Our performing tin lithograph dog with cane is marked Made in US Zone Germany and therefore dates from 1945 – 1952. Immediately following World War II, the future nation of West Germany was partitioned into British, French and American occupation zones. The U.S. zone, largely comprising the southern states of Hesse and Bavaria, included the city of Nuremberg with its 600-year history of toy-making. Prior to the first World War, the area was famous for producing some of the finest tin lithograph and mechanical toys in the world. After World War II, the U.S. – interested in jump-starting the West German economy – revitalized the toy industry, often buying entire production runs for purchase by Occupation Army families as well as for sales in the American market. With the departure of the armies of occupation in the early 1950s, such toys began to be marked, Made in West Germany. Despite the war’s spoliation, these simple toys exhibit all the charm, fine printing on tin and mechanical ingenuity for which the Nuremberg area had been famous. Condition: Excellent. Key may have been replaced. Dimensions: Approx 3".