A Collector With the Skills of a Detective-Part II

Thursday, December 31, 2015
Seasonal Temperatures

A Collector With the 

Skills of a Detective

(Part II)

   My first post of the day was about Mr. Bruce Jacobs and his fine pair of DP Clark hill climbers. 

This "follow-up" is about 2 other great discoveries - a Dayton  Trick Duck, 1925 with a Gyro Motor, and a Buddy "L" Scarab in pristine condition.

   I've seen the Buddy "L" Scarab, but never in such excellent condition. Bruce had purchased online (On the Internet), and it was in this superb condition. AS for the Dayton Trick Duck (1925), I'd never seen this toy before. For those who don't know, Dayton (Dayton, Ohio, USA) was a mecca for toy production a long time ago. 

   The Scarab was named after a certain type of bisect beetle, and I assume was meant to look somewhat "futuristic". What I always liked about pressed steel toys, of which the Scarab is one, is that toy designers and engineers had to figure out where the cuts in the sheet of metal would be. In this way, they could design a press and mould to contour the toy with as few steps as possible. You can see  where the cuts are, and how easily the toy would be pressed into it's beetle shape with just one step.

Have a look at the wind-up mechanism. That too is in excellent condition, and will last another 90 years. Buddy "L"certainly knew how to make toys way back then!

The Dayton Trick Duck was not described by Bruce. I'm thinking that it is a pull toy, whereby one attaches a string to it, and simply pulls the toy from behind.

What I like about the duck is its' contours around the neck, and the 2 wings on each side of the duck. Whomever designed the toy decided that adding more dimension (3-D) would add that extra attraction to the toy. That certainly works for me, and I wonder how attractive this feature was for parents purchasing the toy for their children.

Bruce's 2 posts certainly are an eclectic (nice mixed grouping) of collectibles, rather than being focussed on any specify category such as cars or boats. Nevertheless, his detective work and more importantly his patience have paid off. The 4 toys are all very old, and in great condition.

So that's it for 2015, and I wish everyone a Healthy and Happy New Year for

2016.

As always, thanks for dropping by,

and have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

A Collector With the Skills of a Detective-Part I

Thursday, December 31, 2015
Seasonal Temperatures with Lots of Snow

A Collector with the Skills of a Detective

(Mr. Bruce Jacobs)

    I have to apologize to all of my readers for not posting, but I've "been in the doldrums". I received several e-mails recently, and that has cheered me up, and I've decided to write a post to end 2015. Since I haven't posted much lately, I thought I'd write a bit more that usual, but try and not detract from Mr. Bruce Jacobs- the focal point of this post.

   We decided to renovate our sunroom in the back of our house. It was poorly built, and freezing cold in winter. My wife Heidi and I live in Montreal,Quebec,Canada. If you've ever been up here in winter, you can appreciate what cold is. If I could package the cold and sell it, you'd know what cold is. Anyway, our 6 month project took 2 years, and as we were doing that project (the sunroom), we had to do another project - plumbing in the garage and downstairs bathroom. I'm sure anyone doing renovations will understand why I could be in the doldrums, especially when 1 project leads to another (lots of expense), and the project takes 2 years to finish!

  But I digress, and so back to the main focus - Mr. Bruce Jacobs. Bruce sent me a fabulous pair of old toy photos, one of them being a #10 D P Clark 1905 antique car with driver and passengers.  That's 110 years old! My large grandmother Lily (on my mother's side) was a mere 5 years old at the time!

  For a toy made of metal and wood, this certainly is a terrific find. What I find interesting is that Bruce knows his toys, judging from his description of the 1905 Hillclimber, and the other one that you'll find below. The  "other" hillclimber is a #2 D P Clark 1903 Hillclimber.  For toys so old, you certainly have to have a strong desire and ardor to know your toys!

For those who don't know, a hill climber is a toy with a self-winding motor. You move the toy along the ground, and a large wheel builds up rotational speed. When you release the toy, the toy has lots of residual power, and will easily go up steep grades (angles) of any sidewalk or road, hence the term "hill-climber".

The excellent photos that Bruce took certainly illustrate the fine condition that this toy is in, and I'm sure the self-winding motor still works.

