hair dolls * Uneeda Kid — early composition doll, advertising tie-in with Uneeda Biscuit Co.

References

{{Teddy bears Toy companies of the United States Game manufacturers Mattel Defunct toy manufacturers Toy soldier manufacturing companies Doll manufacturing companies Teddy bear manufacturers 1907 establishments in New York City Former CBS Corporation subsidiaries