The details and charm were added with colorful lithographic labels. Early toys were made of heavy steel parts and ponderosa pine, which resisted splintering and held up well to heavy use. Fisher-Price's fundamental toy-making principles centered on intrinsic play value, ingenuity, strong construction, good value for the money, and action. Price had retired from a major variety chain store, and Helen Schelle previously operated Penny Walker Toy Shop in Binghamton, New York. Fisher worked previously in manufacturing, selling and advertising games for a company in Churchville, New York. Founded in 1930 during the Great Depression by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Price's illustrator-artist wife Margaret Evans Price, and Helen Schelle, the name Fisher-Price was established by combining two of the three names.