 I like the 2 small boys with their sailor hats. They remind me of a fairy tale or story about a pair of twin boys. Of course, I can't remember the tale.

Bruce wrote to also say that "he was still searching for the woman passenger for these cars".

You certainly don't get to be a collector at this level, without knowing your toys -  the skills of a detective on a case!

So as the year 2015 ends, I'd like to wish everyone a Healthy and Happy New Year, with only good things to be for the new year.  To date, I've had 342,044 page views for my blog and counting. The numbers certainly won't break any records, but to each and every one who has visited, I'd like to thank you for visiting. 

And to those who have written and volunteered to be on my blog - an extra thanks.

I can tell you that at age 67, the time certainly "flies". It was just yesterday (about 4 years ago) that I started to write this blog.

I don't where where the time has gone!

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always,

have a great time of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

Toy Parts & Decals

Thursday, December 10, 2015
Overcast, raining, and very mild temperatures

Toy Parts & Decals

(Rick's Toybox)

   A few days ago, I was revisiting ebay when I came across some nice vintage reproductions of toy decals. A decal is a transfer that you place on a toy. It will contain the name of the toy, or the name of a fictitious name of a company. I browed the seller's  ebay store, and decided to contact him.  The name of the store is Rick's Toybox, and I assume that Rick is the owner. I didn't get Rick's family name, but will write him for that.

Please click here too visit Rick's Toybox site on ebay

A nice pair of Wyandotte (USA) wooden wheels for a truck 

A nice replacement grille for an International Harvester truck 

made by the Buddy L toy company

(below)

Above

Doepke Highliner Scraper Declas

(Below)

Wyandotte Stickers for the Timberland Truck 

(Above)

A vintage Kingsbury Delivery Van Grocery truck.

Painted oppressed steel, with wind-up mechanism for movement

(Above)

The famous patented Kingsbury wind-up mechanism, with the brake stopper to the left.

Kingsbury is the only toy company too have developed and patented this mechanism, and it was added to their toys for a long time.

   I've never seen the above Kingsbury truck, so I was fortunate to have found Rick's Toybox on 

ebay. When I ways buying and selling toys on ebay, I'd occasionally purchase toy parts for toys that were broken. I wrote several posts on how to repaint and fix toys. Also, some of the toys were missing parts. 

  Thankfully, there are companies such as Rick's Toybox, that are available for people who like to restore toys. In this case, you could even purchase a nice vintage truck such as the one above.

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey Bindman,

toysearcher@gmail.com

A Lincoln Toy Dealer from Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada)

Wednesday, December 9, 2015
             Cloudy and warmer than usual

A Lincoln Toy Dealer

from Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada)

    I'll be adding a few posts at this time after my recent visit to ebay. I was just browsing when I found today's post about Mr. Justin Garychuck. Justin is from a province that is located 2 provinces to the west of my province - Quebec. For those who don't know, Manitoba is part of the "Prairie Provinces", so named because it, along with Saskatchewan and and Alberta were located on flat and fertile plains. These plains were great for growing grain, and thus the 3 provinces became known as "The Prairies". The "downside", if there is any,  is that the prairies are big and flat, so driving across Canada is not the most interesting. Many people will take cross the border to the USA, and drive west through the American west. 

   Below is Justin's reply to my request to post several of his fine Lincoln toys up for sale on ebay.

Hey, thanks for contacting me, yes if you would like to use the Lincoln Coca Cola Truck in your blog, go right ahead, and check my listings for other old toys, because I have more Lincoln trucks as well as older rare tin and pressed steel toys that you may be interested in.  
And my name is Justin Garychuk and I am a 20 year old antique and collectible dealer
I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and have been in the business for a few years now, always enjoyed buying and selling old advertising, oil and gas related items as well as older tin and steel toys. Never thought I'd be in the business I am in because I am so young, but everyday you never know what you are going to find and what old item you are going to dig up from the past.
Send me a message when the blog post is up
Thanks!
-Justin
Cool Caddy

Please click here too visit Mr. Justin Garychuk's fine ebay store

Description:

Vintage Original Lincoln Pressed Steel Toy Coca Cola Truck Canadian Advertising

with Original Crate Cover

Description:

Vintage Original Lincoln Toys Pressed Steel Toy Wrecker 

with Dunlop Tires and Advertising

From a local estate, this hard to find Lincoln Toys Dunlop Tow Truck was produced in Windsor, Ontario, Canada circa late 1940s. In very good used condition considering its age. The truck is 13" inches in length, by 4 inches wide and 5 inches tall at the cab and 6" at the top of the boom.The truck is showing some paint wear on it, also this truck has original decals on it all, unsure if the cable and the hook is original, none the less it is fully functional.

