James Fallows Tin Hand Painted 5 Piece Train Set *SOLD*

James Fallows Tin Hand Painted 5 Piece Train Set 

We have for you an antique tin hand-painted 5-piece train set that is unmarked but most likely James Fallows & Sons of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  

There are no couplings between the cars. Wheels roll as they should.  There seems to be some solder on a couple of the coupling tabs that aren’t repairing anything and perhaps were put on to hold the original couplings in place.

For its age, this piece is in very good all original condition with no breaks, restorations, or touch-ups. This piece shows the usual patina, fading, dust, chips, scuffs, surface rust, dents, scratches, missing accessories, and wear that are to be expected from age and play. This is approximately 25” L with each car measuring approximately 5” L.  We invite you to view the photos to further determine quality and condition.  

A brief history of James Fallows & Sons of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 

1873/1874  to ? 

James Fallows who had been previously employed as a foreman at the tin toy company of Francis, Field, and Francis founded his company under the name C.B. Porter Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1873/74.  

In 1876, his toys were praised for their “economy in cost, adaptation to purpose intended, and durability.” This was certainly the height of their popularity.  

Around the 1880s the firm began carrying the name James Fallow & Sons. The principals at this time were James Fallows and his sons Henry, Charles, and David. Fallows` company’s demise coincided with the advent of lithographed tin toys in the 1880s. 

The production of toys by James Fallow & Sons ended in the 1890s and around 1894 the name was changed to Frederick & Henry Fallows Toys.  

James Fallows and Sons had a line of over 200 toys and specialized in hand-painted and stenciled tin horse-drawn vehicles, wheeled vehicles, trains, and riverboats. Highly prized toys often carried the mark “IXL”, said to be based on word-play “I Excell”. (Some feel that it signifies the date of Fallows` arrival in Philadelphia from the old country.)