One Hour Wargames - Triple Line

 The hot weather has finally broken and it's cool enough to go back in the wargame room so we thought we'd get back in the swing of things with a game from One Hour Wargaming by Neil Thomas.  We chose scenario 26, Triple Line and here's how it went:

Overview of the battlefield, 6'x 6' with a road running through the centre and a bridge offering the only means to cross the river.  The English hold the left (Northern) bank, a banner of Knights have secured the bridge while two more prepare to support them from the treeline, a body of Archers make up the third line of defence on the hills behind them.

The sudden appearance of the French from the South has caused alarm and disorganisation in the English ranks, to reflect this the rules specify they may not cross the river and individual units may not move until the French come within 12" of them (firing is unaffected).  The winner will be whichever side is in undisputed possession of the Northern Hills at the end of 15 turns.  

The French army drew four banners of mounted Knights, a unit of armoured Men at Arms on foot and a body of light footmen from the Levy.  The opening move sees the French arrive from the South with the Men at Arms marching swiftly along the road while the Knights scout the flanks and the Levy bring up the rear.

The game gave me an opportunity to show off my new wargame mat which is actually a " green meadow tablecloth" from Temu, I bought two in this design which together cover 11'x 6', the join being hidden by the road.  There are several designs available, I also ordered one with a rocky desert pattern and a fourth printed with a river, bushes and paths, made from polyester they cost about £8.50 each with free postage from China.  The material is very thin and light so I laid them on my regular plain green baize cloth to act as an underlay, this prevented any slippage and for the price I would thoroughly recommend them.

The English Knights are all furnished by Timpo while their Archers are Airfix.  The French Knights are from Britains Herald range while their Men at Arms are Britains Deetail conversions and the Levy are 54mm Elastolin swoppet Saxons.  

The French Men at Arms rush the bridge but are checked by the English Knights and a melee ensues, the Knights carry a combat bonus but the heavier armour of the Men at Arms protects them as they batter their way through the tightly packed horsemen.

Having cleared the bridge the Men at Arms lead on up the road allowing the Knights to cross and fan out into the open ground around them. 

Seizing their opportunity, the second line of English Knights raise a cheer and thunder into a charge, they ride down the weary Men at Arms and punch their way into the supporting French Chivalry.  

Already it's becoming clear that this is a contest of attrition, the Men at Arms performed a forlorn hope to open the bottleneck at the bridge but now the turns are passing quickly and time is running out to reach the hill.  With so many Knights on the field the combat is fast and furious, the casualties are mounting at an alarming rate.

The gallant English Knights vow to sell their lives dearly, honour demands they hold back the French horsemen to buy time for the Archers on the hill.  The fierce melee churns around with no quarter given or asked, fortune ebbs and flows with every turn of the dice and the clock ticks ever onward.

Until finally the flower of English chivalry is trampled under foot and the French Knights face a hail of arrows from the archers on the hill.  With a final desperate lunge the Knights mount the hill and fall on the fearless Archers in the fifteenth turn, but it's too late, time has run out.

And so the day ended with honours even, a Draw.

The game lasted three hours but felt much less, it was heavy on combat but light on firing and manoeuvre, this I would put down to the type of troops in play.  For those not familiar with One Hour Wargames, each individual scenario in the book dictates the number of units for each side, players then dice for random allocation of units relative to the period being played.  Units are eliminated from the game after acquiring 15 hits from combat and firing, we use 1p and 5p coins to keep track of the hits to each individual unit.  

Scoring 15 hits on a unit can take an interminable length of time, but not on this occasion as seven of the ten units in play were mounted Knights, which carry a +2 addition to their combat scores, so it was inevitable there would be a lot of melee and a high casualty rate (once in melee units cannot break off from the fight).  Being mounted the Knights are highly mobile but their manoeuvrability was restricted by the terrain, the necessity of crossing the river by only one bridge, thus creating a bottleneck, and the impenetrable woods shielding the English line from any flank attacks. 

The Men at Arms have an armour bonus and their casualties in combat are reduced by 50%, this made them the only unit on the board strong enough to force a breakthrough at the bridge, spearheading the attack made sense even though it left them fatally weakened.  The lack of Archers was keenly felt by both sides, fewer units of Knights in favour of more foot and bowman would have given the game a very different dynamic.

