The Hess Toy Company

2016-14-2016
Sunny with clear skies
13 Celsius / 65 Fahrenheit

The Hess Toy Company

I copied the images below from the James D. Julia  website. Before Mr.Julia sold this toy division to Mr. Dan Morphy (Morphy Auctions), this division was a very successful division. I'm still fortunate that Mr. Julia still has toy content on his website. Before the sale, this website was one of the best for toys and of course, his other divisions. It has great and detailed information about toys, as well as excellent photography.

Pair Of Hess Automobiles

This pair of Hess automobiles, one an open touring car and the second an enclosed limousine are in virtually near mint unplayed with condition. To engage the mechanism, one would turn the crank extending from the radiator on each car in a counterclockwise method in order for the car to move forward. The wheels show minimal wear where either toy was run on the floor but the lithography on the side of each vehicle is extremely vibrant, almost as though these toys were made just yesterday! One cannot say enough about these vehicles or their overall condition considering they are probably 80+ years old. SIZE: Approx 10″ and 9″  (254mm and 229 mm)  length respectively

 PROVENANCE: The Estate of Carol and Jerry Soling. 

                                                             HESSMOBIL RUNABOUT.

Classic toy manufactured by John Hess circa teens/1920s. This runabout roadster has the typical crank wind mechanism that would engage a flywheel and let the car run in a forward or reverse motion. Car is in pristine original condition with black lithographed running boards and a maroon body. Typical Hess logo on trunk of car with the normal chauffeur with goggles driving. An interesting feature is how often toy companies borrowed/copies one another. The following lot is a Japanese version which is virtually identical in many respects. The questions is which came first – the chicken or the egg? Or in this case, the Hess version or the Japanese version. SIZE: Approx 8″ (203 mm) length.

PROVENANCE: The Estate of Carol and Jerry Soling. 

                                           HESSMOBILE OPEN TOURING CAR WITH OB.

Similar to the early Hess touring car but smaller in size, but virtually in very fine to near mint condition. The litho is vibrant & bright and the cardboard box has no markings other than 1021 stamped on the lid, which is the same number stamped on the radiator of this vehicle. Again, toy is activated by a crank on the front of the vehicle. Mechanics appear to be in functional operational condition. SIZE: Approx 8-1/2″ (216 mm) length

PROVENANCE: The Estate of Carol and Jerry Soling. 

HESS RACER 

Brightly lithographed racer. Lithographed “Hess Mobile” on hood. Has red wheels, a racer with goggles and a charming woman by his side. Also, has a flywheel mechanism. 

SIZE: 6″  (152 mm) length

Grouping of Three Hess Automobiles & Two Hess Boys on Sleds

Three friction lithographed Hess automobiles, two being 4-passenger vehicles and the third being a Bowtailed roadster. All three vehicles marked on their front radiators, fine lithography, and again these toys show very little play use. The two boys on sleds, one is clockwork and the second is friction. Both toys marked with the Hess logo and are virtually in very fine to near mint original condition. SIZE: Approx 5-1/2″, 5-1/4″, 6″ and 6″ lengths  respectively. 

PROVENANCE: The Estate of Carol and Jerry Soling.

Hess toys are easily identifiable. In the image above on the side of the touring automobile, you will see the Hess logo. In the other photos, you can see the word Hessmobile on the from of the automobiles.

I couldn't find any history about the Hess Company.  

All the search engine showed were modern-era toys of the Hess oil company trucks.

If anyone reading this has the information, would you please forward it to me, either in writing, or if there is a website, then the website. My e-mail address is below my name in cyan (light blue) below.

Thanks for dropping by,

and always,

Have a great part of the day or night,

Wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

Want to Know About Hess Toys? - Part II

Monday, January 12,2015
Overcast, flurries, and mild

Want to Know About Hess Toys?

Part II

Yesterday, I introduced everyone to Mr. Chuck Ehlers. He got interested in Hess tin Toys years ago His fascination led him to start a fine collection, but for myself, the "jewel" is his willingness to share his collection and encyclopaedic knowledge about the Hess toy company.  I decided to create a "mini-series" to present a "glimpse" of the Hess company with you. However, you must venture over to Chuck's website to see the true story - I'm just giving you a glimpse.

Please click here to visit one of the best resources on any antique toy company

Below is the opening or index page of Chuck Ehlers' website. I've darkened most of the page and left "Dynamobils" brighter.  A Dynamobil was a sophisticated friction wind-up motor that  provided power for a set of accessories. These accessories were based on real machines that would have been found in large factories of the time. 

If you click on the link below, it will take you to a post that I wrote about the Bing Steam engines and their accessories. The huge difference between the Hess and the Bing companies was that Bing used real steam for their power, and Hess used hand power.

It was 1000% safer so that even a very young child could play with the toys.

