A Casual Visit to Opamerica finds 2 beautiful cast iron toys

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

A Casual Visit to Opamerica

Finds 2 Beautiful Cast Iron toys

  Having lots of people, companies, and collectors help me with my blog allows me to relax and take my time when looking for the next post. Opamerica is one of those companies who have helped me out. They're a very successful company selling on ebay, but for myself it's their well-written descriptions, and their excellent photography that helps me out. A third asset to Opamerica is their nice inventory of all kinds of toys.

Please click here too visit Opamerica's outstanding store

Antique Ives Cast Iron Runabout Toy w/ Cast Iron Driver*

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I am pleased to offer this Antique Ives Cast Iron Horseless Carriage Runabout Toy! This piece is a great example of early 20th century toys!  It is solid cast iron with a single seam design, and is modeled after the very first automobiles, which were called horseless carriages back in their day.  The carriage retains its original dark green paint with yellow painted seat/trim, and nickeled iron wheels.  The runabout comes with an antique Cast Iron Driver figure, which retains most of its original paint.  This driver is scale to the carriage and fits well, however it is believed to be a an antique replacement and is not original.

This antique Cast Iron Runabout is in good condition for its age, showing some moderate scratching and loss to the original paint.  There is light visible oxidation is some areas of paint loss, near the seat, and on the wheels.  There are no cracks or breaks seen to the cast iron, and the carriage rolls well on the original wheels.

Fantastic antique display value for any collection!

Measures approximately

Length x Width x Height 

6-1/8"  x 4"  x 5-5/8"  w/ driver

550 mm x 102 mm x 143 mm

* Description Courtesy of Opamerica

I had just written about these early "cars" called runabouts in a recent post (April 20, 2014).
So when I was browsing through Opamerica's ebay store, I found this beautiful  Ives toy.
What I like about cast iron toys is their feel - heavy, cold, and form. What I also like is that these toys were produced by hand! Cast by hand, assembled by hand, and painted by hand.

Antique Wilkins Iron & Steel Wind Up Fire Pumper 11" L*

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I am pleased to offer this Antique Wilkins Wind Up Fire Pumper Toy!  This is a very early example of the fire pumper, which is constructed of steel, cast iron, and even wood!  The wheels, driver, and steering wheel are cast iron; the chassis and tank are steel, and the the center pieces are wood.  The yellow paint looks to be original, however the silver and gold looks to be re-touched.  The pieces shows signs it may have been partially restored.  The front of the pumper has a old style wind up clockwork mechanism that propels the pumper forward, and the back has a bell that is struck as the pumper moves.

This Antique Fire Pumper is in good condition for its age, showing some moderate paint loss and mild scratching from display.  The yellow paint is very brittle, and easily flakes off.  The wheels have the original rubber which shows light cracking, and the front right wheels is missing large sections of rubber (see photos).  The wind up mechanism was tested and propels the pumper forward, however the bell arm needs to be adjusted so it rings (currently does not).

Measures approximately

Length x width x height

11"  x 4-1/2"  x 7-1/4" 

279 mm x 114 mm x 84 mm

* Description Courtesy of Opamerica

I never tire of looking at toy photos, especially the cast iron toys. 
What I always like is the fact that the companies of the late 19th and early 20th century all seemed to be able to manufacture similar toys and stay in business. Each company might have subtle nuances that would have people buy a particular brand over another.

This particular  Wilkins toy is quite interesting. First of all, the company was to be purchased later in history by the Kingsbury to company. The reason that I know this is from experience, but mores to the patented Wilkens, then Kingsbury wind-up mechanism that is marked "patented" on the bottom.

Throughout most of the time that this windup mechanism was invented and patented, it was used by Wilkens, and then Kingsbury.

What's also interesting about this toy is that it is made of 3 different materials:

wood, steel,and cast iron.But what's even more interesting to this particular toy is that it had a bell ring as it moved,and of course the movement from the windup mechanism.

I never cease to be amazed that I can always find something new about old toys!

Thanks for dropping by to visit,

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

The Hubley Red Devil # 5 Racer

Tuesday, January 15, 2013
                   (Post # 2 of the day)

The Hubley Red Devil # 5 Racer

    About 20 minutes ago, I was looking for something else on E-Bay,when I had to stop and take a better look at this listing from Opamerica.  Some of my favourite toys  are the cast iron American toys made in the 1920's and later. And of those toys, the cars are definitely on my "A" list.  Narrowing my favourites even more is this fine Hubley Red Devil # 5 Racer.

