Some Rare Toys from Another ebay Seller

Thursday, November 10, 2016
Sunny with clouds
9 Celsius / 48 Fahrenheit

Some Rare Toys from

Another ebay Seller

Please click here to visit another fine ebay seller

I've been using an ebay affiliated website called picclick. Picclick has all of the toys on ebay, but presents the toys through a search. The site is well-organized and easy to work with. Yestersday, I came across the Doepke Adams road grader, and decided to investigate. I clicked on one of the commands, and I was redirected to bbrsales on ebay. There was an excellent collection of toys, and some of them I had not seen before. I wrote to the owner of the ebay store, and got the permission to use the photos, and write about the store. bbrsales has an excellent record on  ebay, and sells a fair amount of rarer and different toys. 

Vintage Doepke Model Toys Adams Road Grader

Circa late 1940's-Early 1950's in excellent condition considering its' age.

These toys were meant to last, and were made of pressed steel.

Length:  26"  (660mm)

When I started to write about toys, I used to buy and resell them on  ebay.  I've had several Doepke toys, and they were made very well and have endured over time!

Rare Antique Orobr German  Tin Litho Wind Up Double Decker Bus

Early 1900's with a wind-up mechanism.  When wound up, the bus moves forward. 

The wheels are moveable, allowing the toy to go in circles.

 6" x 2 1/2" x  3 1/2"   (152 mm x 65 mm x 88 mm)

The Orobr toy is certainly in great condition, considering that it is 100 years old  and more.

WHat shows here is the fact that the European toys were more sophisticated in terms of lithography on the sides of the toy. At that time, many of the American toys were cast iron or pressed steel toys.

Vintage Marx Wind-Up Pressed Steel Large Reversible  Coupe Car

The wind-up motor is done with a key that winds up a spring. The car features front and rear bumpers. When the coupe hits something, it reverses direction.

L x W x H:  16" x 4" x 3 1/2" (406 mm x 101 mm x 89 mm)

Once again, here's a you in quite good condition. Marx was an American toy company that was highly successful. At one time, Lousi Marx;s company was producing nearly 1 in 3 toys in the USA.

Original Vintage 1920's Keystone Packard Pump Engine Fire Truck.

This is a push toy with a working steering wheel that allows the truck 

to go straight or in circles.  Pressed steel with rubber tires.

The truck is very large, and measures 28" (711 mm)

The Keystone company started out in the photography business, and developed  toys later on.

I've never seen this Keystone truck before, and it certainly is quite sophisticated with its' bell, siren, tank, and hose reel.

Scarce Vintage Structo Pressed Steel Dump Truck with Headlights.

Early 1930's pressed steel dump truck. 

Headlights are battery-operated, and the on/off switch was professionally after-market.

L x W x H:  17 1/2" x 6" x 5 1/2"  (444 mm x 152 mm x 140 mm

Here again is an old toy (Structo) that is in very good condition considering that its' 80-85 years old. 

These toys were made for the outdoors, and were built quite well. The Structo Company was founded in  1908 in Freeport, Illinois (USA) and was originally known as the  Thompson Manufacturing Company. The name was changed to the Structo Company in 1911. The name "Structo" was a play on words based on the word indestructible. *

*http://www.antiquetoyworld.com/shows/structo-toys-100-years/

I hope you enjoyed looking at these toys, and you can venture over to bbrsales, 

by clicking the link under the company logo at the top of the page. 

Thamks for dropping by,

and as always,

Have a great part of the day or night,

Wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

A Fine Portuguese Seller with Great Toy Vehicles

       Thursday, July 3, 2014
Hot, humid, overcast, and rain later in the day

A Fine Portuguese Seller with Great Toy Vehicles

Please click here to see the Duarto Pinto's fine toys for sale on ebay

   I'm writing this post in the evening because I was busy during the day. I gave an older PC computer to my friend and helped him move the parts to his house from my house . Earlier in the day, I mowed my lawn, but not being in the shape (condition) that I should, I was tired.  So I took a little nap,and  went for coffee. I came home, talked with my wife Heidi, then started to water the lawn. The next thing I knew it was 8:00 P.M. in the evening.

   I originally bought and sold toys on ebay, but after about 2 years, I decided to stop selling. I didn't make any money, but had lots of enjoyment photographing the toys that I purchased. So I decided to ask seller, auctioneers, collectors if I might be allowed to use their photos and write about them. Not everyone said yes, but I was very fortunate to have most people say yes, and help me out.

