A Rare Beautiful Toy Comes to Bertoia Auctions

Monday, March 3, 2025

Clear Skies but Cold

-14° C / 7° F

A Rare Beautiful Toy  

Comes to Bertoia Auctions

Bertoia Auctions were one of the first toy Auction companies to give me their permission to use their photos and descriptions.  They're a family-run business

of Jeanne Bertoia, Michael her son, and Lauren, her daughter. I am very grateful for their having permitted me to use their fine toys (and excellent photography)

to write blog posts for them and my readers. They've expanded their fine business, and have also joined LiveAuctioneers for their auctions.

Please click on this sentence to redirect to LiveAuctioneers and their auction

Please click on this sentence to go to the Bertoia Auctions website

Description

51. INCREDIBLE ALTHOF BERGMANN HOOD & LADDER

"The rarest of the very few American tin ladder wagons that have turned up

through the years, this piece is a horse drawn example and includes the original

firemen figures, it is the only such example that has come up for sale

to our knowledge, incredibly large hand painted piece has a commanding

presence with the four firemen sitting in swings hung from hooks at the

underside of the wagon, when last sold there were only three figures present

and one was missing his swing. Turns out Curtis Smith had the extra swing 

figures  and one of the men was in fact the driver. When it comes to

museum grade items, this piece is at the top of the list, simply the best.

Provenance: The Schroeder Collection. The Curtis & Linda Smith Collection.

24.5" / 62.23 cm l Original figures and rear gate, one horse expertly re-secured to

hitch and driver's step reattached to an otherwise all original wagon,

(Excellent to Pristine Condition) l $ 12,000  -$ 25,000

Condition

Original figures and rear gate, one horse expertly re-secured to hitch and

dirvers step reattached to an otherwise all original wagon 

(Excellent to Pristine Condition).

I've presented 9 excellently-photographed photograph.

However, if you want toy see more, simply visit either Bertoia Auctions 

site on LiveAuctioneers or their fine website.

So that's it for today. I hope that you enjoyed this 

exceptional and rare toy from a long time ago.

As always, thank you for dropping by,

and have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

My name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman and I can 

always be reached at

toysearcher@gmail.com 

Thursday, February, 22, 2024

2°  Celsius  35° Fahrenheit

Cloud with Rain

What Did You Say That Toy Type Was Called?

I was searching for toys on LiveAuctioneers, when I found an interesting toy being auctioned by Bertoia Auctions. I decided have a look at a toy with a very interesting adjective (descriptive word) titled "perambulate". 

What? I never heard that word before! So I did a search on the Internet, and found this explanation of the word from the Oxford dictionary:

"Walk or travel through or around a place or area, especially for pleasure 

and in a leisurely way"

What also caught my attention was the description of the "Uncle Sam Perambulator"

plus the rarity of the toy.

Below is the Bertoia description for this very rare toy.

"UNCLE SAM PERAMBULATOR | Extremely rare piece, circa 1880, this is believed to be one of only two examples of this early American clockwork toy in existence, until recently this example was the only one known as pictured on page 131 in Blair Whitton's book "American Clockwork Toys" and hailing from the legendary Barenholtz Collection, also pictured in Barenholtz's book "American Tin Toys" page 71. Uncle Sam figure dressed in original red and white striped pants and a blue jacket with long coattails (one coattail is torn), this is as much a toy as a piece of historical Americana. | The Curtis & Linda Smith Collection. | 10" h. | Working, the brim of hat is replaced, (Excellent Condition) | $40,000 - $60,000"*

* in US Dollars

"Circa 1880"

The above caught my eye. 2024 - 1880 = 144 years old! You certainly don't see such an old toy and this type of toy being auctioned off everyday! The bidding on this toy should be interesting. When the auction is finished, you should be able to visit either the Bertoia Auctions website or LiveAuctioneers, and see what the final sold price was.

So that's it for today.

As always,

Have a great part of the day or night wherever you may be.

I can always be reached at 

toysearcher@gmail.com

(Mr.) Stacey Bindman