I seldom write about 1950 toys, since my original plan was pre-1940 and true 100 year old toys. However, the Nylint crane (below) was a very fine toy, and I decided to add it to Justin's first post.

Description:

Vintage Nylint Michigan Crane Truck Model T-24 Clark Equipment Pressed Steel Truck

Super nice Truck Mounted Crane with all original wheels and parts, the steering wheel in the cab when turned actually turns the front wheels!. 

100% original. 

Nylint Clark Equipment Michigan Model T-24 crane.

This construction truck is untouched and in good condition for its age (1950s). 

Functional steering.

Slide out stabilizers on the back end, swivel crane works.

Yellow and blue.

The crane is missing the rigging, easy enough to make or buy!

This is a heavy duty large toy.

   What's interesting about Justin's ebay store is that he sells all kinds of interesting merchandise besides toys.  I keep saying to myself that if I had more time, I'd probably have several more blogs just about antiques and other collectibles. You'll have to venture over to Justin's  ebay store to have a look - and for sure, you won't be disappointed! 

Thanks for dropping by to visit,

and as always,

haste a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

Non-Toy Mechanical Banks (More from the Clive Devenish Collection)

Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Clear skies and warmer

Non-Toy Mechanical Banks
(More from the Clive Devenish Collection)

   I'm continuing to write above Mr. Clive Devenish's outstanding collection of mechanical banks. 

Included in hide collection that was auction through Bertoia Auctions were several "non-toy" mechanical cast iron banks. At the time (1890's-1930's), millions upon millions of these mechanical banks were manufactured. However, there were also the non-toy banks for adults, and these were made in large numbers. 

You have to remember that coinage (pocket change) had value at those times.As an example,A penny could buy you a handful of candy, or have you send a letter. Today, our poor Canadian penny is gone - the government decided it had no value! And to mail a letter costs $ 1.15. I remember a bag of potato chips in 1956 was 5 cents, a pack of bubble gum cards was also 5 cents, and a bus ticket was 9 cents for a child (or was it for an adult).  4 ounces of smoked salmon were 50 cents, and a haircut was about $2.00 plus the tip. So imagine what these items were in 1890-1930!

  Fortunately, Clive Devenish also liked to collect valued non-toy mechanical banks, and I decided to present 3 for toddy's post.

Please click here to visit this fine American auction company

ATLAS MECHANICAL BANK
Mfg. Unknown, circa 1890’s, mixed mediums make up this well designed bank Atlas displayed in strength pose holding up the world made of lithographed paper. Slide the lever to the left, exposing coin slot, insert coin, release lever and the globe spins counter-clockwise for several revolutions. Provenance: Tim Walsh Collection Minimal paper loss to top of globe, otherwise (Pristine Cond.)

What makes the Atlas bank so fascination is the exceptional casting of Atlas and his muscles. Toy can see every anatomical muscle on his torso.

GEM REGISTERING MECHANICAL BANK
J&E Stevens Co., Cromwell CT, cast iron with paper register, patented 1893 Intricate side dial allows coin removal when full, heavily embossed floral patterns in nice contrasting gold bronze colors, one of the finest specimens known. Coin deposit involves turning side wheel clockwise then back again. Provenance: Hall Henry Collection through Millie Henry by Descent. 

 (Near Mint Cond.)

Once again, we see the exceptional details from the original casting. For those who don't know, most of the cast iron toy companies and mechanical banks companies had lots of very gifted Europeans who were new immigrants to the USA.  These people got jobs in the foundries making hardware for houses (door handles and knobs, hinges), as well as mechanical banks and toys.

