A whole Lot of Hubley Cast Iron Motorcycles

Wednesday, February 2, 2016
Cloudy and warmer than usual

A Whole Lot of Hubley

Cast Iron Motorcycles

   Yesterday, I introduced everyone to a fine auction from Morphy Auctions (March 5-6, 2016). That post contained a nice assortment of early Fisher-Price toys. However, included within this auction are Morphy Auctions famous marble listings, and a great grouping of Hubley Cast Iron Motorcycles.

   What's interesting about the Hubley motorcycles is that these "heavyweight" cast iron toys were still being manufactured when new and better methods of toys were both being imported and replacing the cast iron toys. The Hubley company never really changed until the later 1940's to adapt to the new age. 

   THe Hubley line of cast iron motorcycles were of course pull toys. A string would be attached to the front of the toy, and the toy would be pulled be hid the child. What made these toys still so desirable and collectible was that they were finely crafted after the original motorcycles of the ere - The Harley and the Indian brand names of motorcycles. Each one was hand painted, and would come with either metal (nickel-plated) or rubber tires.  ALso, there were a lot of motorcycles at the time relative to the benumbed of cars, and motorcycles were used for delivery and the post office, as well as by the police forces across the United States.  Roads were not the best, and many roads were in fact still dirt roads across the great and vast United States. Being smaller and more versatile, these machines could easily outmanoeuvre the cars of the day. Also, the horse and cart were still around in abundance in the 1930's and somewhat later.

Please clcik here to visit the Morphy Auction grouping of cast iron motorcycles

Helmets at the time were very rare. If there were any they were made out of leather. Also, clothing for the weekend motorcyclist was more "sporty" than functional. I like how this "gentleman is all dressed up, even with his "derby" hat.  And f course, he does;t wear any goggles!

Below is the police version of the Indian ( a brand name motorcycle of the era) motorcycle.

THe officer is suited up in a uniform, and he actually is sporting protective goggles. Notice the string attached to the front of the motorcycle. This is for the child to pull the toy, hence this type of toy is called a "pull toy".

 Below is the USPS (UNited States Postal Service) version of the motorcycle with its side cast.

 Below is another variation of the delivery cart. This cart is open in the back. It's an earlier version of the Hubley motorcycle, and comes with nickel-plated tires.  

For today's post I've selected just 4 examples form the large array of motorcycles. If you like these toys, please venture over to the link that I always add under the auctioneer's name (In this case Morphy Auctions).

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

I'm always looking for new auctioneers, museums, and individuals who would like to contriute and help me with my blog.

If you happen to read this menages and are interested in sharing your toys and experiences with me and my readers, please feel free to write me at  toysearcher@gmail.com

The More Complex Hubley Motorcycles

Saturday, December 20, 2014
Sunny and very cold

The More Complex

 Hubley Motorcycles

   Yesterday's post was a continuation of motorcycles.  Two days ago, I wrote about some cast iron toy motorcycles that were not Hubleys, and yesterday about the Hubley civilian motorcycles. The Hubley Manufacturing must have had some very intuitive people, because they decided to produce cast iron toy motorcycles,and became one of the largest producers of these toys. Interestingly, other companies at the time didn't follow suit (follow the lead and do the same thing). 

   Of course, Hubley made exceptional cast iron toy motorcycles, as well as other fine toys,so perhaps they just  had everyone buying motorcycles because real motorcycles became very popular, and Hubley reproduced the toys exceptionally well. 

   I decided to present the larger and more complex toys. 

Please click here to visit this fine American auction company

The Hubley below is "The Mono Lisa" of cast iron toy motorcycles. It's the rarest of the rare, and might be the only one in existence. It  was custom made, had a wind-up mechanism 

(very rare for Hubley), and is in excellent condition.

The toy below also is a wind-up and is rare.

This one is in excellent condition. I've presented 2 sets of photos for this specific model. The reason for my having down this is to show you that if you're interested in bidding for a toy or buying one at an antique store,you should always do your research. The model below is missing some of its original accessories   that came with it. It's the ax in the lower set of photos, as well as the hose nozzle and cotton cord that was made to look like a hose.

 On this model,the gate at the back can be removed. What's so interesting about these Hubley toys, besides the toys themselves, is the fact that Hubley made so many variations using the same body and figure of the policeman. The body of the motorcycle is an "Indian" brand reproduction that 

has an in-line 4 cylinder engine

This model is "huge", being 12"  (334 mm) long.

Here's a similar Hubley Indian Traffic Car but it's the smaller version.

It's 8 1/2" ( 216 mm) long, has the name "Indian" embossed from the original casting, and 

looks like it has a one-cylinder  engine.

I think that the figure below is a policeman or the casting of a policeman.

My question of course is why would Hubley

 place a police figure on a civilian post office motorcycle?

 I had to finish the post with this model. It's my favourite. It's an armoured motorcycle. The reason that it's my favourite is for that armoured plate  at the front. You could purchase this "optional" piece at the time. The reason that I like it so much is both for the unique item and for its detail.

There must have been the "occasional"real armoured motorcycle back in the 1930's when all of those "gangsters" were roaming around the USA robbing banks or getting into illegal activities Bonnie & Clyde, Al Capone, from Chicago, and of course John Dillinger, and Baby Face Nelson were just some of the more infamous people of the times.