    I've learned not to be discouraged when I do get a no,and this week I got 2. However, early this morning I saw a nice Structo car (USA) circa 1920's on  ebay, and decided to write the seller. I got a reply later on, and I had the permission from Mr. Duarte Pinto from Portugal. He's been a collector for 40+ years, and has nope decided to sell some of his toys in his collection. 

    I've selected just 2 for today to introduce Duarte, but for sure I'll be looking for more fine toys in the future. What I especially like as you know, if you read my blog on a regular basis is nice photography, with large-sized photo, and lots of photos.  And Duarte has all 3 criteria. I just placed the toys against white, since I find that presents the toys best (without any distractions).

Whenever I see a Structo toy, I think that the company should have been named "Indestructo".

These toys were designed to last, and are quite strong. For a toy that's 90 years old, it still works, and is in great shape!

By the way, the toy weighs   2 pounds, 10.3 ounces or 1.2 KG!

 I never heard of a JELBA toy (Spain) until today.

The toy's cab is made of black bakelite while the platform (truck bed) is metal. This toy is also a heavy-duty (meant to last) truck, but it's a "youngster" to the Structo.  This JELBA  was made in the late 1940's-1950's - a mere 65-70 years "young".

 One day, I'm going to have to go to Toys "R" Us, and see 

what kind of cars and truck they sell in 2014.

What I find particularly  interesting is to see the original  springs of the truck.

It's great when you have the original box (added value to the price of the item).

You can see the illustrations and what the truck will do when wound up.

I've seen an engine block on an American-made truck that I've written about, 

but the era and the manufacturer's name escapes me.It's a nice toy feature for a child to play with. Also take a look at that other hood spring - still there!

I like the 2 photographs that Duarte took in series for this ebay listing.  The photographs are excellent and illustrate how the truck platform (truck bed) will open during its moving around.

I also like those raised wheel  hubs that simulate screws.
I aways like detail, and these hubs certainly are that among the other features!


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

A Marvellous Structo Discovery

Tuesday, June 24, 2014
            Overcast with rain

A Marvellous Structo Discovery

   I was looking on the Liveauctioneers website when I came across a nice old Struco toy.It was probably made  in the early 1930's or earlier, and I had never seen it before. There were only 2 other that showed up when I did a search on Liveauctioneers for the same toy. I then did a Google search, and only found a few more.  

Please click here to go directly to the Bertoia Auctions page of this sold item

I normally don't ever add the price of a toy on my blog, nor direct people to the exact page of the item. However, in this case I did so. I was surprised that if there are so few of these toys available for sale or can be found on the Net, why then did it sell for a "moderate" but relatively higher price than the usual "rare" toy?  Of course, if anyone is reading this and would care to comment, by all means please send me an e-mail. 

Of course, I'm going to search for more Structo toys to see if the company made similar toy trucks but without the decals specific to this model. I like small challenges, and  of course, to try and answer my own questions.

Thanks for dropping by 

and as always, 

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

A Toy as a Work of Art

Monday, February 10, 2014
             (Cold and Cloudy)

A Toy as a Work of Art

   Earlier last week, I came across a small image of a toy that was up for action. It was a beautifully-photographed item, and I had to stop and investigate further. When I enlarged the photograph it was beautiful - a piece of art of an old American-made Structo pressed steel wind-up tractor. It's probably from the late 1930's-early 1940's.  I wrote the seller ,waited, and I received a reply. I was thanked for the compliment of the photography, and would be allowed to present the photos, but without the owner's name. Some people prefer to remain low key, and I respect that. 

Please enlarge the images of this post to view them best.*

I've written about early Structo toys before, and I really like them. Some of them  came was kits that you'd assemble. But what I like about them is that they've lasted for all these years and appear to be exceptionally well built. The key is missing for this toy, but omen could easily find a replacement on the net. By the way, the toy is about 10" ( 254mm) long.

Of course, I "tried" to present this fine Structo farm tractor better for all to see, 

so here are a few attempts.

I stopped at trying to improve the original photo after 3 "attempts". 

The original photo is a true "work of art" and you just can't improve on that!

