"Prices of William Britain's toy soldiers in 1912" Topic

I know that five Britain's hollowcast infantrymen cost one shilling when first produced in the 1890s. Does anyone know what the prices of infantry, cavalry and the 4.7 inch gun used by HG Wells would have been circa 1912, when he was developing the rules for Little Wars?

Britians (boxed) infantrymen from that period cost roughly £25.00 GBP each (per figure, not box), cavalry double that. Guns are rarer and you'll be lucky to get an artillery set for under £250.00 GBP Unboxed stuff is generally cheaper but, from an 'antique collection' point of view, not worth the investment.

This is serious toy soldier collector domain.

Olicana,
Agreed but, the OP's question was what did they cost when Wells was developing the game.

I dont have the book – but perhaps this one can help

Old Toy Soldiers and Figures 1900-1939
Four Decades of Advertising
written by Joplin and Dean

Might look at newspapers from 1912 around xmas

Also some resources here might also get you some information
link

Sorry I misread the question.

However, a quick google shows inflation between 1890 and 1912 was pretty low at about 1% (there was even a deflationary period following the crisis of 1893) and retail prices stayed pretty flat. So, the price of individual figures was probably about the same in 1912. Box price increase would probably be measured in pennies and farthings rather than shillings.

I pretty well crashed and burned on this one. All I found was an 1880 (pre-hollow cast) catalog.
link
Notice the machine gun is 5/6 that is, five shillings six pence--66 pence of a 240 pence "Old Money" pound--and since it appears to fire peas, it's probably a larger scale than 54mm. I'd be surprised if the naval gun cost more than that.

Agree with Olicana. Until Britain left the gold standard after WWI, there was no inflation as we understand it. You'd expect the 1893 price to be the 1912 price--maybe less due to increased volume.

Mind you, a shilling was semi-serious money. A soldier or sailor got about a shilling a day for walking around money, and it would buy him a show in the music halls, a drink and a meal. Kipling, in Something of Myself, describes living until payment for his first sales in London came in on two meals a day, each costing tuppence, tuppence the half-ounce for tobacco "and fourpence, which included a pewter of beer or porter, was the price of admission to Gatti's"--the great music hall at Charing Cross. Excluding rent, the young author was living in London on less than a shilling a day.

Were infantry really 5 for a shilling in 1893? Because the classic pre-1914 box was 8 figures, and the cavalry box 5.

Oh. And for the Holmes fan, that tobacco price was "unless you sunk to threepenny (the ounce) 'shag' or soared to sixpenny 'Turkish'." Holmes must have been really broke in the early years to become habituated to shag.

Per James Opie's book covering the period 1893-1932, the price for a single row box ( eight infantry or five cavalry) remained at one shilling from 1893 until 1916. A 1902 catalog shows the 4.7' Naval gun at two shillings and a Gun of the Royal Horse Artillery at one shilling. The RHA set proper (#39) would set you back six shillings, while the Mountain Artillery (#28) and the RN Landing Party with Gun (#79) were two shillings six pence each. Those prices should also have been correct for 1912.

enfant perdus, thank you very much! That is exactly the information I was seeking.
Perhaps I should explain that I am writing a sort of 'campaign game' for Little Wars in which players – taking the roles of children – can only purchase reinforcements/replacements for casualties (toy soldiers damaged beyond repair) using their very modest sums of pocket money.

Thank you all, gentlemen, for your kind replies to my query.

Might find this article interesting on HG Wells and his war books

link

Thank you, Disaster Wargamer, I look forward to reading it later today.

Are you hinting that you have a Time Machine?

Alas, no! I would love to travel back in time and take part in a Little Wars game with H.G. Wells and Jerome K. Jerome (but make sure I left before the Great War broke out!), and to visit Robert Louis Stevenson in Davos and play his wargame with him and Lloyd Osbourne.