A 1900's Leymann (German) Wind-up Toy

Thursday, February 25, 2016

A 1900's Lehman (Germany)

Wind-up Toy

Please click here to visit the Copake Auction website

There were plenty of new immigrants that were arriving on a daily basis into the United States. As such, the country was getting larger and larger in terms of its population.aThe June 10, 1910 census

determined the US population to be 76, 212,168 people, which was an increase of 21.1% over the 1890 census. 

With such a larger population already, the country easily surpassed the populations of older established (e.g. European) countries of the world. With immigration, there were new jobs, and a booming economy, which naturally would lead to an increase in commerce with countries around the world.

Although the USA did have toy companies, trading with other countries allowed imports, and thus we come to today's 1900's Lehmann truck, a wind-up toy with a length of 5 1/2" (140 mm).

What makes the Lehmann toy interesting is both the wind-up mechanism, as well as the sophistication of the printing process (lithography) of the toy. Toys in the USa were mostly painted and were pressed steel or even the cast iron "heavies". But a toy from France or Germany would be printed lithography, years ahead of most American toys.

Below:

A photo illustrating the patents in years 1903, 1904, & 1906

The wind-up knob on the left side of the toy allowed the coil to get tense and build up energy. THe energy would be released when the toy was placed on the ground. A series of gears increased the sped of the toy, allowing it to be self-propelled. The front wheels had some leeway allowing the toy to turn.

Below:

The steering wheel allowed the front wheels to be turned 

to allow the truck to move to the left or right.

 Below:

A nice side view of the truck. Notice how Copake Auction likes to place an employ Coca-Cola can in the photo as a reference to the relative size of the toy. For a toy that's almost 110 years old, it's not too bad in its condition.

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 Nice 1900's Dayton Hill Climber

Sunday, February 21, 2016

A Nice 1900's 

Dayton Hill Climber

Please click here to visit the Copake Auctions Inc. website

I decided to visit Copake Auctions Inc., a great resource for bicycles. However, this time I was searching for toys. Amazingly, I found a nice toy that was photographed on white. I like white because it's easier to photograph on white, the toy is presented at its' best, and it's clean.

Description:

Dayton toy company hill climber with figures

Circa: 1900's

Length: 14 1/2"   368 mm

I always like how Copake Auctions includes a Coca-Cola soda can

 as a reference to the size of the object.

For a toy that is at least 110 years old, it's still in great condition and undoubtedly works

The 2 photos above illustrate what is called a friction wheel (Hill climber). 

The rear fire engine wheels turn a resistance wheel that slowly builds 

up a strong rotational movement (in one direction).

When the toy is put down, the energy will again be transferred to the rear wheels, 

and the toy will be able to climb a hill even at a steep 30-40 degree slope.

The Dayton toy company is one of the few companies that produced 

these friction wheel (hill climber) toys. Most other toys of the time 

were wind-ups, or simply pull toys or toys that moved on wheels.

This is one of the few American toys that's readily identifiable by it's movement mechanism. There were also several other companies in Dayton that produced similar-propelled toys.

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

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 

Copake Auctions' "Other" Modes of Transportation Listings

Friday, February 20, 2015
Overcast with flurries and very,very cold

Copake Auctions "Other"

Modes of Transportation Listings

   Hello everyone. No, I haven't stooped blogging. I'm blogging less because I'm been busy with some other things. Also this winter, and especially the month of February, has been exceptionally cold. I was thinking that this could be a record month of continuous minus 10 degrees Celsius, and it just might be. There was even one day where I didn't even go to Tim Horton's (now owned by Burger King). I go there daily for my coffee and to meet several friends to chat.

   Of course, spring is coming "eventually, and with that more auctions and being able to stay outdoors for more than 10 minutes to walls our dog Buddy. Buddy doesn't seem to mind the cold, and when it stays,he's in "seventh heaven". As for writing today,and more to com,e  in the upcoming days and weeks, I am returning to one of my favourite auctioneers of antique bicycles (and other things) - Copake Auctions.

Please click here to visit this exceptional American auction company

   I can't remember how I came to discover this fabulous auction company, but I did. It was one of those "Eureka Moments", when you stop everything to savour the moment. Copake Auction Inc. at that moment in time had old toys, but their big attraction was exceptional rare and antique bicycles. I've written about Copake Auction Inc. sometimes exclusively about bicycles, and if you like bicycles and rare bicycles, this is one auctioneer you absolutely and positively must visit! Simply do a search on my blog for "Copake", and you will find the posts.

This first presentation is a marvellous children's pull toy wagon.

It's beautifully designed after the Art Deco style, and it's simplicity contrasted with its' lines makes for a wonderful collectible.

