Bergen Toy & Novelty Company
Accessories and Sets

by Ron Steiner

By the end of World War II, I had acquired a large number of Bergen Toy & Novelty Co. figures but was completely unaware that Beton had also produced accessories and playsets to go with those figures. I had never seen any type of Beton set at our local F. W. Woolworth Five and Dime store, and my guess is that the company didn't have as extensive a distribution system on the West Coast as they had in the East. Of course, as kids, this didn't bother us in the least, we went right on building our own forts out of twigs, Popsicle sticks, and Lincoln Logs until the first rains washed them away.

Pre-World War II Playsets

One of the first things I did when I began collecting toy soldiers in 1985 was to buy every book I could find on the subject. I soon discovered, and thoroughly devoured, all of Richard O'Brien's toy books. Although my favorite Betons were listed in his 1985 book Collecting Toys, 4th Edition, there was no indication that boxed sets or accessories existed. I was thrilled to discover Richard's Catalog Book in 1986, which showed two catalogues from Beton's Carlstadt, New Jersey, location that dated back to the late 1930s or very early 1940s. The first listed and illustrated all of the Beton figures on early oval bases, but the second catalog completely blew me away with its listing of Beton accessories and playsets. The accessories page showed a Trench that had the option of being covered with sand or grass, a sand-covered Bridge, a knock-down-type Ranch Fence, and a 12-inch Flagpole with Flag and Halyard -- all made of sturdy cardboard. The first playset illustrated was an Indian Stockade Village. The items included in the sets could also be purchased separately.

Indian Stockade Village, Set #4001

This Stockade Village, which I recently acquired from Ponylope, originally belonged to Don Pielin. The set consists of two #3002 Small Towers that would have been used at the corners of the matching fence sections, but were not listed in the second Beton catalogue. Those listed include the #3003 Tower (missing the stairs plus a couple of parapets on my piece), #3005 Hut, two #3006 Tepees, #3007 Well, and #3019 Indian Lodge. All of these pieces are grass covered. All had "Schuster's Milwaukee" price tags that showed that the large Tower and Lodge sold for 20 cents and the others for 10 cents each. I've yet to acquire three pieces that will complete my set. These are listed in the catalogue as #3000 Fence Section (six needed), #3009 Tree (two needed), and a 19-inch by 29-inch base. The Village set in the catalogue also included a dozen assorted Indians.

There are two other playsets illustrated in this catalogue. Set #4002 Military Encampment consists of a Base, four Machine Gun Towers, five Straight Sections (walls), a Field Hospital (which appears to be the same Indian Lodge with a "Hospital" sign), six Pup Tents, and the Flagpole, plus two Trees from the accessories page and a dozen assorted soldiers. Set #4003 Cowboy Ranch consists of a Barn and a Bunkhouse, 12 Fence Sections, and four Trees, plus the Flagpole from the accessories page, a Tripod and Kettle, a Base, six horses with riders, and five assorted cowboys. On the last page of this catalogue it made mention of "more than half a hundred different numbers" of boxed sets.

Early World War II Era Playsets

When Richard O'Brien's first Collecting Toy Soldiers book was published in 1988, he listed all of the Beton accessories and sets. I was surprised by the number -- more than 60 sets were included. Some of these turned out to be boxed playsets, and, of course, I immediately set out to find some of them. When Richard's second edition of Collecting Toy Soldiers came out in 1992, he had reproduced a 1942-1943 N. Shure catalog that showed Beton playsets. These sets had an outer boxed sleeve with a 20-inch by 5-inch by 3-1/2-inch inner cardboard box that represented Forts, Ranches, and Indian Lodges. So far I've been able to acquire one set of each style, with the exception of the Ranch. The sets included either 13 or nine figures, and the wholesale price was $10.80 per dozen for the set of 13, and $8.25 for a dozen sets of nine. Each fort included a floor insert that had diecast tabs for attaching seven standing figures, plus holes for the attachment of a horse and rider with a rubber band. I've not yet found a floor insert that could accommodate 13 figures. Of my four sets, none of the tabs had ever been used, indicating that the figures were not attached to the floor at the factory. The sets must have been sold with the figures in a bag or loose in the box. It should be noted that these sets were sold during the war, and most of them turn up with unpainted figures. In my photos below, I've taken artistic liberties and added more colorfully painted figures.

Fort Beton, Set #100

A recent acquisition, this fort had lost all of its original figures. Bergen Toy & Novelty Co. listed this catalogue number as Unity Fortress Infantry Marching, so I've pictured it with seven of Beton's original #510 Rifleman, Marching Position, figures, plus a horse and rider. There is no reference to Unity Fortress on the outer sleeve or the fort itself, so I'm unable to explain the catalogue title. I suspect it was a carryover from a prewar Parade of Beton Toys boxed set that included all marching soldiers.

Beton Cadets Fort, Set #101

I acquired this Cadets Fort in 2001, but it also came without any figures. The 1942-1943 N. Shure catalog lists only a 13-piece cadet set, but the floor insert in my set allows for only nine figures. I suppose it's possible that the one insert sufficed for both sizes of sets, since the figures were probably just loose in the box anyway. In any event, I've shown a nine-piece set that includes seven standing cadets along with the horse and rider in my photo.

Beton Lodge, possibly Set #118

When I acquired this set in 2006, it contained four #726 Indian Leaders, two #729 Indian Chiefs, a #730 Indian Warrior, and a #M411 Indian, Mounted on Bronco, all unpainted. I've put a better assortment of Indians in this photo, which encompasses the full line of Beton Indians. The outer box had "#481258" stamped on the end, but I suspect this was the retailer's number, not a Bergen catalogue number. I believe the only Beton catalogue number that could apply to this set would be #118, based on the assumption that these numbers carried over from prewar Beton Toys boxed sets.

