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One of my favorite Hess labels, this art was used on the Hess 1035 series of trains. | |||
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Probably the most used of the Hess labels is this image which was used on the series 100 and series 575 for many years. | |||
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An interesting departure from the traditional “H” within a shield logo is this label which uses the city of Nuremberg crest inside the shield. | |||
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This box appears to have been used on at least two different large trains which Hess produced, both before litho directly on tinplate. The loco and cars shown are pasted paper to tinplate. | |||
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Hess sold primarily through distributors and apparently had no problem with co-branding. This very graphically striking label co-branded with Excelsior Tin Toys of the W.P. &S., London. |
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Custom box label for Ambras Castle gift shop. Ambras Castle (German: Schloss Ambras Innsbruck) is a Renaissance castle and palace located in the hills above Innsbruck, Austria. Considered one of the most popular tourist attractions of the Tyrol, this box label was affixed to an early Hess 100 series train with 14 cars (the largest set for this series train. The label is in four different languages. Hess sold mainly through distributors and many custom labels were created for their toys such as this one. | |||
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Hess 100 series train early box label. This label may have been used on other train boxes, but it is the only example I have observed. The contents were a very early 100 series locomotive with tall, flared stack and early, large outline numeral wagons. | |||
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Hess box label for an early lithographed set with the locomotive named “Phonix”. This label, as with all early Hess train labels, touted “Patent Radern” or patent wheels. In the not too distant past, wheels for toys had been cast metal, extremely brittle, and were the first things to break during a child’s not-so-gentle playtime. These early stamped tinplate wheels were a huge improvement for toys of the period. | |||
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Hess “Vulkan” locomotive box label, circa 1890s. This label apparently created just for this locomotive as the illustrated locomotive includes the name “Vulkan” on the side of the boiler. Curiously, the label makes no mention of “Patent Radern” (patent wheels) as other labels of a similar time period, but tinplate front wheels are stamped “Patent”. | |||
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Hess box label for “Vulkan” locomotive set. This set consisted of a pre-litho locomotive with lithographed pasted paper applied to the wagons. The set utilized the Hess patented wheels as stated on the box and was the precursor to the full lithography on tinplate trains. Circa 1890s. | |||
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Hess box label for reversing (shunting) locomotive. This locomotive ran on track with backstops on each end. When the loco’s bumpers struck the backstops, the direction of the loco reversed itself. One of the only Hess trains known to ride on track. Circa 1885.
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