At the start of a game it's always tempting to rush into contact and then find your focus drawn into the ongoing action as happened to us here, in hindsight we thought the English would have done better to put the Archers in the second line and pull the Knights at the bridge back to give them extra support. They could then use their firepower to degrade the French units before counterattacking, it was all about playing for time and slowing the advance on the hill.

Timpo Station Figures boxed

 I went along to the Sandown Park Toy Fair last weekend and this is what I found:

The Timpo Station Figures are fairly common but I've never seen this boxed set before, I thought the artwork was quite stunning but at £350 it was too rich for may blood (and thankfully not really my sort of thing anyway!) happily the vendor very kindly agreed to let me photograph it to share with you.

Inside the box the figures are separated by cardboard dividers and include station staff with various pieces of luggage, missing are the sailor on leave with kitbag and one other.  Sculpted by Roy Selwyn-Smith before he went to work for Zang and subsequently Britains, it includes portrait figures of him and his wife as Mr and Mrs Smith (top row third compartment in blue jacket leaning on cane and last compartment sitting on suitcase.

And so to the figures I did pick up for myself, all from junk boxes and mostly needing some attention I paid an average of £2 each.  Above Britains General Officer and Officer of the 11th Hussars.

An as yet unknown (but I'm working on it) French made 45mm solid Turco, a Britains gun, a 48mm Prussian infantryman marching made in Germany by Heyde and a Britains Senegalise who will be joining an existing unit.

Three medieval knights made in France by CGB Mignot the first two utilise the body of the archer with quiver moulded at the waist but have been given shields and sword/axe (missing) to make them into Men at Arms.  See previous post here.

The sitting U.S. Military Policeman was made post-war in West Germany by Arnold and goes in a tinplate model of a Willys Jeep, I have the other figures that go in it with him but always seem to miss out on the vehicle itself.  

At first glance I thought the mounted Lineol officer saluting was King Leopold III of the Belgians but when I cleaned the grime of ages off him I can't be sure that he is.  Both Elastolin and Lineol painted in the whites of the eyes on their 75mm personality figures, and that's the quick way to identify them, but not on these smaller 65mm ones and they sometimes used the same figure with a basic paint job as an unnamed General Officer with the eyes just drawn in by pen.  More investigation needed.

And finally three plastic Crusaders made in China and sold under the name Supreme, modern production but theyy usually come in large poly bags and I have only wanted these particular poses.  At 65mm they are a bit large to go with most other manufacturers ranges but they are great designs, made under licence from King & Country and will paint up great.

Who remembers "Civil War News" cards by A&BC

 Well, hopefully anyone reading who had been a schoolboy in the 1960's!  

I couldn't get enough of them, I was addicted to them.  In each pack you got a few cards, a piece of bubble gum and "Confederate dollars"!  There were 87 different cards in the set, dramatic bloodthirsty artwork on the front and a press report on the reverse, they were currency for swopping in the playground, and when I'd collected them all I sent off for the album.  I poured over them for years but when I left school I forgot about them, until one day I gave them away.  And I have regretted that ever since!

Until recently, when a random ebay advert popped up in my newsfeed for a complete set, I clicked the link and sure enough I could get all 87 again for just £144.  YIKES!  Nostalgia is a powerful emotion but not THAT powerful!  

Happily there were several lots of cards on offer and among them was a seller offering reprints of the entire set for a much more manageable £16.99 available in 3 sizes, I opted for 110mm x 75mm which is 50% larger than the original cards.  If you remember the similar Battle News cards covering WW2 they've also reprinted them, and I'm pondering whether I should get a set?

In the meantime I'm very pleased to have the Civil War News cards, I don't know what I'll do with them but they are an itch scratched.  I remember every single card vividly, the images are so powerful, I think they will provide inspiration for conversion ideas and perhaps wargame scenarios, we'll see.

I'd always assumed they were imported from the U.S. but the cards state they were printed in England by A&BC (American & British Chewing Gum Ltd.)   A firm originally set up in 1949 by four soldiers demobbed from the British Army, who opened a factory in Cricklewood to serve the post war craze for bubble gum.  Their first set of cards were issued in 1953 to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and in 1959 they teamed up with the Topps Company of USA to produce and distribute Topps cards in UK, so that's where the American iconography came from.

Action at Kassassin 1882 - 54mm Battle Cry game.

