Cast in Time: The Gebr. Schneider Mould Catalogue, c. 1920 📖📖📖

Published by Gebrüder Schneider around 1920, this sixteen-page German catalogue sold not tin soldiers but the iron Giessformen — casting moulds — to make them yourself: melt old lead, pour, paint, sell to neighbours on the side. Over 240 form numbers span a staggering range, from Prussian infantry in spiked helmets and cavalry lancers mid-charge to Native American warriors on horseback, Arab camel caravans, a full nativity, farmyard animals, football players, a giraffe, a moose, and a New Year lucky-charm set (pig, horseshoe, four-leaf clover). The catalogue captures its historical moment precisely — soldier moulds were offered in both the old Pickelhaube and the new Stahlhelm, American flag-bearers make an appearance, and Form No. 215 is nothing less than a WW1 Zeppelin. Most infantry moulds cost Mk. 3.30; casting lead was Mk. 0.85 a kilo. For collectors today it is a primary source of the first order — the full vocabulary of early Weimar-era flat-figure design, compressed into a single remarkable pamphlet.

Source catalogue: Gebrüder Schneider Giessformen-Katalog, c. 1920 PDF (16 pages) available at:

https://www.zinnfiguren-bleifiguren.com/Firmengeschichten/Schneider_Gebrueder/Schneider_Gebr_Katalog_ab%201920.pdf