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Ideal (Jdeal) Bleifiguren-Formen

This is the German Company not the American Ideal Toy Company. It is sometimes referred to a Jdeal however this is more a function of the German to english transcription of the German language catalogs where the I in the company name looks like a J in the catalogs. note how "JDEAL" "DGRM" and the model number are present.

Many company records were lost during the bombing of Leipzig in 1943. However, using commercial registries and trade catalogs, it appears that Ideal (Jdeal) Bleifiguren-Formen began Production around 1924-1928. The earliest trade mentions of the stylized "Jdeal" branding begin appearing in Leipzig toy guild records around this time. By 1930 the company was fully established and had published its first major "Main Catalog," which featured the core of the military and civilian series that collectors recognize today.
Peak Operation was between 1933–1939. This was the company's "Golden Age." During the mid-30s, they expanded their range to include massive dioramas, artillery, and contemporary German political/military figures. Their factory address in Leipzig (often listed as Leipzig S 3) was a hub of activity until the outbreak of World War II.

The end of the company occurred in two stages—one physical and one political. In 1942 production of toy molds was classified as "non-essential". Many factories in Leipzig were either converted to munitions work or destroyed during the Allied air raids on the city's industrial districts in December 1943. After the war, Leipzig fell into the Soviet Zone. Most private metalworking firms were officially dissolved or absorbed into the VEB (Volkseigener Betrieb) system between 1946 and 1948. After the war, while some molds were produced using the old "Jdeal" stocks into the early 1950s to satisfy local demand, the independent company "Ideal Bleifiguren-Formen" effectively ceased to exist as a private entity by 1948.

From the 1950s onward if you find molds that look like Ideal but lack the "JDEAL" stamp or have different handles, they are likely post-war copies produced by the East German state-owned toy combines (like VEB Prefo) which continued using the old designs until the 1960s. These copies are frequently quite inferior to the original Ideal moulds.

	Ideal mould 303. Note that the back of one of the halves contains not only the Brand "Ideal" but also the mold number (303) and DRGM. You can see even the back of the mould is cleaner and sharper than the knock off below.
	This is an example of a clone of an original Ideal Mould note how brand, number and patent markings are missing. Also compare the detail between these images to the original Ideal mould and the genuine Ideal mold directly above it. Mould in general is not as crisp, and details are not as sharp.