Casting around for our next game, Anthony came upon a Battle Cry scenario for the Action at Kassassin 1882 on the Commands & Colours website, so we thought we'd give it a spin, here's how it went:

This link to the Commands &Colours website will give you the map and special rules used in the scenario.   The Egyptian Army under Urabi Pasha have spent the day attacking the British line attempting to break through to Ismalia and the Suez Canal but have been repulsed and thrown back to their trenches.  

The game opens late in the day as reinforcements arrive under Gen. Sir Garnet Wolsey, and they prepare to assault the Egyptian lines.

The railway runs alongside the Sweetwater Canal, together they snake their way through the centre of the battlefield.

Because the action is starting so late in the day a dice is rolled at the start of each round to ascertain the impact of fading light on visibility and effective range of the artillery.

The scenario calls for a railway gun so those ingenious chaps of Her Majesty's Royal Navy have mounted a suitably heavy cannon on a flat car and wheeled it into action.

The formidable Egyptian trenches are supported by a line of guns in the hills behind them.

The advance falters in the centre and the railway gun is brought up to soften the enemy trenches.

The fearless gunners bombard the Egyptian trenches but counter battery fire forces them to retire in haste.

In the fading light the Household Cavalry and Dragoons launched an immediate charge in a desperate attempt to cut through the infantry and reach the guns behind them.  Although rifle fire has taken a terrible toll of the gallant Dragoons nothing can stop them from crashing through and spiking the guns, but they are now a broken force and fall back in disarray.

The British advance on their right fares better, running skirmishes slowly drive the Egyptian infantry from the surrounding hills and force their guns to fall back on the centre.

Urabi Pasha looks on in relief as his Centre holds and the British line falls back, despite some success they were unable to turn his flanks but they still block his path to Ismailia, as darkness descends he knows he will have to fall back on his defences at Tell El Kebir.

The order of events surrounding the various actions at Kassassin are a little confusing so I've taken some small liberties with the narrative to make it fit the scenario of our game.  That said the "Moonlight Charge" of the Household Cavalry at Kassassin has entered the realms of British Army legend and was immortalised in a poem by Arthur Clark Kennedy. 

Plunder from the Plastic Warrior Show 2026

 I usually take a lot of photos at the Plastic Warrior show, particularly the more unusual items that turn up, partly to share information and images for those collectors who can't attend but primarily for use in promoting the show the following year.  This year I took my camera along but spent so much time running around I completely forgot to take any photos, so apologies for that and here are some of the bits I managed to pick up.

First up an early Monarch brand Conquistador in red/brown plastic which carries the lozenge shaped indent marked "England" under it's base which was used by Hilco (John Hill & Co), seen here previously: Collecting Toy Soldiers: Converting Monarch Conquistadors   I have lots of these and don't really go in for collecting all the different plastic colour variations but this chap was in a 50p junk box so he deserved rescuing.

My prize find of the day was the figure of Queen Elizabeth I from the Sir Francis Drake set made by Charbens, I am now just missing the figure of Sir Walter Raleigh to complete the set.  Everything turns up eventually and it's that quest which keeps us collecting.

The 75mm Warsaw Pact Sailor in blue is made from some sort of PVC plastic, he was made in the former East Germany by PGH Effelder, and is marked as such under the base.

The Standard Beaverette Light Reconnaissance Car (produced by the Standard Motor Co and named after Lord Beaverbrook) is an unusual item, it was an improvised armoured car with armour plate being riveted onto a commercial car chassis.  Considered unsatisfactory for overseas service it was issued to the Home Guard and RAF Regiment for home defence so I'm not sure what I'll do with it but I like the concept.  This is a 3D print and is very robust, I bought it from John McRae who has started a new venture making 3D printed figures but I think he said this was made by someone else.  I've noted with such 3D printed vehicles that they often seem to have this pronounced riveting, which is not particularly accurate but gives the model a bit of character, and I rather like it.

The Infantryman standing to attention is an early Zang for Timpo, there are several versions of these figures but this is the first I've seen in a beret, a forerunner of the figures Roy Selwyn-Smith would later design in plastic for Zang/Herald.

A copy of the Britains Armoured Car (based on the Crossley) which was issued from 1934 until 1941, the body and wheels are a one part white metal casting with separate revolving turret so it's quite a weighty piece.  I missed one of these at last year's show so was delighted that the same seller brought  along another one this year, it will see service in any number of 1930's scenarios.

