Thursday, December 20, 2012
The Kansas Toy and Novelty Company
(Revisited)
When I started to buy old toys on E-Bay, the "slush" toys caught my attention. The reason that these toys are called "slush" is the way that they were made. A mould or casting was made that was hollow and had 2 holes (usually oval) at the bottom. Molten (melted) alloys of metal would be poured into the casting, and "swished" around to adhere to the inner surface, and the rest of the alloy would be poured off. The word "swish" or synonymous with "slush. Once the casting and alloy cooled and hardened, the mould would be opened (usually 2 halves) and the toy removed. Later, the toy would be painted.
What I liked about these small toys, usually 3"- 6" in length or 78mm - 152mm) was that they were "crude". If you can find larger-sized images, you'll notice that the workers did not file down the roughened window or other parts. So windows to cars are not always smooth, but may have a rough-edged surface. Also, these toys break easily, especially if the original alloy had impurities in it.
I know because I had one arrive partly broken to my house, and I decided to see just how brittle the metal was. It broke off easier than a piece of chocolate. I wrote about that toy,way back!
I also like them because there were several companies that manufactured these toys,and relatively-speaking they're not as expensive as the larger and more popular toys. Of course, they were painted with lead paint, and they are brittle, and some of the alloys might contain lead!
I often go to Live Auctioneers to screen-capture toy photos because sometimes the companies that allow me to use their fine photos don't keep archives form older auctions. Also, it's easier to do a fast search with the words "Live Auctioneers Slush" on Google. That seems to get me what I want much faster!
I was fortunate to have found a good variety of nice slush toys form the Kansas Toy and Novelty Company through Lloyd ralston Gallery, however many nice other toys were in groups and the photo sizes were too small for nice viewing. However, by all means go to Live Auctioneers to have a view.
(Please click on the address above to be redirected to their great site)
(Please click on the address above to be redirected to their great site)
Thanks for dropping by,
and as always,
have a great part of the day or noght,
wherever you may be.
Stacey
3 comments:
I really like all kinds of antique toys. Where can I buy these antique toy cars?
My mother worked at Kansas Toy & Novelty in Clifton, Kansas, a long time ago.
Hello Woodrow D. Boyster,
Sorry for my being late to answer your question.
You can buy old toys in many places.The first website, where there are lots
of toy sellers is liveauctioneers.com
What you can also do is use a search engine and enter the name of the toy that you are interested in buying.
Then there is ebay that you can visit.
Hope this helps.
Stacey Bindman
writer of this blog
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