Obviously using a lit source to heat water to produce stem, required adult supervision.

Please click here to see the Bing Company's Steam Engines and Accessories

I'm not going to add too much of my own narrative today, since Chuck had done all of the research, and has well-document what you see here today. It's as if, I had purchased a book, and simply added it to my blog.  His research is phenomenal, so please enjoy.

With the Dynamobil and 1-3 accessories, you could create a miniature factory. AS such, a child could have lots of fun watching all of the difference machine operating at the same time.

Some of these toys were produced before electricity was invented or became commonplace.

I especially like what Chuck wrote:

"This trip hammer was spring loaded and the tension could be adjusted,

resulting in a louder, more forceful blow".

I can just  imagine several friends getting together to play with their miniature factories.

Talk about noise!

Fortunately, as I previously mentioned these toys were safe, and the power came from small hands that would wind up the power source - the "Dynamobil" ( A miniature dynamo). But imagine the noise from 3 or 4 children with their Dynamobils and 3-4 accessories for them. I can close my eyes now and imagine walking down any street where children had these toys and hearing mothers say:

Dear, could you and your friends please go outside and play with your toys there.

It's a  nice day."

Now those certainly were "the good old days" both for children and parents alike!

Thanks for visiting, and as always,

have a great part of the day or night

wherever you may be,

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

Want to Know About Hess Toys? - Part 1

Sunday, January 11, 2014
Partly Sunny and warmer

Want to Know About Hess Toys?

Part I

  Yesterday's post was about an anomaly  (A deviation from the normal rule) that I discovered. It wasn't really an anomaly, but something that I always thought existed for friction toys.  The mechanism is actually a flywheel. What I had thought until yesterday, was that you rolled the wheels of a toy with a  friction flywheel to build up reserve power, and then you released the toy. However, yesterday's "anomaly" discovery changed all that.

  I had found a new toy that had a wind-up friction flywheel - Eureka! I wanted to know more about this type of friction flywheel so I did a search and came upon a exceptional website written by Mr. Chuck Ehlers all about Hess toys and about the History of the Hess toy company. Chuck has a  fine collection of these toys, and must have taken a long time to create the website that he now has. He's quite willing to share, and is very patient and accommodating, when I stared to send e-mails and ask all kinds of questions.

The first question that I asked Chuck was why collect Hess toys?

"I had collected steam engines, stirling engines, electric motors and toy workshops in the past. One day I saw a pristine example of a Hess Dynamobil for sale on EBay. I bid on the piece and was high bidder, but the reserve price was not met. Later the seller posted the toy again without a reserve and I was able to win the auction. I examined the piece on receipt and just fell in love with these workshop toys. I love to do the history on anything I collect and began trying to research Hess. Very little information surfaced which added to the intrigue and my curiosity. I think at that point I was hooked on Hess and began collecting all types of Hess toys. That was 14 years ago, really rather late to be collecting toys from this era, but I was not discouraged. I have met many nice people from all over the world that collect toys, but no Hess specialists."

Chuck also provided me with a great history about the company: 

"Hess recorded his trademark in 1826 and reportedly began making toys shortly thereafter. Most of my Hess toys are litho printed from 1890 until 1934 when they ceased business. Before 1890 the toys were hand painted or spirit varnished tinplate. I have very few toys from the pre-litho era of 1826 until 1890. Hess never produced their own toy catalogs but instead depended on distributor catalogs to advertise for them. Before 1880s or 1890s not many catalogs were produced (or at least survived). Hess primarily sold through distributors OR through other manufacturers such as Carette, Bing, Schumann and possibly others who produced their own catalogs".

Please click here to visit this exceptional resource about Hess Toys 

Below is one of Chuck's triptychs

 ( a combination of 3 pictures or paintings combined on to one piece of photo paper or mural) 

If you do a search for friction toy, you can see how much more complex the Hess "Dynamobil" movement is. This complex machine became the core method of movement for the Hessmobils (Autos) and for workshop toys (please read about them much later). The Dynamobil was available as a separate piece or mounted on to a wood board with 1, 2, or 3 accessories.

Below is a screen-capture of Chuck Ehler's cover page.

Not only has he a lot of information and photos of his fine toys, but he's presented it like a book.

I was even going to label the posts as "Chapter 1,Chapter 2….

I selected a "sprinkling" of toys from each of the toy categories:

Autos

The first image that attracted my attention in the auto section of Chuck's excellent website was this tractor. The photo clearly shows you how Hess integrated the complex wind-up Dynamobil movement into the toy. This particular toy was probably made much later in the history of the Hess company.

Trains

Trains were always popular toys. Before electricity was invented and before electricity became commonplace, toys would be powered with wind-up mechanisms, or in the case of Hess toys by the Dynamobil.

