Distler

Johann Distler
Nuremberg
1903 – 1962
Logo: the first sign was a stylised thistle with “J D N”, from 1925-26 globe with “JDN”, from 1938 globe with “DISTLER”.
Founded in 1903 by Johann Distler and his wife, the company initially specialised in penny toys. It also produced for S. D. Zimmer (ESSDEE). After Johann Distler’s death in 1925, his partners, Adolf Braun and Ludwig Meyer, took over the company but sold it to Ernst Völk (Fürth) in 1936 before going into exile in England. Before the war, toy production focused on transport: cars, motorbikes, boats and aeroplanes.
The factory ceased trading in 1962.