An assortment of composition French infantry, the first made in Germany by Manzsoldaten dates from about 1910 he's not fully round and is what the some collectors describe as "Demi Ronde".  

In the centre a 60mm Poilu made in France by INCA (no relationship to the Belgian firm Incamin), according to the French "soldatplastique 1/32 forum" trade catalogues show the firm was based in Paris and made toys between 1957 and 1965.  They produced a small range of WW1 French and Colonial troops, including mounted, and are sometimes marked INCA FRANCE along the front edge of the base (none of mine are marked). 

The 80mm Standard Bearer was made in France by Cellose, the flag staff is complete, but out of picture, and is missing the cloth flag, fortunately I have one somewhere to make him complete.

Now this one is a mystery which I'm hoping some of the French collectors on the soldatplastique 1/32 forum or one of the facebook groups will  be able to identify.  Made in a composition material he stands 100mm tall, has no base and no markings, my first  thought was it's made by the French firm J.R.D. who's figures were on the large size and sculpted in a cubist art deco style

Rear view of the 100mm Foreign Legion figure above.

John Clarke very kindly cast eight of these smaller explosions for me in white metal, along with the recast of a Taylor  Barrett deep sea diver, and passed on four of the larger resin example, which were made by Paul Watson.  The explosions are copies of originals from the 1930's made in Germany by Lineol, can't wait to get these painted up and see them on the table.  

The three English Civil War conversions were made by Eric Kemp and kindly gifted to me by Graham Apperley, who knows that I'm a big fan of Eric's work, from the ECW collection he acquired last year (see link to Graham's blog "Tales from the Toy Room" in the list on the right) 

Last but not least Andreas Dittmann gave me this mix, a post WW2 composition infantryman made byy Solido Belge, a 1980's resin copy of an Elastolin WW2 marching drum major and three plastic horses made in Germany but I can't remember who Andreas said they were made by. 

An eclectic haul, as always at the Plastic Warrior show, because anything can turn up, and many thanks to John, Graham and Andreas for thinking of me and passing on these goodies.

New Replicants French Resistance figures at the Plastic Warrior Show 2026

The Plastic Warrior Show was held on the 4th July this year, there's no significance in this and it wasn't planned, simply the only date the venue could offer.  

It has become something of a tradition now that Peter Cole uses the event to showcase the new products he has created for his firm Replicants. This is very appropriate because Peter was among the first of us enthusiasts who met at Peter Evans place in North London, talking toy soldiers and unsuspectingly creating the lifelong bond of friendship which became the very heart of Plastic Warrior.

Peter's offering this year is a bit of a curve ball, a set of French Resistance fighters which could equally be used for the Spanish Civil War, or pretty much any urban conflict of the last century.

First up a radio operator with clandestine wireless set, next to him a man throwing a Molotov cocktail, a woman wearing headscarf and bandolier firing a rifle (although to my eye it looks a lot like a flintlock musket) and a man kneeling firing a Sten gun (Shepherd Turpin ENfield), the eponymous automatic weapon favoured by Resistance Groups across occupied Europe.

Showing the underside of the woman firing rifle, Peter is now moulding the Replicants logo into all these figures.  A Saboteur about to press the detonator and blow something up is watched by a woman, clutching her baby while drawing a revolver from inside her coat!  Originality of pose like this is something we haven't seen in plastic before but have come to expect from Peter.

And finally two crawling figures, a man and woman, who were previously released many years ago as rock climbers (the woman has a rope coiled around her) but have now had plug in rifles attached  to them.  At one time they were also sold mounted on pins to be worn as broaches, the Replicants workshop is situated in the basement of an artisan jeweller shop and the broaches were sold through the retail outlet above it.

The kneeling radioman was also a previous release making his debut at the 2025 PW Show as an individual figure, being an homage to Roy Selwyn-Smith who had been a signalman in the Merchant Navy during the war, I didn't manage to pick one up last year so I'm glad to see him included in this year's lineup.  

Junk box finds at Sandown Park Toy Fair

 The joy of junk boxes is that you never know what you'll find, it might all look like rubbish but you can't help having a rummage anyway, maybe there will be something rare in there?  Sometimes there is but mostly not, it doesn't matter, it's the search that drives us collectors on, the hope of finding something, anything!

