First made from wood, stone, clay, and metal, it wasn’t until the end of the 18th century that toy soldiers were mass-produced. By the turn of the 20th century, several companies in Europe were producing inexpensive lead toy soldiers and American makers began producing toy army figures around World War I (1914-1918). Several makers molded their figures in cast iron or used a sawdust and glue mixture called “composition.” After World War II (1939-1945), amid concerns about lead poisoning, some manufacturers looked to plastic as a cheaper and more child-friendly medium. These toy soldiers, wearing olive drab and made of composition, are stamped Lineol, which is a German toy company. They were owned by the Harold and Effie Ames family of Northampton, Massachusetts. Their four sons, Frederick, William, Richard, and Roger, born between 1927 and 1933, played with them in the 1930s.