I hoped that you've enjoyed these last 3 days of toy motorcycles. Hubley made even more motorcycles, as did some of the other companies of the time. I'll probably add another post soon.

As the expression goes, "if you have a good thing, stay with it".

Thanks for dropping by and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,'

wherever you may be,

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

The Definitive Cast Iron Motorcycle Company

Friday, December 19, 2014
Sunny and cold

The Definitive Cast Iron 

Motorcycle Company

  I added a post yesterday about cast iron motorcycles that weren't made by the Hubley Manufacturing Company.If you did a search for cast iron toy motorcycles, 90%  of the results would most likely be Hubley. I had internationally added the "non-Hubley" cast iron motorcycles yesterday because I had never written about them before.

  I've certainly written about Hubley motorcycles or so I thought. However,when I went searching on my blog (approaching the 1000 post milestone),I couldn't find a whole post just about these exceptional class of toys. So for today, it's about about The Definitive Cast Iron Motorcycle Company", my title for Hubley.

  Before I ever started writing about toys, I only knew the toys that were sold in Canada,most from Great Britain at the time. These were Meccano, Minibrix, and yes, one American company - Lionel.

However, when you search for  early American toys, especially cast iron toys, Hubley and Arcade will inevitably come up, and if you narrow your search to cast iron toy motorcycles, it's definitely Hubley.

  I decided to go with 10 toys today, and as it turned out, it was a lot of work,which you will definitely enjoy. And when I did my whitening effect" the toys jumped off my computer screen! I've only selected mostly the civilian figures on the motorcycles, compared with the police figures.  So you know what that means - another post!

Please click here to visit this exceptional American auction company

The word "definitive" in one definition of the word means complete. If you go to Liveauctioneers or Bertoia Auctions, you will see lots of Hubley cast iron toy motorcycles compared to any other brand of the time. After looking at all of the results, you will understand why I selected the word definitive to define the Hubley Company was it related to cat he cast iron motorcycles of that era.

The toy below is extremely rare due to it's condition.

When a toy such as this one comes to auction, it will yield a very high return, since there are very fie, if any others of it!

I wonder why the faces of the figures are so chipped, while the rest of the toy is in such marvellous condition.  This toy came from the Hegarty Collection. Mr. Covert Hegarty was an auto dealer owner who specialized in collecting mostly cast iron toys,and this he did from the 1940's until his passing (death) in 1968. Sotheby's was the fortunate auctioneer to have won the nod of Mrs.Gertrude Hegarty to sell the toys.

If you look at the front of the toy just below the large headlight, you will see a smaller hole. That hole is where a lightbulb would fit foe the Hubley models that has light (from a battery).

The beauty of  people who could afford to collect toys then and of course now, is that they usually have enough money to but the best condition, the rarest, and the most interesting. Of course, when  the collection goes to auction, the toys are "redistributed" to be adored by a new generation of collectors, or people who can now afford to purchase them.

If you think you've already seen this toy, the answer is yes. The introductory  motorcycle was almost

like this one,but it was in much better condition.  But what I like about this one are the nickel-plated spoke wheels. You'll often see toys that for whatever reason seem to have different variations of wheels. The tires could be made form white or black rubber, and the hubs could be metal or wood.

You just got to love toys that have almost never been used. This is another factory sample, that was probably acquired when the Hubley Company either closed or was purchased. This is what the toy looked exactly the day it would have come off the assembly line in the 1930's! 

Here's another variation of the Hubley Hillclimber.
This one had a separate cast iron head and a separate black gas tank. I especially like the wrinkles in the casting of a leather outfit. And if you look closely just behind the left boot, you can see a chain gear that would run the motorcycle.

As if these toys were not great enough "as is",they came in a variety of colours.

Not all of the Hubley Motorcycles are out of my budget. 

The smaller ones are within reach of what I could afford, 

and they're still very interesting and attractive.

Yes,you've seen this model before, or thought you did!

It's quite similar, but as I mentioned previously, there are differences.This one also has a different paint theme.

I added this particular  toy because it photographed beautifully in Bertoia Auctions photography studio. I had earlier added a variation of this type of toy in the trio above. It's the red one called the "Crash Car".  The reason that I added this one is to lead you into tomorrow's post, when the Police and more complicated toys will be shown.

Those nickel plated spoke wheels  are exceptional!

In the time since I've started writing about toys, I've seen lots of nice toys,

but these motorcycles just present themselves so well. What I admire about cast iron toys is the detail that was handcrafted into the moulds and how this detail came out into the casting and the toys.

You just don't see modern  toys like this today.

I wonder what some blogger in  85 years will have to say about today's toys,

if they survive that long. Being an adult, I don't get to go into Toys R Us much,but one of these days I will. There are few small-sized toy stores today as there were back as late as the 1970's, and so you have to search on the Net to find toys that you won't find in the gargantuan-sized chains of toy stores.

I write about old, but those times are long gone. But when I  sometimes visit other toy bloggers or blogs about the "old times", I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one writing about "old".

Thanks for dropping by to visit, and as always

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you my be,

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com