It might be something damaged or even something you don't really want, it doesn't matter, because it's cheap, so if you get something wrong or you change your mind there's no great harm done.  I didn't go looking for any of these figures or need any of them, the plastic were about 30p apiece and the leads £1, I bought them because they were there, and so was I.

PLASTIC

Top row: Three figures from the Cherilea Elizabethan series, the two in red are originals from the 1960's and the grey one is a reissue made in the original moulds by Giles Brown of Dorset Toy Soldiers, who sold them as British Battle Set under the name Icarus Toys.   Next a Cherilea Chinese/Korean Officer with pistol from the Korean War set and a REAMSA cowboy falling wounded.

Bottom row: Crescent WW1 Britsh cavalry, Britains Deetail French Foreign Legion cavalry, Timpo Duke of Wellington, Timpo Cossack and two Louis Marx Vikings.  

All are imperfect and destined to be repaired or converted but not necessarily by me.

LEAD

Top row: Street Gas Lamp Cleaner and Inn Keeper by Johillco (John Hill and Co.) the former is quite a rare piece, his narrow base extends pointedly at the front so that it fits into the steps of the ladder which he grips in his hands as it leans against the gas lampost.  Next a female customer which came in both the "Butchers Shop" and "Fish Shop" box sets from Crescent.  The two lads selling newspapers and waving are modern solid white metal figures (unmarked and unknown to me) possibly to go with model train layouts.  The Height Finder is very similar to the one in the Crescent " A.R.P Range Finder Unit" set, with a leg missing I have no qualms about a repair and repaint in grey to go on my Gunboat.

Bottom row: The whimsical Postman being chased by a dog is marked GB telling us it was made by Giles Brown of Dorset Toy Soldiers and is a typical example of Giles' humour.  The 1:43 scale gentleman in bowler hat, waiting for a train to take him on the daily commute into the City, is marked Dinky Toys on the upper side of his base.  The Bishop of Hereford is from the Benbros Robin Hood set and finally the motorbike goes with the Charbens GI rider.

All useful stuff which will find a home somewhere, be restored, repaired, repainted, converted or given away, the important thing is that they've been rescued from obscurity and entered the realm of the collector.

Knights made in France by CBG Mignot

Part of the Sandown Park plunder were these two knights made in France by CBG Mignot.  The paper label on the plinth helpfully tells us that this is Francis 1st, or at least it's his horse, sadly the rider is not Francis but a knight in armour by CBG Mignot who happened to be in the same £1 box along with the foot figure beside him.

  The horse trappings are specific to the horse for Francis 1st, which is a rather nice personality figure in court clothes, so I will probably remount the rider when I find a standard Mignot medieval horse for him.  The figure of Francis 1st was originally issued without the wooden plinth, which was a feature added later when the historical personalities were individually boxed and sold through high end tourist outlets.  I'm tempted to remove the plinth as I don't really care for this sort of thing.

The figures are cast in solid metal, a lead/tin mix, the arms bent into position then weapons and shield soldered on, the heads are cast separately and plug into the body to create some variety. The mounted horse and rider carry no makers mark but the foot figure has "CBG made in France" under the base, which tells us this is late production as earlier examples were unmarked. CBG relates to Cuperly Blondel Gerbeau the three early proprietors of the firm which began producing toy soldiers in 1832, in 1912 Henri Mignot succeeded Gerbeau and added his name to the firm, all four had been  related through marriage.

The two new figures will join a small existing collection of CBG Mignot medieval figures: centre above is a personality figure of Louis XI (Louis the Prudent), the horse carries no mark under the base and the residue of glue suggests he may have been mounted on a plinth like the one for Francis 1st.  He is flanked by two knights who are essentially the same figure with arms bent into different positions and separate heads plugged in.  Both horses are simply marked "Made in France".

More examples of how CGB Mignot used the same body pose with different plug in heads and weapons soldered on, the two bowmen are the same, as are the swordsman and spearman advancing, the knight standing with pike is the same as the new knight with lance and shield in the first pic.  All of these foot figures carry no makers mark.  Dating CGB Mignot figures is very difficult as they produced the same poses in the same manner over an extended period, the only differentiation being changes in the hue of colours used to paint them, therefore it's a skill only achieved after many years experience of handling them. 

