Toy soldier:Sharpshooter #747

Hollowcast soldiers had been available for many years by the time the Barclay Manufacturing Company began offering its painted toy soldiers in the 1920s. The company also produced diecast toy vehicles. Because Barclay distributed its toy soldiers to five and dime stores, its figures became known as dimestore soldiers. At the peak of its production, the company's factory on Barclay Street in Hoboken, NJ, produced 500,000 figures a week. A stop to production during World War II proved temporary, and the company resumed manufacturing metal toys after the war, even though other companies made cheaper plastic figures. By the 1970s, however, Barclay could no longer compete with makers of plastic soldiers for the toy market, and the company ceased production. In the 1990s, Barclay trademark rights were acquired, and The Barclay Company resumed production of solid metal reproductions for the collector market.