Not Yet Seen Toys from Copake Auctions

Sunday, May 31, 2015
Very Cold and Cloudy
 9C or 48 F

Not Yet Seen Toys from Copake Auctions Inc.

  It was a great day to write today. Yesterday was 31 C ( 88 F), and today it's freezing  (9C or 48 F).  Of course, I can't complain. The other day, it was 47 C (116.6F) in India.

Whenever I finish a post ,I will write to the contact person at a company or the person from whom I had the permission to post and of course use their photos. Since I'm returning again to write after a 5 month hiatus (rest break), I wrote to Copake Auctions Inc. and specifically to Mr. James Thompson. James is the  website/technology, marketing & media person at Copake Auctions Inc. That's certainly a big title and lots of responsibility. I like to ask the person that I contacted just to proofread the post for anything that he or she might like me to change, add, remove, or edit. James thanked me, and provided me with an address for a search on Copake Auctions Inc. for "toy- 2006-present".

   Of course, I'd written about Copake Auction Inc.'s toys before, but it didn't hurt to take a look at what James Thompson had sent me. No sooner had I  looked at the first 2 pages of 10 (total 466 toys), did I select 4 toys that I had not seen before. Actually 1 was a "mascot" for RCA. 

Please click here to visit Copake Auction Inc.'s start page

Please click here to visit the search results for "toy-2006-present)

Below is a nice articulating horse with a Sheffield Farms Company milk wagon. I don't see a string, but the toy look like a "pull toy". There's no date provided for the toy, but it appears top be early 20th century or slightly later.

The photography is very good, and I especially like the wide-angle close pup of the roof of the wagon. That illustrates the roof quite well, and shows you the iron step for the milkman to step up to the wagon.

Here's something that I had not known before - another RCA figure - RCA Radiotrons.

Everybody who is older that 60 certainly know the most famous  RCA Mascot. 

Hint: He is a dog

Answer: Nipper

Answer:

 Here's another discovery for me-another articulated toy with a horse and buggy.

I think that this is also another pull toy. I selected this because of its' realism, that reminds me of those travelling salesman samples.

And here's yet one more "discovery". I think I've mentioned or posted a toy from "Oh Boy", but not this one. It's quite large for a toy, and certainly illustrates the early types of car racers that it was modelled after.

This post was certainly an "eye-opener".  I was able to find 4 new toys that I had not seen before in a matter of a few minutes, and the fun of it was that I found them on an exceptional auctioneer's website whose specially is antique bicycles, but of course sells other merchandise.

As the expression goes "leave no stone unturned"…..

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 

The Early Toy Cars from Europe

Friday, May 29, 2015
Sunny and warm

The Early Toy Cars From Europe

  

  One of my favourite genre of toys is the early European toy cars. These were mostly modelled  after the "ritzy" cars of the time. Elegant , big and long, the exemplified the cars that only the rich could possess at the time. I happened to revisit Morphy Auctions, another of the fine people who have helped me out with my writing. There are plenty of nice items for sale, but my eye caught these elegant toys.

Please click here to visit this fine American auctioneer

  Mr. Dan Morphy has expanded his company through hard work and through the acquisition of another auction company.  He now auctions off old cars, and I'm going to write to ask if I might use some of the car photos. If I can find old cars, it would be great to match them up with old toys.

I always like the free-standing headlights on these cars.m Also, notice that the sun visor is on the outside of the car, rather than on the inside. If you look to the front of the driver, you can also see a searchlight.

There are no headlights on this car! Also, have a look at the large number of air vents on the side of the hood. What also amazes me is that for the European toys of the time (1920's-1930's), the Europeans had established a quality process of lithography.  If you compare many of the American toys of the time, most are cast iron.

I like the driver and those "balloon tires. And notice how the driver in the above 2 cars is on the right hand side of the car, unlike American cars which were on the left.

I once purchases a Kingsbury car solely for it's battery -operated headlights. I had to do minor repairs to get the lights to work. Having a toy with headlights must have been extra fun for kids of the time.

What I noticed discovered yesterday after 60 years (I'm, 66), is that a car trunk as we know it today was based on a real steamer trunk. A steamer trunk was used for people who travelled on ships. It was large and people would take a month's worth of clothing, portable vanity  mirrors that would stand on a table, personal ink pens and stationary for writing, and all kinds of toiletries and sundries.

Not only were these cars long, but the engine compartment and the engine block were also.Just look at the photos, and you'll see just how large the engine compared with the car and passenger compartment was.

The first and last cars were also wind-up cars.

That's it for today. However, please venture over to the Morphy Auctions website. There are lots more of these early European toy cars to enjoy looking at.  I've been busy with taking car of my lawn, planting herbs and vegetables in my leased municipal "mini" garden plot, and  walking our dog Buddy more. He's turning 14  in June, and I'm trying to keep him in good shape. He's a poodle, and that's him when you visit my opening page of my blog. 