Boats

It's always great to have the original box that came with an original toy. I like how "simple"

 the box and label are, compared with today's all-encompassing and complete coverage 

on all 6 sides of any box.

You can see how the flywheel is integrated into the body of the ship but is clearly visible.

What's noteworthy is the what Chuck wrote in the description that he had researched - that Hess also manufactured and even marketed toys for the Carette toy company and perhaps other manufacturers as well!

Figural and Miscellaneous

There were also some toys that were totally different from the regular trains, autos, and ships. 

Dynamobils

 This is a favourite category of toy for me. I've seen similar toys like this but made as steam engines with water as the source of power (miniature boilers), and small fuel pose to heat the water. 

In the case of Hess's Dynamobil, his power source was safer. On the left side  of the toy below,you can see a grooved small wheel. A cord would go around the groove  of the "powerhouse", and then attach to a wheel of any of a variety of machines that were modelled after real machines.

 Below the Dynamobil are 4 samples of accompanying toys that would 

work in combination with the power source.

I especially like the mice. I could easily see people's cats chasing the toy or playing a joke on someone with very dim lighting and see their reaction to a mouse in the house.

Cannons

This category is "Cannons". I doubt if these toys had the Dynamobil power source. However, cannons were very popular at the time, and so were also manufactured by Hess. When I wrote about these cannons in upcomping posts, I'll try to find out how they shot  out projectiles and what actually  was the "ammo".

For myself, finding Chuck  Ehlers and his excellent website is a "real discovery".
After 3 1/2 years of searching for new toys, I find a whole new world of toys made by a company that I write ever so briefly in a larger part of a post.

In the upcoming posts, I'll expand on Chuck's fine collection of toys.

What I found amazing and also "funny" is that Chuck is quite modest. He mentioned that he was still searching for Hess toys to add to his collection. I didn't think there were any more (when you venture over to his site) , but I've been known to make mistakes when I write. 

 I'm sure when I research out the Hess company, it will probably be similar to the George Carette or Bing companies or perhaps smaller. I have a 1912 Bing Toy Catalogue of 441 pages, and a George Carette 1911 Trade Catalogue with 1905 and 1914 supplements with about 300 pages. 

I have to thank Chuck, I think, because he's given me "encouragement" to continue my quest for searching and writing about old and antique toys. 

I'm 66 years "young". 

I'm thinking right now, that I should have started 40 years ago!

Thanks for dropping by and as always
have a great part of the day or night
wherever you may be,
Stacey
toysearcher@gmail.com

toys and

An Observation Leads me to A Great Discovery

Saturday, January 10,2014
Overcast, flurries, and colder

An Observation Leads 

me to a Great Discovery

   Yesterday, I received an e-mail from  James D. Julia, a fine auctioneer in  Fairfield, Maine, USA. The e-mail talked about their upcoming auctions. I'm on their mailing list, which is great, since sometimes I forget to visit all of the people who have helped me out on my blog. I went to their website, and decided to view their last auction. The auction had many different items, including toys, so I went to the toy listings. 

   What caught my attention were several sold listing for Hess automobiles. I've written about them ever so briefly, and so I took a closer look. The written description and what I saw perked my interest, and so I had to write today's post. But the "great discovery" will be tomorrow when I start to write about a fabulous collector of Hess toys, and his encyclopedic knowledge and his superb website.

Please click here to visit this exceptional American auction company

James D. Julia In was one of the first companies to help me start my writing odyssey when I stopped buying and selling on ebay. The company photographers are professionals with a "Capital P" (meaning they are great). I often go to the site to look at other items besides toys. The photography  is excellent in terms of colour, detail in the bright and dark areas, the images are large, and there are a few to many photos for each item. As well, the company started to feature  a 360 revolving view of certain items.  A special rotating platform with special software allows a high-end digital camera to record  than object as it rotates completely around. You can then view the object at any angle, and even stop it to see one particular angle or feature.

HESSMOBIL RUNABOUT

Classic toy manufactured by John Hess circa teens/1920s. This runabout roadster has the typical crank wind mechanism that would engage a flywheel and let the car run in a forward or reverse motion. Car is in pristine original condition with black lithographed running boards and a maroon body. Typical Hess logo on trunk of car with the normal chauffeur with goggles driving. An interesting feature is how often toy companies borrowed/copies one another. The following lot is a Japanese version which is virtually identical in many respects. The questions is which came first – the chicken or the egg? Or in this case, the Hess version or the Japanese version. SIZE: Approx 8″ l. PROVENANCE: The Estate of Carol and Jerry Soling. CONDITION: As described above. 1-14779 (750-950) Lot 1047 *

* Description Courtesy of James D. Julia Inc

Normally, I wouldn't have noticed anything about this toy.However, in this case, I saw the Z-shaped windup crank at the front of the cart. I had not seen this before, but it wasn't this that caught my eye. It was what was written in the description:

"This runabout roadster has the typical crank wind mechanism that would engage a flywheel

 and let the car run in a forward or reverse motion."

