Ideal Toys

Morris and Rose Michtom invented the Teddy bear in 1903. In 1907, they founded Ideal Novelty and Toy Company in New York. In 1938, the company became Ideal Toy Company.

In the 1930s, Ideal made Shirley Temple, Judy Garland and Deanna Durbin dolls. Ideal were pioneers in this industry, being the first to make hard plastic dolls after World War II. The dolls are made of wood, cloth, composition, hard plastic, vinyl and magic skin.

Some toys and brands, including the Magic 8-Ball and Rubik's Cube, have continued to live through other companies.

In the 1960s, CBS acquired toy manufacturers Gabriel Toys, Child Guidance, Wonder Products and other properties.

CBS entered the video game market briefly, through its acquisition of Gabriel Toys (renamed CBS Toys), publishing several arcade adaptations and original titles under the name CBS Electronics for the Atari 2600 and other consoles and computers and also a one of the first karaoke recording/players.). CBS Electronics also distributed all Coleco-related video game products in Canada, including the ColecoVision. CBS later sold Gabriel Toys to View-Master, which eventually ended up as part of Mattel.

CBS Toy Company bought Ideal in 1982 and later closed its doors permanently.

A note about Ideal Dolls

It is believed that Ideal Toy Company produced dolls with a Plated Moulde Inc stamp. The parent company of Plated Moulde Inc. is a company called Plastic Moulded Arts. Plastic Moulded Arts, or PMA as it is sometimes referred to, was in business from 1949 to 1961. During that time, PMA made dolls and doll parts for sale under their own name, and the names of other doll companies. Most of the dolls produced using PMA were made of hard plastic. Most PMA dolls and doll parts were unmarked.