Knights by Marcel Vergeylen and Fusilier Miniatures

 Hot on the heals of the London Toy Soldier Show came the Sandown Park Toy Fair, it's much more of a General toy collectors show but there are always figures to be found and I can never resist rummaging around in the junk boxes, I came away with forty pieces for an outlay of £30, here are some of them:

The two knights on the outside above with dark green bases were made in France by Marcel Vergeylen (1948-2015) and have the name of the character portrayed written under their base, the one on the left is Sir John Lydevusers and on the right is Englebert de Harze.  The Childhood Knights website tells us that Vergeylen was a keen painter of heraldry and figure converter who went on to create his own range, and amongst his work are several examples based on Roy Selwyn-Smith's "Knights of Agincourt".

The knight in the centre is unfinished and is engraved "F MIN" under the base for Fusilier Miniatures, one of the brands offered by Mark and Paul Turner who are well known dealers and manufacturers of figures on the toy soldier circuit, their other ranges are Tommy Atkins (started by their father John) and Hussar Military Miniatures.

They'll need a bit of work to finish them off so it's a good job I picked up those spare shields and weapons packs from White Tower  Miniatures the previous week

Medieval Wargamer Video

During the recent exceptionally hot weather I have been spending an inordinate amount of time basking in the cooler climes of social media, where I came across the Medieval Wargamer YouTube Channel and thought I might share it with you dear reader:

I don't know who runs the channel but it showcases all aspects of Medieval wargaming with lots of spectacular videos, the one above features still pics of 1,000 miniatures resplendent in their heraldry and is accompanied by a narration from Bernard Cornwell's novel Harlequin.  A word of warning it runs for 26 minutes which may cause a bit of sensory overload but you can always take a break and come back to it.

Here is the official introduction to this video:

"This cinematic showcase features scenes from my large Hundred Years’ War collection, assembled and deployed for visual and atmospheric purposes rather than representing one specific historical battle. The goal was to capture the feeling, scale, and character of medieval warfare through a series of still images and cinematic moments.

Featured throughout are warriors, banners, and formations inspired by the Hundred Years’ War period, accompanied by audiobook narration from Harlequin by Bernard Cornwell, including passages describing the combat and atmosphere surrounding the Battle of Crécy.

Sit back and enjoy this visual journey into the world of medieval warfare.

A big thank you to Steven Comunale for editing this videos cover photo and creating such a beautiful battle ground image."

Landsknecht by Rose Models

 A final post on finds from the London show, a couple of modern white metal collectors figures rescued from a junk box:

On the left a Landsknecht by Rose Models, a matchlock in one hand and length of match in the other hand.  A great figure but not a very useful pose, I've been looking out for one of these a while, the plan being to make a silicon mould of the head and copy it for use in conversions.  We'll see.

On the right is a Jacobite Highland officer which looks a lot like an illustration from the Osprey book, so it could be made by New Hope Design but I need to check.  Both are nice crisp castings, I plan to mount them on MDF bases and add them to existing projects.

The modern phenomenon that is predictive text never ceases circumvent and undermine me, on typing matchlock I find I have been translated as MacBook and my attempt at correction insists I mean MacBollock.  Heaven preserve us!

Mittlealterliche Reiterschlacht by Babette Schweizer.

 An unusual find at the Toy Soldier Show last weekend were these three figures from the "Medieval Knights Battle" series made in Germany by Babette Schweizer, the oldest manufacturer of zinnfiguren still in existence.  

I was drawn to the group because they are unusually large for flats, measuring 95mm from the base to top of the helmet. I also liked the shape of the horse' head and neck together with the accurate portrayal of long spurs which gives them the look of illustrations from a medieval woodcut.

The style of armour appears to be 15th Century and they have retained their original paint, happily sword and lance on these two are also fully intact.

It was suggested to me that this was Joan of Arc (it isn't), while I thought maybe Richard III (not him either!) because his standard has a rose engraved on it although the colours are those of the Holy Roman Empire.

There are by far and away more books on Zinnfiguren than any other genre of toy soldiers and as I started searching for more info on these knights my friend Claudio de Angelis not only identified them for me but very kindly sent me the picture above which shows the complete set in the Babette Schweizer catalogue for 1953, the designs for the set were commissioned from the artist Hans Rohm in 1908 and they are still available today.

The firm was founded in 1796 by Adam and Monika Schweizer.  Babette Schweizer ran the firm from 1872 until her death in 1896 after which it was run by her son Adam who retained the business in her name.  After 230 years it is still run by the same family, the current owner being Karin Schweizer.