Chad Valley Company Limited
Harbourne, England
1860-1978
At the turn of the century, cardboard games and toys were added to the already established printing and bookbinding business. In 1915, the highly collected plush Teddy Bears were added to the toy line. Because different licensing was utilized for toys made outside the United States, many of Chad Valley toys were designed after popular characters of the time.
In 1938, the Chad Valley Company was granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment, “Toymakers to Her Majesty the Queen.” During World War II, Chad Valley factories focused mostly on government contracts, but were able to produce a limited number of toys. In 1950, Chad Valley became a public company continuing to expand taking over smaller companies. Restructuring took place in the 1970’s, which caused all but two factories to close. In 1978, the company was taken over by Leicester’s based firm Palitoy and in 1988, Woolworth acquired the name Chad Valley.
Note: Since toy information is limited for this company, most of the names and years assigned to these toys have been estimated.
