Crossing the threshold of the shop is like taking a time jump. The shop of the family Antonini this year celebrates a century in business, and Lorenzo, third generation to work, has the kindness and patience of one who has spent his life to refine the details.
The models lined up in the windows come from different periods:
from the colonial troops to the papal guards, the Canadian redcoats the police on horse.
Do not miss the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia, led by Ferdinand of Bourbon.
Founded in 1910 by Francesco Antonini, "the workshop of the soldier" is the oldest laboratory in Italy specializing in the industrial production of lead toy soldiers. Destination of Italian and foreign collectors, the shop, is now under the direction of Lorenzo Antonini.
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The Antonini Company is the oldest of its kind in Italy, and is also one of those in Europe that have produced toy soldiers and military models uninterruptedly for a long time.
The first steps on this field were moved in 1910 by Francesco Antonini, who imported different sets of molds of "Gebruder Schneider" of Leipzig from Germany. The molds, which are still preserved in the Antonini laboratory, were made of aluminum, a real "modernity" for the time, and allowed to create lead Prussian soldiers, spearmen, British infantrymen, hussars, farm animals, Indians hunting bison, cowboys, Bedouins, small sailboats and even a nativity scene, complete with angels and comet.
In 1912 Francesco Antonini, satisfied with the results achieved, widened his activities directly creating his first molds and his own figures, which were distributed under the trademark "L.G.P." (Laboratory of Lead Toys).
The mark was reported only on the labels of the boxes and was not printed on the soldiers, which were instead characterized by the oval base that they still have.
The molds were made of bronze, composed of different parts, and allowed the construction of round models, instead of "half-round" as those of "Gebruder Schneider".
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The first set of toy soldiers, that had a big success with the kids at the time, represented the Ottoman Army departments, against whom our army was fighting in the Italian-Turkish War.
These first series were followed by many others that kept the uniforms of the soldiers updated hand in hand with those of the "real" army soldiers.
In addition to the Italian soldiers, they produced several series of foreign soldiers as the Scots, the Napoleonic, the Zouaves and the eighteenth-century armies, as well as a nice variety of Italian masks of the Commedia dell'Arte.
The figurines of this period had a naive and nicely rounded look ( they were called PETTONI in the laboratory).
They were painted with glossy enamel and were toys to all effects, even if some years later they began to be requested by collectors and enthusiasts.
In 1927, to follow the new trends and new demands of the market which wanted "unbreakable" soldiers, as they were called then, the Antonini patented a special wood pulp, very hard and resistant with which he started a new production.
The new soldiers were larger than those made of lead and were cold forged with bronze molds and big presses.
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