To Restore or not to Restore…..

Wednesday, September 3, 2014
            Forecast: Sunny and warm

To Restore or not to Restore……

(With Special thanks to Mr. William Shakespeare)

   I decided for today's post to try and find the same models of one company's original toys. However the basic difference were that one set (today) would be totally restored, and the other set (tomorrow) would be untouched toys, as found in their original condition.

   There's always a debate about whether old and antique toys should be restored. Purist toy collectors, will argue that antiques and toys should not be touched, retouched, restored, or parts added. Others will take the position that old toys can in fact be altered.Some collectors want only untouched toys,while others don;t mind restored toys, especially restored professionally and by a professional person.

   Many of today's presentations were in fact done by New Era Restorations of whom I have written about. The quality is stupendous and accurate to the colour, removing all rust, and even adding new decals,and worn-out rubber tires. At this level or workmanship, who will know in 100 years unless of course mass spectrometer tests are done in the future. Of course, buy them there will be some simpler and faster method for paint analysis.

Please click here to visit this world-renowned and exceptional auction company

The toys that are presented here would look just like they were made almost 90 years ago.

They are pressed steel toys originally made by the Sturditoy Company. 

 They were restored by New Era Restoration, by the late Mr. Marv Silverstein.

The Sturditoy toys were large toys for the times. Also, their name was well-chosen as these toys have remained in great condition considering they were made almost a century ago. Even the toys that AI will present tomorrow have remained in "as is/untouched"  very good condition.

 More of the toys presened in this post were restored by the Mr. Marv Silverstein - a master artisan and craftsman.  His work is highly-prized and receives very good returns at auction.

When I first started writing about toys, I  bought and sold toys on ebay. I could not afford toys costing more than $ 250.00 U.S. at the time. I had retired at the time, ad decided to keep busy. You can read my story on my first post. 

Also, to keep busy for part of the day, I would occasionally "restore" old toys with missing parts, and repaint them.  If Marv Silverstein were alive today, I'm sure he would have been very diplomatic about my level or workmanship on my toys. 

However, in my heart, I would be begging him to be his apprentice.

Some people are born with talent, some people can learn, and most , like myself can "improve".

Marv was in the first level!

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

Sturditoy Pressed Steel Toys

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Sturditoy Pressed Steel Toys

   I've been looking through my last 488 posts to see what I wrote, and to see what I will be able to write and not duplicate. And so, I came up with today's post on the Sturditoy toy company. THe company was created in Pawtucket, Rhode Island (USA) in 1926 and called the Pressed Steel Company. The company initially started making toy trucks and a steam shovel. Like other companies of the time, the toys were modelled after the real trucks seen on the roads at the time. 

   The original trucks came with disc wheels, Firestone tires, and heavy-gauge metal fron bumpers.

   Some of their first "batch" of toy trucks were the fire vehicles, while became very popular at the time.  What's interesting about the fire truck was that it had an actual water thank that was filled with water, as well as a pump. A child could actually pump and water would stream out of the nozzle to a distance of 25 feet. By 1925, there was a total production line of 25 trucks. Sadly, with the coming of the Great Depression, the company was forced to close forever in 1933.*

* www.pressedsteelmetaltoys.com

   I studied professional photography at a small school by the name of the Rhode Island School of Photography in Providence, Rhode Island. It was a small 3 story old school that was used by RISP at the time.  Rhode Island is the smallest state in the USA, but it's a great place to see. There's Newport (the once summer abode of the ultra rich of the early last century), there's lots of nice beaches, and the people of course are very nice. There was a famous restaurant called Custy's that closed, but reopened later on. At the time in 1972-1973, it was a buffet-style restaurant with an all you could eat menu. It had lobsters, so if you liked these crustaceans, it was fabulous. The food was excellent, but what I remember most about the place was a sign that read something like this"

"Ladies, please do not make us embarrass you, by having to ask you to open up your purse". Apparently, ladies would pack their larger purses with lobsters to "take home", ergo the "notice".

Please click on this sentence to be redirected to Bertoia Auctions fine website

What's interesting to note for toys of this  pressed steel era (early 1920's-1930's) in that many of the different toy manufacturers who made pressed steel toys, made similar toys. As I wrote earlier, many trucks and other toys of the time were in fact modelled after famous "real" brands such as Mack, White, or La France (fire trucks). Naturally, with the toys modelled after the real item,the toys of one company would appear similar to other company brand toys.

The fact that these toys have lasted for so long, with many in their original condition attests to their fine design and quality of workmanship. To bad the company couldn't get through the Great Depression at the time.

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always, have a great part of the day,

wherever you may be.

(Mr.) Stacey Bindman

(toysearcher@gmail.com)