 MUSICAL SAVINGS MECHANICAL BANK (REGINA)

Regina Music Box Corp., NJ, circa 1900, ornate wood case with tin scrolls Scrolls at corners with twenty discs and certificate of shipment from 1900, works well, quite an attractive piece. Upon coin deposit a tune is played on changeable discs. Provenance: Wally Tudor, Steven Steckbeck Collections. (Near Mint Cond.)

Of course, if you're over 60 years old or "young",you'd immediately recognize how the is bank made music. Inside the banks are tunes (like a fork) . They are different lengths, and were punched  from a metal plate. As the musical disk rotates, the tunes fall into the slots, and make music in the form of notes. Different lengths create different notes. When all of the notes are played in sequence, you get a melody.

What I like about this bank is the large metal plaque that was screwed into the back portion of the bank. When my wife, Heidi and I, moved to our home in 1992, the sidewalks had a brass  maple leaf

embedded in the sidewalk. It was from the construction company, who took pride in their work,and of course advertised. I always regretted not hammering out the "souvenir", when the sidewalks were replaced. The sidewalks that replaced the original sidewalks are now cracked and have lots of missing parts from the tractors that clear snow in winter. However, the original sidewalks that I remember didn't seem to even need replacement.

Of course, I'm sure that embedded brass maple leaf with the name of the manufacture got my attention more than the sidewalks!

Thanks for dropping by,

'and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

Tootsietoy Furniture

Sunday, November 22, 2015
      Partly sunny and seasonally cold.

Tootsietoy Furniture

   The Tootsietoy Company manufactured the best small toys at the time in the United States. They are my favourite small toys, and were die cast. However, the company also manufactured miniature furniture for children to play with. These too were die case. In the upcoming Lloyd Ralston Gallery auction (December 5, 2015), there is a fine collection of 8 small boxed sets of miniature furniture.

Please click here to visit this fine American auction company

I would think that most of the furniture sets were manufactured about the same time. However, I have no references to corroborate (substantiate) this statement. THe kitchen sets allow me to date the toys, so long as the toys were made at the same timeas the real life-size furniture. 

If you knew American furniture and American upholstery patterns and their history, I'm sure you could date the period of these toys. I would say (based solely on the kitchen furniture) that these sets were manufactured around the late 1920's and early 1930's.

The light stands are certainly old from the first quarter of the 20th century.

The kitchen stove and countertops definitely are late 1920's-early 1930's. Also, the "icebox" in the lower right corner helps to date the furniture. The electric refrigerator did not come along yet, and was invented later. Of course, toys could in fact be manufactured at a later date, but provided a "retro" look for children wanting an "older" play set. The kitchen sink with its' side preparation side certainly again was an early design. The kitchen sink in North America did not change until the later 1940's and progressively later into the 1950's.

What's interesting about the set below is that the insert could be removed. The insert shown is the wooden floor and the blue and yellow patterned carpet.

There is no reference to the size of the furniture, but if the sets are similar in size to the Tootsietoy cars and trucks of the era, then the chairs are about 2" (50.88 mm) high, and the above table is about 4"  (101 mm) wide).

What I'd like to know is whether or not there were Tootsie miniature people to go along with see wonderful room furniture sets. It would be interesting to see how the designers created different characters for the play people, as well as their clothing.

Whomever had collected these 8 sets certainly was highly motivated to collect them, and was certainly interested.

Addendum:

I was able to actually find 2 furniture pages in a reproduction catalogue reissued by Noble House of Mundelein, Illinois (USA) in 1989.

Below are the 3 pages (catalogue face cover, the page of furniture illustrations, and the page of descriptions and catalogue numbers. The catalogue is from 1933.

My date "guesses (please read at the beginning) estimated the toys having been manufactured from the late-1920's - mid 1930's. I was "close". However, the screen-captured LLoyd ralsotn photos have the box cores,. These box covers are an earlier "style" and design as far as the style and type go. Therefore, I wouldn;lt be surprised if the 1933 catalogue was updated, even though the toys continued to be made and were made originally in the late 1920's.

Such is the value of having original catalogues or reproductions.-

they always help with the identity of toys.

Thanks for dropping by on this day,

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com