Toy, Car
Object number2021.37.1 a,b
MediumMetal; Paint; Rubber; Paper; Ink; Adhesive
Credit LineGift of Mary Florence Brown
DescriptionDiecast toy truck with driver. Gold painted metal truck with molded details and gold painted wooden bed. Bed dumps via lever on the truck's proper left side. Front, left, and right exterior sides of the bed have orange and black paper label with printed company and product information. Gray and white rubber tires with red hubcaps; tires are severely cracked.
Metal toy shovel. Gold painted silver metal with heavy gold paint loss. Wide shovel head with squared front. Long, arched cylindrical handle shaft ends in D-shaped handle.DimensionsHeight x Width x Length (a): 4.313 x 2.75 x 7 in. (11 x 7 x 17.8 cm)Length x Width x Depth (b): 4.625 x 1.375 x 0.688 in. (11.7 x 3.5 x 1.7 cm)
InscriptionsFront, left, and right exterior sides of the bed have orange and black paper label with black printed text "KOPPERS / MIAMI / COKE / Clean as the Sun's Heat".
MarksInterior of proper right side truck has imprinted number "1999".
Historical NotesThis Koppers toy truck was part of the collection of Fitzhugh Brown, former Vice President of the Koppers Company. Koppers Company, Inc. was established by the German engineer, Heinrich Koppers, as a coke production company in 1907. Koppers had invented a chemical-recovery coke oven that greatly increased the quality of coke output while also stimulating recovery of coal gases, tar, and other chemicals. Koppers sold his controlling stake in the company to a group of investors including Andrew Mellon and H. B. Rust in 1914. At this point, the company’s headquarters were transferred from Chicago to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With this transition, H. B. Rust was elected president and CEO of Koppers. Koppers would establish itself as a world leader and innovator in coke and coke by-product production.
Related institution
Koppers Company, Inc.
(founded 1907)
Previous owner
Fitzhugh Lee Brown
(1932 - 2018)
On View
Not on view
c. 1952
