Lionel Corporation Issued to and signed by Isabel Brandaleone - Famous Toy Train For Sale

Stock printed by Security Banknote Company. Issued to and signed at back by Isabel Brandaleone, daughter of Joshua Cowen. Lionel Corporation was an American toy manufacturer and holding company of retailers that had been in business for over 120 years. It was founded as an electrical novelties company. Lionel specialized in various products throughout its existence. Toy trains and model railroads were its main claim to fame. Lionel trains have been produced since 1900, and their trains drew admiration from model railroaders around the world for the solidity of their construction and the authenticity of their detail. During its peak years in the 1950s, the company sold $25 million worth of trains per year. In 2006, Lionel\'s electric train became the first electric toy inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. In 1969, they sold their model train lines to General Mills, but continued to operate until 1993 as a holding company for their toy stores. Its model trains are still in production as a separate company. The original Lionel Corporation was founded in 1900 by Joshua Lionel Cowen and Harry C. Grant in New York City. The company\'s devotees disagree over the date of incorporation, as the official paperwork gives a date of September 5, but the paperwork was not filed until September 22, more than two weeks later. Initially, the company specialized in electrical novelties, such as fans and lighting devices. It was historically thought that Lionel\'s first train, the Electric Express, was not intended for sale to consumers, but rather, as a storefront display. Delivered in December 1900, it operated on a brass track and was powered by a battery and a motor Cowen originally intended to use in an electric fan. Cowen hoped to use the public\'s fascination with railroads and electricity to capture the public\'s attention and direct it to the goods for sale. Members of the public started approaching store owners about buying the trains instead, prompting Lionel to begin making toy trains for the general public. Lionel ended up selling 12 examples of the Electric Express. Recently however, the 2014 edition of Greenbergs Guide to Lionel trains standard and 2 7/8\" gauges has concluded that the first Lionel product was the motorized Converse Trolley, with the electric express being made to diversify the motor\'s use. Lionel\'s earliest trains were larger than the sizes commonly available today, running on two-rail tracks with th Item ordered may not be exact piece shown. All original and authentic.

---