Lithographed Paper

Some of the earliest mass-produced toys were made using lithographed paper labels glued to a wooden shape. Early blocks, puzzles, wooden trains, and the like were made much more colorful in this manner. The paper labels would be printed like a newspaper, either in black and white or in color, and then the paper labels would be glued onto flat surfaces on the body of the wooden toy. This allowed artwork to give an otherwise flat toy the appearance of great detail in three dimensions. Early Fisher-Price toys are an excellent example of this type of lithography.