He's starting to show signs of old age (just like me). He's wary of walking dow the stairs to the den, and yelps four his "personal carrier" when he wants to join me. Also, he recently had to have teeth removed since they were loose - a sign of age and not enough toothbrushing on our part.

My wife Heidi feels that since Buddy's dental operation, Buddy is more spunky and has a lot more energy. Of course, the miserable long winter didn't help. Most of the time, both Buddy and myself were not in the mood to go for walks outside in the minus zero record breaking cold February.

Buddy still has some carryover symptoms of the operation, and we're going back to the vet to see what can be done. He seems to be in anguish (feeling pain), and constantly paws his face. I'm thinking there might be some residual nerve pain from the operation.

Thanks for dropping by,

and always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com 

One of the Best Bicycle Auctioneers in the U.S.A.

Wednesday, May  27, 2015
Partly cloudy and 20 C. at 5:30 a.m.

One of the Best  Bicycle Auctioneers in the U.S.A.

   When I first started this blog some 4 years ago, I was writing about hand-held toys. One day, the reason of which I can't remember, I think Idid a search for antique bicycles, and  came upon Copake Auctions Inc.. If you've read my blog before, you'll know that I like details in all kinds of things. So when I came upon  Copake Auctions Inc., this was a major discovery. I'd never seen so many old and antique bicycles before, in so many different designs, styles, and from different times.  My newfound discovery was in fact one of those "Eureka moments".  I naturally had to write the company and write about them. 

Please click here to visit this exceptional company

What makes Copake Auctions Inc. so great is the unbelievable of bicycles that come through their place. I never even knew that there were so many different types of bicycles. When I look at these bicycles, I think about what made America so great. So many different people from all over the world coming to America. for a new life. In the bicycles I see what America was and still is.

Below is a  nicely-crafted head lamp. What's interring is that the lens had a green colour. I'm not sure pif the lamp was illuminated from a flammable fuel. The holes in the  stack above the lamp body look like small air vents to vent out the heat and fumes.

This "Spacelander" was designed by Mr. Benjamin Bowden. 

He would eventually go on tho work for General Motors and design the Corvette. 

That says it all!

In you do a search for "Montreal potholes",  you'll be able to read a lot about the state of our fine city. The roads here in Montreal are true "Boneshakers", with no disrespect to this fine bicycle from the past!

I like the simplicity of this bicycle and the red wheels that most certainly stand out!

Now here's something I've never seen before- punched out shapes in the seat (saddle) of a bicycle. 

With a metallic seat like that, I'm sure the "pain in the butt" was no exaggeration after an hour of riding on the non-paved roads at the time!

Once again, the details and the design caught my eye.

The saddle (seat) spring is fantastic! The handgrips.the levers on the bicycle, the wooden rims, all combine to present a real beauty!

About 10 years ago, I started to notice that the latest "fad" in bicycles for a certain types of cyclists was the single gear bike.  As you know, I do ride a 12-speed racer to keep in shape. 

If I was 30 years younger and in great shape, you can be sure I'd be raving one of these  Elliot Hicokory bikes around the city - a real "show stopper". Of course, I'd be showing off the bike!

I haven't even "touched the surface" today in presenting to you Copake Auctions Inc.  If

you have the time and like details and bicycles and history, this is the place to visit. Of course, they also auction other merchandise as well,but for me, it's the bicycles that I never tire of.

Thanks for dropping by to visit,

and as always, 

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

James D. Julia's Upcoming Auction

   Saturday, May 23, 2015
             Sunny but very cold
3 degrees C or  37.4 degrees Fahrenheit

James D Julia's 

Upcoming Spring Auction

   This week, I received an e-mail from the James D. Julia people up in Maine. They're having a very nice auction coming up on June 19th. It's still spring until  June 21, of this year, where upon the days get shorter. If you told me this today, I'd say : what? It's 3C or 37.4 F today - it's going to be summer in 29 days!!!!! It's been a very cold winter up here in Montreal, Quebec (Canada).  In a stage way though, as soon as May 1 came, it's as if a large heater was turned on, and the 54 foot piles of snow on my front and side lawns melted in a week. Now my grass is nice and green!

   Getting back to the topic of auctions, I ventured over to the James D. Julia site, and came across a very noise grouping of early American tin toys. I just started to return to writing again after a long hiatus (break). I recently wrote about a George Brown toy that someone wanted to see if I had a photo of. It's of the Excelsior steamboat of Beorge Brown. I couldn't find any, so if you've ever seen a photo or know where I can find one, please tell me.

   The James D. Julia Inc. auction has a fine collection of toys. However the highlight happens to be an excellent collection of  early American toys from the late Mr. Laurence Hapgood.  These include pressed steel, cast iron, and of course early American tin toys. I decided to present the tin toys since it's "rare" that you find so many nice ones in one auction. As an aside, if you ever want to see what are called  "salesman's samples", I would highly recommend searching on the Julia site. I had never heard of this category of collectible, but when I first saw these items, I was taken aback.   I won't say more (not even what a salesman's sample is)! You absolutely, positively have to viust the Juia website and discover them for yourself!

