While on the topic of the birth of Transformers, I feel this is a suitable place to share an excerpt from a book published in 1990 called "Toyland - The High Stakes Game of the Toy Industry".
Thanks to Sky Shadow for recently mentioning this book, as it was worth tracking down and has been hard to put down. It is just a shame that it is focussed mostly on the 80s (which was really the golden age of Action Figure toys and the birth of their marketing through TV shows), and ends in 1989.
The book itself centres on the creation and development of the Dino-Riders toyline by Tyco, but draws in history and statistics of the major Companies and Brands during those years in the 1980s... including a chapter focusing on the creation of Hasbro as a Toy Company, and its success in the first half of the 80s.
This is a scan of just that chapter.
There is just so much in this book that I wanted to share, but even though the book is out of print (and a bit of a challenge to find), it is still protected... so an excerpt for promotional or personal purposes is all I want to risk.
As such, I heavily recommend tracking down one of these books if you are a significant/dedicated fan of toys, as it gives a huge insight into the industry and Brands that exist even today.
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