classic trademarks - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 2015 - 80 Euro Cent

The year was 1899, when a Viennese railway engineer named Johann Korbuly gave his children a wooden construction kit. Since the buildings created with it fell over very easily, he had the idea to connect the blocks with sticks that could be inserted into the holes drilled for them. The system proved itself and was patented. Korbuly, however, could not find a buyer for his patent, and so he began in a small workshop in the 4th district of Vienna even with the production; 1903, the first Matador series was delivered. Only after years of loss, business finally started, and in 1915 the first factory was built in Pfaffstätten, Lower Austria. As a result, the creative kits were also exported to neighboring countries and there was a veritable boom. At the end of World War II, the factory burned down but was quickly rebuilt and production continued. The sale stagnated in the 1970s as toys made of other materials, especially plastic, became more and more popular. In 1978, the company was sold to the newspaper editor Kurt Falk, who, however, had to cease operations in 1987 after few successful attempts at innovation. In 1996 he sold the trademark rights for Matador (and later also the machines for its production) to a certain Ing. Michael Tobias, who resumed production. The proven system: Basic kits can be upgraded with various supplementary kits, spare parts and accessories such as wheels, axles, additional tools and much more can also be purchased separately. Through this modular system and the ability to combine all parts with each other, there are no limits to the children's imagination and new vehicles, buildings and other works of art can always be created