Emerald City Toys has a New Website Look

Friday, May 8, 2020
Sunny with Clouds
10 C  50 F

I've been going returning to my old blog posts and looking up the posts that I have written From there I've been clicking the link on the first page. From there, I am able to visit the updated websites of these nice people and companies, who have allowed me to use their photos and narratives, and descriptions of their items for sale.

When I was redirected to  EMERALD CITY TOYS, I was pleasantly surprised to see a very updated  site on ebay. 

On the front page, there is a very useful and well-designed rectangle of item brands and identifying characteristics (e.g. clockwork, tin.pre-war) of toys and categories. Not only that, but clicking on each of the red brand names or descriptors to get to that category of toys. 

Not only that, but you can  select different categories of toys from their categories below. Once again, clicking on a category, refreshes the page to see all of that grouping.

Very, very professionally done. 

Below:

Brand: Modern Toys

Circa: 1950's

Material: Lithographed Tin

Battery-Operated

Length:  12"  305 mm

Brand:  Mettoy (British)

Circa: 1930's

Material: Lithographed Tin

Clockwork motion

Length:  7 1/4"  184 mm

Brand:  Alps

Circa: 1950's

Material : Lithographed Tin

Clockwork motion

Length:  6" 152 mm

This toy is very popular for its' colour , 50'd litho colour

Brand: Technoflex  (Germany)

Circa: 1950's

Material : lithographed tin and plastic (?) windshield

Clockwork mechanism

Length: 8"  203 MM

Description: 1936 Nomura / Kosuge Packard four door

Brand: Nomura (Japan)

Circa: 1936 (pre-war Japan)

Material: Lithographed tin 

Clockwork mechanism (motor)

Beautifully restored

Length: 11" 280 mm

Racer

Brand: Bandai NSU 

Circa: 1950's

Material: Lithographed Tin with nickel-plated bumpers

Friction (motor)

Length: 13"  330 mm

Brand:  Hess

Circa: 1920's

Material: Lithographed tin

Flywheel mechanism powered by handle in the grill

Length:  8.5"  210mm

Horseless Carriage

Brand: Gunthermann

Material:  Lithographed Tin

Circa: early 1900's ( A true 100 year old "antique")

Length:  5"  127 mm

I certainly enjoyed writing this post. I especially liked the  professionally-done and 

superbly-designed website. Of course, I always enjoyed the fine toys that EMERALD CITY TOYS

always seem to have. Today's post has  an excellent grouping of toys, many of which I haven't seen before.

And as always,

Have a great part of 

the day or evening

I can be reached at

toysearcher@gmail.com

Stacey Bindman

Bertoia Auctions New Year of Auctions Starts

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Bertoia Auctions 

New Year of Actions Starts

   The new year's season of auctions  has started for some, and Bertoia Auctions has posted the upcoming March  auction. I had spoken with Michael Bertoia recently about something else, when I asked him where his fine items coming up for action come from. He mentioned that some come from Europe, which surprise and didn't surprise me.  If you're a world-renowned toy auctioneer, where else to send your toys for action than to Bertoia Auctions. I know of some who recently wanted to sell a painting by a famous European artist. She decided to sent it to Bonham's in London, England to be put up for auction.

   For today, I decided to simply select 4 choice listings, rather than my usual compliment of 10. 

Please click here to visit the fine website of Bertoia Auctions

There was no date to indicate when this item might have been made.

It's certainly a very nice and colourful item, and the minimum bidding price was high. It's interesting how Walt Disney's character's gained world attention, and Mickey andMinnie toys would be made in Germany and elsewhere.

There was no date indicated on the description for this fine Schoenhut Humpty Circus,but  it's quite old, and probably from the 1920's. If you look at the bottom photo of the middle diptych ( a paint of photos or art placed together in a frame), you will see the words ""unbreakable jointed". The last word is missing, but must have read "figures". As you can see, these toys are still intact and in very good condition after nearly 100 years!

I selected this fine toy because it was hand-painted. Moreover,the ballerina came with a cloth dress. It's interesting how the musician would have been made from tin with his clothing painted, while the ballerina, also made from ton is clad in delicate fabric with a nice bow around her waist.

The final selection is of a clown teaching a large bird to sing. I couldn't resist the whimsical nature of this toy.  What's interesting both with the preceding toy (musician and ballerina) and the above toy is that both have movement and sound. 

What's interesting to al of the toys is their strong bold and vibrant colour themes, as well as the fact that they have survived for so long through good  and times. 

You have to sometimes wonder what these toys could tell us if they could talk!

Thanks for dropping by,

and have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

Please feel free to write to me anytime at:

toysearcher@gmail.com

Lots and Lots of Nice Detailed Photos

Sunday, December 15, 2013
     (Very cold, windy, and lots of snow)

Lots and Lots of Detailed Photos

   Yesterday, I was browsing through the ebay listings, when a nice Gunthermann firetruck caught my attention. I had seen it before, but decided to look anyway. What I discovered were a lot of fine photos of this particular item. So I then decided to look some more at other listings by the same person, and sure enough there were many photos for each particular listing. Naturally, I decided to select this store and owner for today's post,but had to send an e-mail. I got a reply right away, and I was able to post for today.

