by Dan Hampton
First published 2012
Dan Hampton chronicles the Auburn Rubber Company's transformation during its final decades, when vinyl revolutionized the toy industry. The company rode the postwar boom of the 1950s, manufacturing millions of plastic playthings that filled American homes. Hampton examines the diverse product lines that made Auburn a household name, from action figures to novelty items that captured the imagination of children across the nation. The narrative follows the company's peak years in the 1950s and 1960s, when vinyl toys dominated the market and Auburn's factories worked overtime to meet demand. Yet success proved fleeting. Hampton reveals how changing consumer tastes, increased competition, and shifting manufacturing costs gradually undermined Auburn's position. The story builds toward the company's ultimate demise in 1968, when the doors closed forever on what had once been a thriving enterprise. This corporate saga captures both the golden age of American toy manufacturing and the brutal reality of business cycles that can destroy even the most successful companies.
Genres: history, 20th-century, business, american, non-fiction
Vibes: historical, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: corporate-rise-and-fall, industrial-history
Setting: Auburn
Period: 1950s, 1960s
50 pages · Paperback · Lulu.com