Bing was a German toy company founded in 1863 in Nuremberg, Germany by
two brothers, Ignaz and Adolf Bing, originally producing metal kitchen utensils. They began toy production in
1880 and by 1905, Bing was the largest toy company in the world, and Bing's factory in
Nuremberg was the largest toy factory in the world. Although Bing produced numerous toys, it is best remembered
today for toy trains. However, in addition to toys it made a huge range of kitchen wares, office equipment,
and electrical goods.
Bing's first trains hit the market in the 1880s. When Märklin
formalized several standards for track gauges in 1891, Bing adopted them, and added 'O' gauge by 1895
and gauge III (2.5 inches), causing confusion as Marklin Gauge III became Bing gauge IV (3 inches).
In the early 1920s, under the auspices of Bassett-Lowke,
Bing introduced a still-smaller gauge, half that of '0' at 0.625 inch, which it called 'OO'. However,
Bing's 'OO' gauge at 4mm scale became a British standard, larger than the 3.5mm scale on the same gauge of
track favoured elsewhere.
Their model steam engine line was one of the most diverse. Bing also made tinplate litho toys in general,
and a fair amount of model railroad equipment, including some live steam locomotives. The "Nuremberg Style"
of manufacturing toys on steel sheets with lithographed designs that were stamped
out of the metal, formed, and assembled using tabs and slots, was perfected by Bing. This manufacturing method
remained in widespread use well into the 1950s, long after Bing had disappeared.
Bing produced numerous items for export which were then sold either under its own name or for other
companies. Bing produced trains styled for the British market for
Bassett-Lowke and A. W. Gamage, and it produced
trains for the North American market, which it exported and marketed on its own. Early in the 20th century,
Bing jockeyed for market share with the Ives
Manufacturing Company, who did not surpass Bing in sales for good until 1910. Throughout their histories,
the two companies would frequently copy one another's designs. In some instances, the two companies even
used the same catalog number on their competing products. Due to cheap German labor and low shipping and
duty costs, Bing was often able to undercut the prices of its U.S. competitors. By 1914, Bing had 5,000
employees. By comparison, Märklin employed 600.
World War I forced Bing out of the export market at its peak. In 1916, Ives and the
A. C. Gilbert Company formed the Toy Manufacturers
Association and lobbied to protect the growing U.S. toy manufacturing industry, which had grown in the
absence of foreign competition. As a result, tariffs on German toys rose from 35 percent to 70 percent.
Additionally, German wages rose after the war, as did shipping costs and inflation. This created an
unfavorable climate for German exports. Additionally,
Lionel Corporation's advertising that criticized the manufacturing methods of its competitors' trains,
targeted mainly at Ives, also hurt Bing's image because Bing's methods were so similar. Bing struggled
to sell through its old inventory and misjudged demand. When the market evaporated for its
1 gauge trains, it re-gauged some models to 'O' gauge, where they looked oversized, and other models to
Lionel's Standard gauge, where they looked undersized. Ignatz Bing died in 1918 at the age of 79,
and the company was renamed "Bing Werke". By 1921, Bing had re-established itself in
the U.S. market, largely through sales through catalog retailer Sears, Roebuck & Co. However, by
1925, Lionel was also selling through Sears, and Bing quickly found itself squeezed out of the market.
Bing attempted to compensate by increasing its presence in Canada, where it competed with mixed success
with American Flyer.
By 1927, Bing was in serious financial trouble and the company's president, Stephan Bing, and his son,
left the company. The US stock market crash of 1928 resulted in huge debts on the part of the John Bing
division in New York being called in, for which the parent corporation had to take responsibility. This led to
financial difficulties for Bing Werke, but given the political climate in Germany in 1932 (the Bing family was
Jewish), no bank would loan Bing additional money. Bing Werke ceased to exist in August, 1932, and the assets
were liquidated. Much of its tooling was acquired by rival toy companies. Falk and Krauss purchased the
model steam related equipment, while Karl Bub of Bub Trains took the model
train line, and Fleischmann bought up the model boat
machinery. Bub continued building the Bing line of trains until the onset of WW2, and later folded
completely in the 1960's.
Bing went out of business for good in 1933. Initially going to work with another Nuremberg-based toy firm,
the Bings, who were Jewish, soon fled to England because of the rise of Adolf Hitler.
Stephan Bing, along with other Bing executives, helped to start the company
Trix.
Bing items can be identified and dated by its trademark. Items bearing the letters "GBN"
(for "Gebrüder Bing Nürnberg" — "Brothers Bing Nuremberg") in a diamond date before 1923, while
items bearing a sideways "B" next to a "W" (for "Bing Works") date from 1924 to 1932.
