Simon et Rivollet French die cast penny toy single deck Paris bus manufactured 1905-20

This is part of the Leonard archive collection of penny toys. This toy is one of 500 rare examples in the collection from this iconic Paris toy maker Simon et Rivollet, who produced iconic penny toys from 1890-1920. Some are marked S.R. Depose France. They were also very well known in France for making toy soldiers. Much later they produced iconic French buildings and monuments as tourist items or inkwells thermometers and other novelty pieces.
The toy is less than two inches in length, very fragile in is construction. It has exquisite attention to detail. These were sold by penny street vendors for 1d or one franc. It is a very rare survivor. These toys are rare and not as well known as their tinplate counterparts but are very much just as important to toy history