Helen Schelle

Background

Schelle was born in Piqua, Ohio and moved to New York as an adult, where by the middle of the 1920s, she had become owner and manager of the Penny Walker Toy Shop in Binghamton.

Career

Alongside businessman Herman Fisher and Price"s wife, Illustrator Margaret Evans Price, the Fisher-Price Company was formally established later that year in East Aurora, New New York Schelle undertook the role of secretary and treasurer. She resided in a cottage just outside the town, and also owned a farm.

Many of the company"s early toys were the result of a collaboration between Schelle and Margaret Price, who together worked on their designs.

Sixteen wooden toys were brought to the 1931 American International Toy Fair in New York City before later being introduced to the public through Macy"s Department store. Schelle retired from Fisher-Price in 1957 and moved from New York back to her hometown of Piqua, Ohio.

She died there on April 12, 1984, at the age of 91 and is buried at the Forest Hill Union Cemetery.

Achievements

• The toys" first year on the American market saw their placement on shelves in hundreds of stores throughout the country— an achievement partially attributed to Schelle"s established contacts within the toy industry.

Connections

Partner:

Irving Price