Fort Beton, possibly Set #121

This was the first fort that I acquired in 2001, and it has the same problem of an unlikely catalogue number. The "1254" stamped on the outer sleeve is also probably a retailer's number. I suspect that this should be an earlier version of Set #121, also carried over from the earlier Parade of Beton Toys boxed set. My set included nine unpainted standing soldiers, two #501 Machine Gunners, a #508 Bugler, #511 Infantryman with Field Glasses, #514 Signaller, two #515 Infantry, Charging, and two #517 Machine Gunners, Kneeling. There was no horse and rider included. I've shown the set as I believe it should have been originally outfitted, with seven soldiers plus the horse and rider, based on the floor insert.

Late World War II and Early Postwar Playsets

This page is from a Beton advertising insert that was placed in the March 1951 Playthings magazine for the New York Toy Fair. Three of Beton's more creative playsets are shown: a PT Boat, a Landing Barge, and a redesigned Fort Beton. These three sets are also shown as full-page ads in both editions of Richard O'Brien's Collecting Toy Soldiers and probably date from earlier than my 1951 insert. My guess would be around 1945-1946, based on the depicted mix of early rectangular-based WWI soldiers plus the rectangular-based transitional post-WWII soldiers.

Fort Beton, Set #121

The catalogue number 121 that was assigned to this set is definitely a carryover from a prewar Parade of Beton Toys boxed set. I have one of these original Parade boxes stamped #121. This bolsters my theory concerning the unlikely numbers stamped on the lodge and fort described above. I'd been eagerly searching for this particular fort for many years and finally acquired it in June 2008, but once again the set came without any figures. I've pictured a typical mix of WWI and transitional WWII soldiers in the olive drab and dark brown uniforms that were predominant right after the war. The carton itself is the fort, and it included nine figures and retailed at $1.00.

U.S. Rangers Invasion Barge, Set #121A

Even though this Landing Barge is depicted in my Playthings insert as having a WWI and WWII mix of soldiers, I've yet to see a set turn up with anything other than unpainted WWI Beton soldiers. My barge came with three soldiers: a #515 Infantryman, Charging, a #516 Drummer, and a #517 Machine Gunner, Kneeling, all in typical 1945-1946 unpainted olive drab. I've replaced them in the photo with an assortment of painted soldiers. This barge came in an open-ended protective sleeve and retailed at 60 cents, but only five soldiers were included.

PT Boat, Set #PT45

This PT Boat was acquired in 2007, and it came close to containing the proper amount and type of soldiers depicted in the Playthings insert. Only one soldier was missing, but the set included a painted WWI #512 Rifleman, Marching, in khaki, plus six of the WWII transition pieces in an assortment of bright colors with painted details. For my photo, I've replaced them with all blue-uniformed figures. These blue figures are probably the closest that Beton ever came to producing a navy. The PT Boat came inside a box, and possibly some slight assembly was required. The set sold for $1.00 and contained eight soldiers.

1950s Playsets

The great majority of the boxed sets that were produced during the 1950s focused on the newly designed pieces that included zoo, circus, farm, and larger mounted figures. Most of the original standing soldiers, along with the cowboys and Indians, were also redesigned and given integral bases. These all came out in new display boxes, but the only items that could be considered true playsets during the 1950s were three circus related sets. Richard O'Brien pictured them in his 1997 Collecting American-Made Toy Soldiers No. 3. The three photos are from the Beton Archives and include a Beton Circus Tent and two cardboard Circus Wagons. It's hard to consider these individual wagons to be "sets," unless they were sold with more animals than the wagons could accommodate. The two archive photos seem to indicate that this was the case.

Tent and Assorted Circus Animals, Set #ZT-151

The first circus set in O'Brien's 1997 book is a large, cardboard Beton Circus Tent with printed sideshow posters, ticket seller, and large audience. The photo shows the following Beton figures included with the set: seven animals, two Clowns, a Trainer, and a small mounted Cowboy with Lasso. I've included a scan of a photocopy of a copyright 1955 Beton catalogue that I have that shows an advertisment for this same set. It gives the measurements of the box as 12 inches by 5-1/4 inches by 10-3/4 inches and a suggested retail price of $1.49.

Beton Circus Animal Wagon, Set #ZW-81

I acquired this version of the Circus Wagon in 2003, and although it should accommodate only two of the Small Circus Animals, there were three included in the purchase. These 3 were the Bear, Lion, and Kangaroo. I've pictured this set with a larger assortment of six small animals based on the archives photo. The wagon is made of a very thin cardboard, and the bars and wheels tend to collapse. The catalogue number hasn't shown up on a list, but is printed on the bottom of the wagon. This number follows the wholesale handling box #Z-80 for two dozen assorted Small Circus Animals, as shown in my 1955 catalogue photocopy.

Beton Circus Animal Wagon, possibly Set #ZW-181

I haven't acquired one of these wagons as yet, but I own this copy of another Beton Archives photo that shows it. This wagon could accommodate only one of the Large Circus Animals, but it could have been sold with an assortment of five large animals as shown. No catalogue number has yet turned up for this item, but I would speculate that the number should be ZW-181. I base this on the wholesale handling box #Z-180 containing one dozen assorted Large Circus Animals. This follows the pattern used in set #ZW-81.

I hope that other Beton collectors have benefited from the information that I've presented here. Plus, I hope you've enjoyed the article as much as I've enjoyed putting it together.

Copyright 2008 Ron Steiner

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