LGB at the Museum - how it all started

The following is a translation of  an article in the "Glockenreiter" (bell-rider), the official magazine of the Toy Museum Nuremberg/Germany. Klaus Baumann was named the curator and chief-fund raiser for the booster-club of the Museum and was instrumental in bringing the Lehmann collection to the Museum, thus saving and warranting a collection of worldwide significance.

E.P.Lehmann Toys
This unrivaled Lehmann Collection was saved by the booster-club of the Museum and will stay permanently with this Museum. A collection for which the Toy Museum in Nuremberg is envied worldwide.

Ikarus air plane EPL 653, 1919-1939

Since 2002 the Toy Museum displays a completely newly designed department: the world's most significant collection of Lehmann Tin Toys is shown here on roughly 1200 sqft displaying about 350 pieces. It is a permanent loan collection donated by Wolfgang, Rolf, and Johannes Richter. The company also donated a significant sum to help setup this department.

Travelling Uncle, 1893 - 1939. In Europe auction sites display similar items  for US$ 1,200 to  US$ 1,600.00

E.P.Lehmann is one of the really important names in toy history. In 1881 Ernst Paul Lehmann established the company in Brandenburg on the Havel (now a part of East Berlin ) and achieved international stardom quite quickly with their originally designed mechanical toys.

Mandarin palanquin, 1905-1939. Rare objects have been sold in Europe for up to US$ 8,000.00

Cars, trucks, air ships and an abundance of funny, moving animal and human figurines elated children for decades. Lehmann Grossbahn (LGB) located in Nuremberg from 1950 to 2006 was well known for their Big Train(s).
For the first time a whole room is dedicated by the museum for just one single company. The diversified permanent exhibition is among the most beloved departments within the Toy Museum. Adjacent to a panorama of the eventful history of the Ernst-Paul-Lehmann company you'll find a long row of glass cabinets displaying almost everything ever manufactured by Lehmann and in today's world highly sought after by collectors.

climbing monkeys - If made before 1900 thiese pieces have  been auctioned off by Sotheby's for up to US 15,000.00

A painted cloth unfolds a collage of the company's and toy history. A replica of Europe's first traffic light tower is a reminder of the 1920's Berlin - offered as a 'piggy-bank' by Lehmann in the 1920's. On a monitor visitors can view the most beautiful Lehmann (tin) toys in motion . A 2-storied glass cabinet displays LGB trains which can be operated by visitors
by pushing a button; the trains drive through a colorful fantasy world circling the globe symbolically.
When the company went into bankruptcy in 2006 the permanent loan exhibit was part of the court secured assets and their sale was lurking.
It was due to the intense and enduring efforts of Klaus Baumann and inclined friends who established the booster-club for the Museum to save this collection forever for the Museum. Today Klaus Baumann spends a serious amount of his time supporting the booster club and the Museum. His connections secure important donations to the Museum and the Lehmann collection guaranteeing the continuance of this significant exhibition.

Klaus Baumann, 2nd from left, surrounded by his Museum friends