2024

An extremely rare series of Lineol 7.5 cm toy soldiers: The Danish Tivoli Guard.

Harald S. Hansen 17/1 2024

 

The Lineol factory in Brandenburg, Germany, produced composition toy figures 1903- 1956, and then in Dresden, DDR, 1956-1963. The focus was on German soldiers during Kaiserzeit, Weimar Republik, Drittes Reich and DDR, but Lineol also produced animals, civilians, and foreign soldiers for export.

By the start of World War II in 1939, Lineol lost some of its export markets, especially to the British Empire. Furthermore, soon after by state decree, all toy productions was reduced and some war-important production was adopted. In 1941, Lineol established a branch factory in Iglau/Jihlava in the occupied Czechoslovakia, where Lineol were allowed to have a small toy production for export. In 1943 most toy production in Germany and territories stopped.   Denmark was one of the important export countries, many Danish army soldiers and Danish Royal Guard soldiers were sold in Denmark during the war. The Danish Royal Guard toy soldiers are composed of, except for four special toy figures, German soldier bodies and a head with a Danish bearskin hat. They are painted with red tunics and blue trousers with a white stripe. Around 1942? Lineol also produced the Tivoli youth guard soldiers having uniforms resembling the Danish Royal Guard, except they had white trouser with a blue stripe (Fig 1). Usually the Tivoli guard toy soldiers does not have the crossed white bandoliers as seen with the Danish Royal Guard toy soldiers (Fig 2). Tivoli guard toy soldiers are probably produced in Iglau/Jihlava.

The Tivoli guard is associated with the Tivoli garden in the middle of Copenhagen, known to most tourists visiting Copenhagen. It is the oldest youth guard in the world, being more than 175 years old. It enrolls children between 7-16 years old, and it consists of a marching band, a flag guard, and a music school.

Lineol probably produced Tivoli guard soldiers in order to in an easy way to increase their sales in Denmark. Lineol sold many Danish Royal Guard soldiers in Denmark and now Lineol just had to paint the trouser white instead of blue thereby having a completely new toy soldier series. However, they were probably produced in a short time frame before 1943 where two things happened: One in Germany, where all toy factories changed nearly all their production to support the military industry, and a second in Denmark, where the increasing opposition to the German occupation resulted in end of the Danish parliament, Danish army, and Danish government, and the German occupying forces imposed a state of military emergency. There was a heavy anti-German attitude in Denmark resulting in the opposition to buying German goods.  Therefore, the Tivoli guard soldiers did not sell well and the production was small. The Tivoli guard toy soldiers are today extremely rare.

To my knowledge, Lineol produced at least 20 different Tivoli guard toy soldiers, including a marching band with a musikmeister (14 pieces), two officers (one marching and the other on horse), one marching shoulder standard bearer, one marching soldier with backpack, one standing guard presenting arms, and one standing standard bearer. By the way, the Tivoli guards never wears a backpack.

 

 

Fig. 1 A Danish Royal Guard soldier with blue trousers carrying flag, and three different Tivoli guard soldiers with white trousers.

Fig 2. Two Danish Royal Guard soldiers with whit blue trousers, and two Tivoli guard soldiers with white trousers. The Danish Royal Guard soldiers have white bandoliers.

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© Ulrich Becker