Pre-WWII Toy Airplanes - Part I

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Pre-WWII Toy Airplanes

(Part I)

  I had my eyes on some interesting toy airplanes earlier in the week, but I haven't received the go -ahead to use the photos. So I decided to use some of my most reliable and best resources - several  fine North American auctioneers. I decided to start with Morphy Auctions today, and continue tomorrow with Bertoia Auctions.  I always give exclusivity for each post to only 1 person, company or auctioneer, but I've never had a continuity of posts with 2 different auctioneers. Of course, I was able to find lots of fine toys from both. I was looking just for tin-made airplanes, but  ended up with other metals as well.

Please click here to visit Dan Morphy's fine website

To find a model in such great condition with its original box is certainly rare, hence the price of the item at the final gavel hit at auction.

The item above is  a biscuit tin. Imagine that these beautiful tins were filled with biscuits and were given as an "incentive" to purchase the particular brand.

This was a most-interesting discovery. An airplane that came with a hanger, and an internal mechanism to propel the airplane forward.

This was also another "discovery" for me - an airplane that came with electric lights.

Both of the above airplanes (French and German) have similar characteristics. They both have key-wound movement mechanisms, and both would have come in 2 parts. The wings would fit into the top of the fuselage, and the then locked in place. You can see the small knobs on top of both airplanes.

I'm always amazed that you can find such nice old toys in.such great condition. Also, I probably could spend the entire year just writing about the fine auctioneers that have granted me their permission to use their photos and descriptions.

Fantastic!

Thanks for dropping by,

and have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

An Extremely Rare Britains Airplane

Friday, February 22, 2013

An Extremely Rare Britains' Airplane

http://www.morphyauctions.com

(Please click to visit  the Morphy Auctions Webesite)

     I only learned about the British Brand "Britains" about 2 months ago. I had always wanted to write about lead soldiers, and thus Mr. James Opies from  Bonhams (the historic British Auction House) was able to assist me.  However, I didn't realize that Britains had also manufactured other items aside from their famous small lead model soldiers.

   Today, I wanted to write about "older" toys,and thus went searching onLive Auctioneers,and there was the image that I wanted - a beautifully sculpted  toy airplane from 1936. When you look on LiveAuctioneers on any page, the writing is small. Thus, I did not see the description of this listing until I started to scree-capture the images. I must be honest and admit that 1 of the parameters of the search was price, and thus I was looking for a higher-priced finish bid.

    From the written description by Morphy Auctions, this extremely-rate toy airplane wasonly made  in 1936, and there are barely a handful of them left. Moreover, this particular one comes with its box! THis one is so rare, that i t was even described in a book by the author  Geoffrey Randolph titles "Collecting Vintage Aircraft Toys".

    What caught my eye was the design of this model. It's beautiful to say the least, but in a simple yet dynamic way.  The recent modern diecast that I have been writing also have my liking, but in a different manner. With those, it's the extreme details that have gone into the manufacture. So without further narrative, I present to you a beautiful "Short Monoplane Flying Boat", that was a seaplane that landed and took off on water (the original of course).

  Of course, even a beautiful model or toy airplane will show better with proper photography. And as always, I'm always grateful when individuals or auctions houses take quality photographs. That saves me time in Photoshop enhancement, and the viewers, like you can see the items without realizing the effort needed to produce quality imagery.

Thanks for visiting and

have a nice restful weekend, wherever you may be.

Stacey