I like how Copake Auction adds reference items (The Coke Can) to illustrate the relative size of their items. In other cases, they might use a coin, or  a closely-cropped person (his side) as a reference to an item or toy.

Their photography is excellent of course, and these toys certainly "pop out off the page".

What'st interesting for today's post is that all of these toys are quite large. It's the first time where I decided to use M (meter) as the symbol) for the European length. Most of the time I use mm.

These are "bigger" toys!

I like wood and anything wooden will attract my attention.  Below is another simply-crafted toy,

but elegant in its design and the beautiful colour theme.

What attracted me to this toy is the rear wheels of the engine. The rear wheels are paired and I haven't seen that very often, if at all. THey remind me of those half-track dessert army trucks.

 There is not much information presented about today's toys. 

What's interesting about the Keystone label is the location of the company - 

Boston 24. Mass.  U.S.A

American "ZIP Codes" were introduced in the both century, but the 2 digit ones (24) were only introduced probably between 1930-1950. I'll have to check to be more specific about he time period.

I do remember here in Montreal, when Canada introduced area coded - but ours single digit. It was in the early 1960's when I still lived in Outremont, and the are code was: 

Outremont 8, Montreal, 

Quebec, Canada.

For those who don't know, The Keystone MFG. CO.  was also in the photographic business. I actually remember them when they advertises in the Sunday NYTimes newspaper, 

and of course in the photography magazines.

Here's another fine wooden toy that a child could probably ride on.

Again, it's the simplicity of the toy that attracted my attention. Of course, I did mention that I like wood. In the wood toys presented today, there are no knots in the wood, and the pieces are mostly one piece (no laminates or composites). When I visit Old Montreal (The 400-500 year old part of town), I am in awe of the simple 30 foot ceiling beams. And when I watch period British movies, I',m always looking at those old wooden floors with 30 foot single piece lengths of wood flooring!

Here's a new company that I discovered - the Rifton toy company of Rifton, New York, U.S.A.

I only found 1 other toy on Liveauctioneers that they manufactured. You'll have to visit there as this toy was noir from someone whose permission I have to use their photos.

I did some photo-editing on the photo below, bout I left the interesting flag in the back, and the blue stripe of the table cloth in the photo. I liked the red, white, and blue American theme here.

The Rifton toy is a ride toy of sorts, and the toop past can be removed. Whast I like are the industrial-quality castors underneath the toy. This toy was meant to be rode and was wall designed for even  older children who might weigh more.  

I do see some knots in this toy, but the main pieces are single wood piece and unknotted.

I also like how the original owner wrote "Jack and Jill" ion the underside of the toy. 

So that's it for this early morning (5:00 A.M.)  

It's going to be very cold and with blowing snow - again!

The good news is that March 22, (the Spring Equinox) is coming soon - 

a mere  30 days or 4 weeks and 2 days!

Thanks for visiting and as always

have a great part of the day or night

wherever you may be,

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

An Exceptional Copake Auction Inc. Bicycle Comes to Auction

            (Cloudy and rain)

An 1876 Saint Nicholas Bicycle

   I frequently visit Copake Auction Inc. to see their exceptional collection of vintage, old, and antique bicycles that they have for sale. If you need a place to see these marvels of an old era, and even recent era, this is the place to visit. You could not do any better than visiting a museum, and there are not that many bicycle museums to see in the world. 

Please click here to visit Copake Auction Inc.'s Amazing Website

St. Nicholas transitional high wheel ordinary made in Chicago, Illinois

50" ( 1.27 m diameter wooden spoked wheel with strap steel tire,

retains front brake. Excellent restoration on custom museum stand.

Good condition

Circa 1876

The circular platform is for stepping to get to the seat.

remember the wheel itself is 50" ( 1.27 m) in diameter.

I can't even imagine how inefficient the bicycle was to ride, ash well as to try and get some speed out of it. And think of the weight. Today's carbon-fiber bicycles can be under 10 pounds (about 4.3 kg).

This bicycle probably would weight in at 30-40 pounds (12-16 kg)!

When you stop,via a brake, you'd have to drive the bike next to a high box, or step to be able to get off it.

What's great about Copake Auctions Inc. is how many photos they present for each listing.

If you like to look at details, it's amazing just how much information there is. Of course, the more modern bicycles (1950's) have much more detail to see.

I selected this particular one because of its age. When you think of American history, 1876 would have been the centennial year of the USA. The terrible Civil  had ended only 11 years earlier. There were terrible Indian Wars that inevitably took over much the Native land and discriminated the Native American Indians.  The First Transcontinental Railroad (USA) was construction between 1863-1869, with the famous last spike photo driven into the railroad tie in 1869.

Now that's history, and this bicycle certainly would have contrasted with the what was happening during that time!

Thanks for dropping by, 

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

my e-mail address is: toysearcher@gmail.com