"Promo" models are almost as old as the automobile. The first ones were produced by CR of France in around 1905 and were very small, cast in lead, and were generic. The children of full-size car owners would obtain them from the car manufacturers well before there were car retailers.
In the USA, Ford was the first manufacturer to offer "promos" in the form of lead-cast Model T in tourer and truck form, made for them by the Dowst Manufacturing Company of Chicago under the name "Tootsietoy".
After the first world war, Tootsietoy continued the practice and supplied Ford with a new Model A in special small boxes, then the Graham-Paige company with a 1932 "Beavertail" sedan painted in a special metallic rose, set in a red box marked "The New Graham":
In France, the AR company manufactured superb lead-cast models for Peugeot. First the 201 roadster, then 301 sedan in several versions, one marked on its roof "Independent Front Wheels Peugeot" (in French of course). Below are two of the most commonly found, the 1934 "201":
And some 1935 "301":
And one marked on its roof, promoting the independent front suspension:
Later they made superb models of the 1937 402 "Fuseau Sochaux" coupe, a very rare "302" and a "402" limousine, as well as a "601" Coach. The rarest is a model of the Darl'Mat roadster with "Le Mans 1938" on its trunk. These are very rare models today and are seen in very few collections. Here is a 1936 "601" next to a very scarce 1938 "302" sedan":
In the same manner, the Citroen and Renault car companies had a company named JRD and another called CIJ make promo models for them, the Citroen large tinplate toys being truly magnificent. Citroen also had some lead-cast smaller toys that were available at their agencies as freebies for kids or for purchase.
Here are some of the 1922 Citroen B12, of which there were six different models, all in the approximately 1/32 scale:
In the early 1930's as the depression was generalized, lead became a bit too expensive for some of these and JRD made such toys for Citroen using a mixture of plaster and flour, a resin that actually survived the time better than similar attempts in the USA in rubber. Below are two Citroen "Rosalie" record cars with a little decal of the Citroen emblem, a swan swimming on a lake made of chevron-shaped gears...
After the second world war, the practice continued mostly in the UK with Tri-Ang company and Victory Industries company for Austin, MG, Standard and other makes, but it is in the USA that this really became big and is still today a large segment of the business for several toy-making companies now regrouped under Ertl, Monogram-Revell... There were Jo-Han, AMT, Revell, MPC and others competing for the business. Early AMT cars had friction motors in a tin base, with duo-tone plastic bodies in the 1/24 scale. They even made several "Euro" cars, the Renault Dauphine being a common example.
There is only a future of course if we are to have surviving car companies after the current mess.
Regards,
T54