Thanks for visiting, 

and as always ,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

write to me anytime at

toysearcher@gmail.com

A Beautiful 1920's Structo Convertible

Thursday, December 26, 2013

A Beautiful 1920's Structo Convertible

    I hope everyone had a great Christmas and Holiday yesterday, and are either resting, or running out for those Boxing Day specials. I 've been relaxing (as if I don't do enough of that!), and taking care of my neighbour's pets,since she went for a vacation in Florida with her 2 young boys. I feed her fish, turn a light on her lizard, and feed her 3 cats and give them fresh water. Two of the cats are friendly while I've yet to ever see the third one. I've seen him just once-ever.

    I had a brief visit to ebay, did a search for antique toys,and saw today's beautiful toy - a beautiful Structo convertible. What caught my attention was the fact that the convertible top was leather, and it was still there after at least 90 years. Also, the wind-up mechanism was very-complicated looking and well made.

   What also caught my attention, as a photographer was that Mr.Bob Citero knows how to use his built-in camera flash to add light into the shadows of his photos. On a bright sunny day, the contrast is too much for even a digital camera to handle. So what you can do is use a white cardboard reflector, a commercially available fold down silver reflector, or use the camera flash. What all three do is to add light into the shadow areas. As a result, you have more detail in the dark (shadow) areas), less contrast, and a better overall exposure. The important thing is to add just the correct amount of light. Too little and the shadow detail will be lost. Too much, and the effect of a sunny day will be lost when you add too much light to the shadows. All you have to do , is run a test. get the correct exposure just with the camera. Then pop up the flash, and run a series of tests as you adjust the flash exposure to -1, - 1/2, normal, + 1/2, and +1 flash exposure. One of those exposures will be just right.

Please click here to visit Bob's fine e-bay store

Andy'sAntiquesCollectibles&Toys
(Bob Citero's ebay store name)

I had used the above technique with a fine Dutch toy seller,and decided to use it today. All I do is select the non-car parts of the photo, then remove the saturation (colour). I was going to go with my white background, but decided with this style. In this way, I could let Bob's excellent handling of his camera illustrate how the flash added just enough light into the shadow areas to allow you (the viewer) to see good detail there.

If you look carefully at the photo above, notice that there are 2 shadows. Behind the wheel on the right side of the photo is a very dark and distinct shadow, and a light and softer larger one.

Since there are 2 shadows, there has to be 2 light sources!

 I sent Bob an e-mail to say that his post was posted and that would he please proofread to see if anything needed correction or change. I also complimented him on his fine photography,both in the focus and the use of flash-fill. It's great to see sellers who make the extra efford to takequality photos.

If you look carefully behind the convertible top resting on the red part of the car, 

there again are 2 shadows.

 2 shadows once more.

There must have been a rear-mounted spare tire on the back of the  toy.

That's what that hole was for - to use a screw nut and bolt to fasten the tire.

That lever to the right of the steering wheel must be an on/off switch.

The large butterfly nut must be the wind-up mechanism.

You just got to love that leather convertible top!

90 years "young" and it's still there! 

A slightly different view of the convertible top.

Wow - look at the complexity of this wind-up mechanism. 

I've always been amazed at European early 20th century wind-up mechanisms, but this Structo easily is on the same skill and design level as any European toy of that era!

And don't forget that this toy is 16"  (40.7cm) long

This is what I would have wanted in 1920 for my Christmas present.

Maybe someone on ebay is having a Boxing Day special (in my dreams!).

Thanks for dropping by,

and have a great day,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

Structo - The Indesctructable Toys!

Friday, March 8, 2013

Structo

   Two brothers named Louis and Edward Strohacker started up the Structo toy company in 1908. The company made Erector Construction Kits up until 1919, whereupon they switched to toy cars. In 1935, the company had  Mr. J.G. Cokey buy a majority share.IN 1975, when Mr. Cokey died, the patents and the business were purchased by the Ertl Company, most renowned for their toy farm machinery.

   The Structo toys were made of heavy-gauge steel, and as such have lasted until now. The toys are still popular, and their larger models toys fetch in the low 4 figure ranges easily.

http://www.bertoiaauctions.com

     As you can see, these toys are in quite good shape for being between  75-90 plus years old.  They were solidly built both in terms of the body,and the axles and wheels. Also, most of the toys are large! Nowadays, they're collected for display, whereas once upon a time, they got plenty of workout by children who were fortunate enough to receive these toys, especially during the Great Depression years!

Thanks for dropping by, 

and  a great part of the day, 

wherever you may be.

Stacey