    Of course, I want to once again thank Opamerica for allowing me to use their fine listings and excellently-photographed images.

http://stores.ebay.com/OpAmerica-Toy-and-Bank-Museum/_i.html?rt=nc&_sid=704960&_sticky=1&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14&_sop=3&_sc=1

(please click on the above address to be redirected to Opamerica's site on E-Bay)

     The reason that I like this toy so much is its "elegance in simplicity". Here's a beautiful toy with the major features showing, but it doesn't get overcomplicated. When you open up the sides of the hood, you get to see the engine. In real life cars,my favourite is the Porsche 911 45 SC. I'm never going to have one, unless I win the lottery up here in Quebec. Again it's the "elegance in simplicity" that keeps my attraction to that car. The Porsche changes minimally each year, but just enough to keep you reminded of what it looked like 5 years ago. The basic nature of the design remains. And "frozen in time" is the Hubley - a design that I feel is based on those "real" racers of the era that you'd read about every year in the sports section coverage of the INDY 500. 

     I don't know how many of these Hubleys were sold, but  for sure, many children most certainly were elated to have received one of thse toys for Christmas or their birthdays, and lived to play with it for years to come.

 So that's it for this Hubley post.

Short and sweet, as they say, and in this case, as it should be.

Enjoy, and as always,

Thanks for dropping by, and have a great rest of the day.

Stacey

A Great Coincidence (The Gas-Powered Racer Continued))

Sunday, December 30, 2012
               (#2 post of the day)

A Great Coincidence

(The Gas-Powered Racer Continued)

     I just finished writing briefly today about the gas-powered toy racer,when I decided to look around. My "surfing" eventually took me to OpAmerica,where I was surprisingly elated to see a fine 1939 Dooling Brothers 1939 Prototype gas-powered racer. 

    Please redirect to their store so you can see the written description of this great toy. It's certainly an outstanding find considering the toy is almost 74 years old!

http://stores.ebay.com/OpAmerica-Toy-and-Bank-Museum/_i.html?rt=nc&_sid=704960&_sticky=1&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14&_sop=3&_sc=1

(Please click on the above address to be redirected to OpAmerica's fine E-Bay Store)

     What's great about having permission to use Opamerica's photos is that they are taken superbly and professionally. Except for 1 photo, I didn't have to do anything to the rest of the photos.  This was great, as I mentioned before in my last post, that I just came through a 5-day bout with a cold or flu! That helps me a lot, but more so, the credit does go the Opamerica. The owners have an excellent rating on E-Bay, and it's because of their honest descriptions, fine photography, and excellent service. What more could you ask for? 

Thanks again for dropping by,

and have a great part of the morning, afternoon, or evening,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

Opamerica - Post # 2

Tuesday, November 27, 2012
                   (Post # 2 of the day)

Opamerica - Post # 2

    I wrote about Opamerica  a few days ago. At that point,I wanted to add more photos from the nice site,but the problem was with Blogger (Google). It turned out that I couldn't download photos above 3 MB. Blogger decided to resize any large file to a small size,and the nice composites on Opamerica's site on E-Bay were compromised! I eventually figured out that I could "cut up" the composites into small portions, then upload them to this blog. But by then, I was tiring out,and so decided to wait for another day. So today, the day, to add more of Opamerica's nice toys and photos.

Opamerica's Design on E-Bay

Please click here to visit OpAmerica's webpage on EBay

The toy above is called a "Sandy Andy Caterpillar Tractor"

It measures 10" (L" x 4 1/2" (W) or 254 mm (L) x89 mm (w)

(Manufactured by the Wolverine Manufacturing & Supply Company  (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Established 1903)

For a more thorough toy description, please visit Opamerica's site. 

The toy above is  a Buddy "L" Scarab # 711 toy.

It measures 10" x 4 1/4" x 3 1/2" or 254 mm  x 115 mm x 89mm (LxWxH)

For a more thorough toy description, please visit Opamerica's site. 

I like these round-type old cars. They remind me of those B & W 

serial movie gangster cars form those 1930's-1940's movies.

The toy above is an Elenee brand toy "Speed Racer #20).

(New York, New York)

It has self-propulsion through a wormscrew and a spring.

I've never seen this type of wind-up or propulsion before!

It measures 12" (L") x 4 1/4" (W) or 315 mm (L) x 83 mm (w)

For a more thorough toy description, please visit Opamerica's site. 

     It's great when a seller, collector, or auctioneer has fine-quality and large-sized photos of their salable items. It makes viewing them so much better. Also having the ability to look at the detail is great. I like the way I can look at the detail of that red Buddy "L" wind-up mechanism , and compare it with the Elenee one.

This finishes my second blog for today, 

and by 08:20 A.M. in the morning (EST).

Thanks for dropping by, and have a great 

morning, afternoomn, or evening,

wherever you may be.

Stacey