   Mr. Tomás Guerrero lives in the USA but frequently returns to his native home of Spain where he likes to buy Spanish toys. His  ebay store is called  Ye Olde Collectibles Barn and there you can find lots of interesting items besides toys. 

Please click here to visit Tomas' fine ebay store

he graphic design of the lithography is fantastic. I like the firemen who remind me of the movie Fahrenheit 451. I especially like the rear cutouts that partially expose the tires.

What's great about so many photo is  that you get to see all of the parts of the toy. In the photo above, you can see the serrated gear edges to understand how the ladder changes angles as it is cranked. You also get to see the condition of the toy from all angles. In this case, except for scratches on the ladder, the condition overall is very good.

The underside photos of the truck illustrate a feature that was not described in writing - the front wheels turn. You also get to see the excellent condition of the underside, the bell-ringing mechanism, and the well-made gears for movement.  

In the above set of photos, you get to see the Memo Logo. I never heard of this company until today!

What I always like about pressed steel, or in this case tin toys, is how the huge machines that cut the tin, and then pressed it  would have been designed by the designers and engineers.  The roof part would be pressed under tons of pressure, and then would form the shape.  I have a friend who makes industrial shelving, and his machines are unbelievable. Most are I believe  are British , and they are at least 60-80 years old. What fascinates me is how strong and well-made they are.

In this view, you also get to see that this toys had front turning wheels.

I always admired how German wind-up toys come with large-sized keys. Not only did they figure that a young child would have lots of torque (twisting power) with a larger key, but that the key would be easier to not get lost! What also in interesting is how big the wind-up mechanism is for such a small toy!

For sure, I'll be returning to  Tomás' fine store to search out more toys in the New Year.

I just can't get enough of that detail from this toys!

Thanks for visiting,

and have a great part of the day,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

Gunthermann - Let the Music Play

Sunday, October 27,2013
              Wet, Cold and Cloudy

Gunthermann- Let the Music Play

   IN the 1900's and some decades later, Gunthermann , an extraordinary toy manufacturer produced many wonderful and lasting toys. Of course, their period cars are the most valued to collectors, so I decided to look at items that were not bid up in the thousands of dollars, and came up with a group of musicians. Their common characteristics are that they are mechanically wound, and make "music" from their instruments. Also, all were hand-painted.

Please click here to visit Bertoia Auctions fine website

Thanks for visiting,

and have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey

please write to me anytime at:

toysearcher@gmail.com

The Fantastic Early Automobiles of Gunthermann

Monday, September  16, 2013

The Fantastic Early Automobiles of Gunthermann

   Even though I'm writing a blog in my leisure time, you begin to realize how fast time goes by. I checked as to when I last wrote about the Gunthermann company, and that was on December 6, 2012, when I first introduced the company or I first discovered Gunthermann. European toy companies had already been well-established, and their toys were well-crafted and much more ornate, complex, and   designed that American toys.  Of course, Europe had already been populated for nearly two millenia, while "New" America had only been around since the early 1500's  - a mere 400 years or so, up to 1900. WHen I say "New" I am only referring to eh new immigrants and  arrivals. Of course, the Native American Peoples were in North America for millenia. THeir style of life was certainly much more different.

A Brief History of Gunthermann

   The Gunterhmann toy company was founded in 1826 in Nurenberg Germany. Coincidentally, the world's largest toy fair happens every year there.  In its time, it was one of the most respected and long established manufacturers.  he company crafted beautifully-designed toys, and would use new manufacturing processes as they began to appear.  (e.g. lithographed colour on tin) for their toys.

When the automobile and airplane arrived on the scene, Gunthermann began to produce these toys in very accurate detail, with beautiful colours, and mechanical clockwork driven mechanisms. The company sometimes used the SG logo. In WWII, the company factory was destroyed.

    Please take some time to read the written descriptions. You'll find details such as glass, mechanical wind-up mechanism, hand-painted figures, lithographed tin, replacement figures and parts, and so forth. Even with replacement parts, these true antiques and toys yielded strong final auction prices. Many of the toys presented today were from the collection of Mr. Donald Kaufmann, who was one of America's most renowned and respected toy collectors in the  middle and latter 20th century. Fortunately for myself, I am able to find so many beautiful Examples of Gunthermann automobiles in one location.

What's interesting to read are the written descriptions and words, as well as the  techniques (e.g.hand-painted). There are terms and words used for the automobiles (not cars in those days), that we  don't come across any more in North America. Headlamps, vis-a-vis, lanterns, bonnet, and buckboard are just a few to name. 

Of course, when learning about toys , as I still am and will be for a long time, you will always be learning old words that have long since been placed in "storage". Fortunately, there will always be collectors to keep these toys and the language of toys alive.  And that for sure is a great thing!

I hope you all have a fine day to start this week.

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always, have  agreat part fo the day or nioght,

wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

(Please feel free to write to me anytime - I'm always looking for new stories and old toys)