 I've written about flywheels and friction mechanisms before.These are  large and heavy wheels that build up energy as you move the wheels of a toy along a flat surface. You then release the toy, and the toy moves along. However, what makes these toys even more interesting is that the torque (twitting power of the wheel) allows for the toy to climb steep slopes. Some of these toys are even called "hill climbers".

  If you look just behind the right wheel, you will see the flywheel.,and in the middle of the front gof the car, you can see the crank that is turned to provide power to the flywheel.

 The  surprise that I discovered was the fact that this toy manufactured by Hess not only had a flywheel,but a crank. Instead of constantly moving the toy on the floor to build up acceleration and speed of the flywheel through the wheels, you could do this with a crank.

I never knew that, so being a very inquisitive person (you need that when you write about anything), I decided to do a search for Hess Toys on the Net. I found a great website with a great owner of the website, and I will write about both tomorrow!

Thanks for dropping by and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

Hess Toys (What's a Flywheel?)

Friday, May 3, 2013

Hess Toys

What's a Flywheel?

   If you read yesterday's post, I wrote about the German toy company - Distler.  Of course, if you also have been following this blog, you'd know that whenever I do researcher, I'm always going to find something else besides my search topic. So that's what I'll be writing about today - the German toy company by the name of Hess. I'm posting at 18:00 P.M. EST (North America) late today. I had things to do, and then I cycled . The next thing I knew, it was 5:00 P.M.

   The Hess toy company was founded very early in the 19th century - in 1826 to be exact. At that time, there weren't any cars yet or airplanes, so Mathias Hess chose trains (without tracks - don't ask me why?), to produce. When  cars or "automobiles" were invented and became more common, the company produced high quality lithographed tin toy with flywheels. Naturally, seeing the word "flywheel" perked my interest, and I had to check what a flywheel was. Of course, the search results had to be "difficult", and complicated. I think there should be search engines for different ages of people and levels-maybe I can be the next Facebook  discovery!

   I'll try to explain in easy terms what a flywheel is. It's a mechanical rotating device that can store energy and then release it later. As far as the Hess antique toy cars toys go, I think that the energy was not stored in a manner such as a clockwork wind-up with a release.  What I'm theorizing is that when you turned the crank at the front of these cars, the energy would be immediately release as the toy was placed on the ground. If you look at some of the photos of both cars and ships, you'll see a large lead wheel that  was in touch with the wheels or axles of the toy. So energy from the crank was transferred to the flywheel,which then transferred that energy to the wheels for movement. Some of the toys  might have needed the child to roll the car or boat wheels on a wood floor. The energy then transferred to the flywheel, and was gradually release to move the toy by itself.

Please Click on this sentence to be redirected to Bertoia's fine website

Please click this sentence for an even more specific search

The second connection above will give you specific search results when you type in what you might be looking for. U had tried to post this before, but Blogger had rejected the web address. Now it's working. So if you search for Hess when you enter that word, you'll come up with all of the Hess toys that Bertoia has actioned in the last 5-7 years. If you want to see more Bertoia toys  from before that timespan,you can go to Liveauctioneers.

The 2 photos of the ship above  show you the flywheel . It's the dark grey wheel, that has an extension attached directly to the yellow regular toy wheel.

With the car above, the flywheel is better hidden or integrated into the toy.

   What's interesting about these toys is that Mathias Hess kept the same original method of movement for his toys for a long period of time. Other toy manufacturers, and specifically the European toy makers were using clockwork windup mechanisms, and in some case also using a brake. You'd wind up the toy, lock the brake to keep the stores energy in sleep mode, then place the toy on the floor. Once the "brake" was released, the toy would move.

   I'm sort of similar to Mathias Hess when it comes to certain things. If I like a particular food such as  (e.g. Classico Spaghetti Sauce) I will not  change. And whenever I'm tempted by a rival company's sale, I',m tempted, but I don't bite. Too many times, I've tried the alternatives, and they just don't come close.  Also, although the  car dealer sometimes is more expensive than the local garage, I won;t go there. I once went to one of the 5 "big sisters" quick oil change places. Big Oil was called that way back in the 1920's and later. The garage didn't screw back the oil screw from the oil pan properly, and the oil was leaking out.  I went to the Chevrolet dealer (my car was a 1981 or 1982), and they replaced the  oil screw with a larger one. Of course, the big sister garage paid for the expenses, but I never went back to a local garage again.

Thanks for visiting  my blog today,

and as always, 

have a great weekend 

wherever you may be.

Stacey