Antonio Vitali

Antonio Vitali (1909–2008) was a Swiss toy designer and maker known for creating handmade wooden toys. In addition to his own workshop in Zurich, Switzerland, he also had a long relationship as toy designer with the U.S. toy company, Creative Playthings.

Antonio Vitali was born in 1909 to middle class Italian & Swiss parents. He studied under the well-known Swiss sculptor, Otto Münch, and at the Bauhaus-inspired Zurich School of the Applied Arts (Kunstgewerbeschule) in the late-1920s. After living the Bohemian artist's life and studying at private art academies in Paris in the 1930s, he moved back to Bern, Switzerland to enter the Swiss army. During this time, he migrated from the life of a sculptor to that of a professional photographer. It was only in 1938 that Vitali revisited his dream of living independently as a sculptor. The outbreak of the Second World War caused Vitali to be drafted into the Swiss Army; however, he was fortunate as he was able to serve near his home in Gütighausen, guarding the bridge over the river Thur. This dark cloud did reveal a silver lining as this left him with enough time to design furniture for a local carpenter's shop, as well as make toys for his own children. As a result of a chance encounter with the owner of a workshop in Zurich, "Werkstube Zurich," He was offered a job, and in 1942, Vitali moved with his small family to Zurich. At the Werkstube, he did not earn enough money to support his family and decided to turn his hobby into a job, designing and producing toys.