Please click here to visit the James D. Julia website

When you arrive at the Julia website, you will see other categories of items for sale, besides toys. What you will also notice is excellent descriptions and excellent photography. Also, the photos are very large  and can even be magnified. If you're looking for detail, this is the place to see detail!

The Ives toy company is known for early toy model trains on rails. However, the one below is quite early, and I didn't know that the Ives company started so early. I would think this one is from the late 1800's.

What I'm always amazed at  about American toys is that toys manufactured from different manufacturers could resemble each other so closely. I always like to contrast this with a lawsuit that Apple took against Samsung for copyright infringement. The lawsuit was extremely long in it's content of infringements. One of the listed items in the lawsuit was for Samsung having "infringed" on Apple's rounded corners on their IPhone.   I won't say any more than this.

If you take a closer look at the Ives locomotive (above) and the Althouf Bergman locomotive below, you will in fact see many almost similar features that the 2 different toys possess.

What immediately catches my eye on the  toy below is all those perforations on the perimeter of the wagon. What I'd like to know is if this was done by hans or perhaps by a press. And if a press perforated the hole,  then the press and the dye to cut the perforations would make for a great collectible.

Most of you (my readers) would not notice the slightly different camera angle in the photo below compared with the other images presented today. However, being a professional photographer myself,  I noticed this immediately.  The lower camera angle helps to accentuate the wheels and the horses better than a higher camera angle. It's a small detail, bout important nevertheless.

The James D. Julia Auction Inc. company has great photographers. One of my favourite categories is their gun division. If you want to see photography at its best for merchandise going to auction, their gun division manifests this in the best way! 

What I find most interesting in the Hull & Stafford toy below is that part of it is made of wood. This is interesting because for a wood toy to have lasted so long and in this condition (

 Once again, notice the slight difference in the camera height and angle in the pair of photos below.

I like the early tin toys because of their simplicity. They remind me of American "Naive Art" and early American toys that were made by local people and not companies.

I've seen the toy below before, but what caught my eye here was the fact the the James D. Julia Inc. company knew it was a "Dexter" horse. I didn't know that!

What's interesting about the  Fallows elephant toy below is that it moves via a sliding mechanism . It's a "pull toy" I assume there is some form go gearing mechanism that  moves the elephant back and forth and causes it to move up and down and forward sand backward.

Notice:  I have to apologize to everyone. As I was writing this post, I noticed that the "cut and paste" description that I took from the Julia website is blurred at normal view. Normally I type everything by hand, but (no excuses), I was tired today, and took "a short cut".

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

Invaluable Contacts Me

Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Sunny and very cold

Invaluable Contacts Me

   I'm always amazed when coincidences happen. Perhaps I'm just aware more of them, but I seem to always have them. What happened about 2 weeks ago is that I was checking out  many people, and auctioneers,  who have helped me out in the past. One of the these companies is Stout Auctions.  

Stout Auctions promotes themselves as "America's premier auction house for Lionel, American Flyer, Ives, MTH, and other scale and toy trains".  The company had granted me permission to write about them a few years ago, and this week, they were on my mind, since I am returning to writing once more on my blog.

  The "coincidence" was that I received an e-mail from a very popular auction Internet company that Stout Auctions happens to use. The name of the company is Invaluable.  Mr. Sam Harding, from  Invaluable had written to ask if I might  announce the Stout Auctions and  select some noteworthy lots. I wrote back to Sam that I would for sure. Stout  Auctions had been very kind to let me use their photos, and I would be happy to help out. What I like about Stout , is that they photograph their items very well. This helps to provide viewers and potential bidders with nice images to see.

 Invaluable

Please click here to visit Invaluable's website

Please click here to visit Stout Auctions

Sam Harding, from  Invaluable wrote that the  auction would be  on May 15, 16, and 30 of 2015.  Sam write the following below for me to mention to you, my readers.

"Stout Auctions is proud to offer for auction an outstanding and diverse selection of trains, accessories, catalogs, books, parts and Railroadiana from various estates and private collections.

The first portion of this sale will feature a large selection Lionel modern era, TCA convention and Museum trains, Williams, MTH, K-Line and Right of Way Industries. Included with the modern era will be a large selection of original parts in bulk. The next section will feature Lionel prewar Standard and O gauge highlighted by 800 and 2800 freight cars and 1100 Mickey Mouse handcar.

The next portion will be Lionel Postwar showcased by F3 diesels including; 2355 Western Pacific, 2343 Santa Fe and 2356 Southern ABA, 2340 GG1, 2332 GG1, 2139W boxed freight set, large quantities of Super O track and Disney phonographs. There will be American Flyer S gauge trains and accessories highlighted by a K5210W freight set in original boxes. There will be HO scale including Tyco and Bachman.

The last 200 lots will consist of G gauge trains featuring LGB and Aristo-Craft.

This sale offers a fantastic diversity with all levels of collecting represented, from MINT in the box to bargain operator/fixer upper lots. Plan to attend in our comfortable and well-lighted auction gallery."

3. Some samples from the Postwar lots