A Rare "Private Label" Buddy L Firestone Tow Truck

Monday May 4, 2020
Overcast (Cloud)
11 C  52 F

A Rare"Private Label" Buddy L

Firestone Tow Truck

            Lately, I've been writing  more than my usual number of posts.  I have lots of time on my hands due to this pandemic, as I stopped doing volunteering work at a local food bank, here in Montreal. I'm a "senior" now, and older people are more prone to getting more sick from the Corona Virus.

Anyway, I'd been looking through my old posts, and just by chance I saw a nice wooden toy that was nicely photographed. That toy was made during WWII and it was made from wood, as metal was in  high demand for the war effort and the making of armaments. It turned out to be owned by Mark L. Hartman, a seller on ebay.  Mark, another excellent  seller on ebay was selling it.

The original post about another rare toy was written on  July 31, 2014. If you click on the link below, you will be able to read about that rare wooden toy from WWII (World War II).

Please click here to redirect to that post

Returning to today's other "rare" toy, here is the description that Mark wrote to me:

  "I know it was from 1953 based on an International Harvester Cab design and came with the Jack pictured and I believe tools that I don't have. Tire axles had acorn nuts that screwed off so you could change a flat? Private label Firestone decalling...nothing said Buddy l except script on the wheels...that is all I got...let me know when you post...MARK"

The dimensions of this tow truck are:

Length x Width x Height:

24.5"x  6.5" x 6.5"

622 mm x 165 mm x 165 mm

Please click here to see the ebay listing and the asking price of this rare toy

That's it for today

Have a great day or evening,

wherever you are

You can always reach me at

toysearcher@gmail.com

Stacey Bindman

Rare Buddy "L" Wooden Toys from the War Years (WWII)

Thursday, July, 31, 2014
  Starting out sunny with some cloud

Rare Buddy "L" Wooden Toys

from the War Years (WWII)

   It's easy for us to take thing for granted in North America and Europe. However, during WWII  conditions were a lot different. The world was at war for the second time, and rationing occurred in North America for the war effort. Of course, all of Europe was in great danger. When I walk  our dog Buddy every morning, there's not a day that does;t go by where I don't pick up screws that fell off cars, or  aluminum soft drink cans that people throw on the streets. Yet during WWII, the American toy industry had rationing, and many toys had to be made of wood.

   I wrote 1 post about a wood toy from the WWII era, but I always kept the idea of posting again. So when I saw someone on ebay having sold 3 American WWII era wood toys, I know that was going to be my post for today, if of course, the seller agreed. The seller  is Mr. Shawn Hartman who goes by the name of Shawniern on ebay. However, he is selling the toys on behalf of his father, Mr. Mark Hartman, who goes by the name of toyman1955. I ended up writing both men, and eventually got the permission- from both.

   The Buddy "L" company, like most early -American companies produced fine pressed steel toys that still are in big demand today. The company called the Moline Pressed Steel Company, was located in Moline, Illinois and started in 1910 by Mr. Fred Lundahl.  Originally, the company produced fender and other body parts for the car industry, and parts for McCormick-Deering (farm machinery) , and  truck parts for the International Harvester Company. Toys started to be produced in 1921.Rhe first toy was made of scrap toy parts for his son Buddy, and soon after Mr. Lundahl made pressed steel toys until the Buddy 'L' name with the logo "toys for boys. Many of the toys were large enough for children to ride on, and others wet pull toys that were pulled with a string. The company did well until the Great Depression,when Mr. Lundahl had to sell the company.

Please click here to visit Mark L. Hartman's nice ebay store

Please click here to visit Shawn Hartman's nice ebay store

I like these wooden toys, especially the Ice truck below. It's pure design with futuristic looking  design. (at that time) 

For a wooden toy, this Pepsi-Cola deliver truck has  lots of hands-on features, with the side doors and the back doors being able to be opened and closed.

What's interesting to see is that these toys are still in playable condition after 60+ years old.

It does;t surprise me because they were well made. Even the hubcaps have not rusted or fallen off, and the axles on the undersides of the 3 trucks are still intact!

This "woody" as the real type of car (station wagon) was called in certainly a nice collectible.  The "real" car of the time had a rounded back that opened up. However, I'm sure, time and cost to produce the rounded rear door made the toy modification.

What I like about the toy is the contrast of the rounded and straight surfaces and edges, 

which work very well together. What's also interesting that although the Buddy 'L' company had to many toys from wood, they at didn't stop them from keeping the size of their toys large.

Thanks for visiting,

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey.

toysearcher@gmail.com