Plate 99:  Creating boxes for unboxed items, Part 12: who made this figure?
(This plate added AUG 2004)

The toy soldier shown in Plate 98 has been placed on his back in this photo, so that we can read the marks on the bottom of the base. The base of this figure has two marks: the word EIRE and, underneath, the letters HE. --more--

1.  The word EIRE simply means "Ireland" (Eire is a word in the Irish language). The word EIRE on the base tells us that this toy soldier was made by Comet Gaeltecht Industries, a branch operation of Comet Metal Products. Comet Gaeltecht Industries was established in Ireland at the end of the Second World War. 2.   The letters HE are the initials of the noted Swedish sculptor Holger Eriksson, who was hired by Comet Gaeltecht Industries to design a line of toy soldiers for sale worldwide. Mr. Eriksson always signed his master models with a single symbol comprising the capital letters H and E. The right-hand vertical stroke of the H (for Holger) was coincident with the vertical stroke of the E (for Eriksson). Go to top of page