John Hill & Company
Encyclopedia
John Hill & Company or Johillco were a British toy company specialising in the manufacture of hollowcast metal and later plastic toy soldiers
becoming second to W. Britain
in popularity. No one knows where the name of John Hill came from.
named Mr F. H Wood. In contrast to Britains, Johillco was the first British hollowcast figure company to sell their figures individually leading to competition from Britains who later began to sell individual figures and figures painted less ornately to be sold in variety stores like the F. W. Woolworth Company
.
Johillco also manufactured Coronation
and other souvenir items.
The firm's original factory was located at 2-22 Britannia Row, Islington
, London but the factory was bombed during World War II. In August 1946 the company reopened under new management in Plumbe Street Burnley
. Also after World War II, Johillco's chief figure designer Wilfred Cherrington in conjunction with a Mr Leaver started his own company called Cherilea whose name is an amalgamation of their surnames.
In their book The Art of the Toy Soldier, the authors note that due to the cheapness of the figures and the individuality of their poses, Johillco figues were found more in working class homes than the expensive Britiains that came in boxes of rigid identical poses. The authors also noted the company probably used a variety of sculptors leading to various grades of quality of Johillco figures, that the authors call "the good, the bad, and the ugly".
In addition to toy soldiers and cowboys and Indians, Johillco made many figures of knights and a movie tie-in set of figures from MGM's Quo Vadis (1951 film)
as well as spacemen.
Johillco was slow to realise the effect of production in plastic. From 1956 they began making plastic figures in their hollowcast moulds under the name of Hilco but the company ceased in the early 1960s.
Toy Soldiers
A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier, but the term may also refer to:In film and television:*Toy Soldiers , an action/drama film in which terrorists take a school hostage...
becoming second to W. Britain
W. Britain
The W. Britain brand name of toy and collectable soldiers is derived from a company founded by William Britain Jr., a British toy manufacturer, who in 1893 invented the process of hollow casting in lead, and revolutionized the production of toy soldiers. The company quickly became the industry...
in popularity. No one knows where the name of John Hill came from.
History
John Hill & Co was started in 1898 by a former employee of W. BritainW. Britain
The W. Britain brand name of toy and collectable soldiers is derived from a company founded by William Britain Jr., a British toy manufacturer, who in 1893 invented the process of hollow casting in lead, and revolutionized the production of toy soldiers. The company quickly became the industry...
named Mr F. H Wood. In contrast to Britains, Johillco was the first British hollowcast figure company to sell their figures individually leading to competition from Britains who later began to sell individual figures and figures painted less ornately to be sold in variety stores like the F. W. Woolworth Company
F. W. Woolworth Company
The F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...
.
Johillco also manufactured Coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
and other souvenir items.
The firm's original factory was located at 2-22 Britannia Row, Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, London but the factory was bombed during World War II. In August 1946 the company reopened under new management in Plumbe Street Burnley
Burnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
. Also after World War II, Johillco's chief figure designer Wilfred Cherrington in conjunction with a Mr Leaver started his own company called Cherilea whose name is an amalgamation of their surnames.
In their book The Art of the Toy Soldier, the authors note that due to the cheapness of the figures and the individuality of their poses, Johillco figues were found more in working class homes than the expensive Britiains that came in boxes of rigid identical poses. The authors also noted the company probably used a variety of sculptors leading to various grades of quality of Johillco figures, that the authors call "the good, the bad, and the ugly".
In addition to toy soldiers and cowboys and Indians, Johillco made many figures of knights and a movie tie-in set of figures from MGM's Quo Vadis (1951 film)
Quo Vadis (1951 film)
Quo Vadis is a 1951 epic film made by MGM. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist, from a screenplay by John Lee Mahin, S. N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz's classic 1896 novel Quo Vadis. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa and the cinematography...
as well as spacemen.
Johillco was slow to realise the effect of production in plastic. From 1956 they began making plastic figures in their hollowcast moulds under the name of Hilco but the company ceased in the early 1960s.