Visiting Toydecals again

Friday, February 23, 2018
Cloud with rain and snow
4 C     39.2 F

Visiting Toydecals Again

Please click here to visit Toydecals

I often visit Rick's Toybox website on ebay. His store is titled "Toydecals", and as you can tell,

he sells replacement authentic-looking toy decals. However, he also sells toys, and always seems to have rare and interesting old toys.

The 2 wooden toys were made by the Buddy "L" company during World War II (WWII).

During the war years, metal was rationed out in the USA. As such, the  government created strick rules for the way metal was used, as war armaments were needed.  As a consequence, metal couldn't be used for toys, and wood was substituted.

Vintage Buddy "L" WWII Era Victory Toy

Wood and metal

"Wrecking Truck"

Length: 16 1/2"  42 cm

Vintage Buddy "L" WWII War Era Victory Toys

Stake or lumber truck

Wood and metal

Length:  25"  63.5 cm

Kingsbury was a toy manufacturer in New Hamposhire (USA). 

Most of their pressed steel toys had a patented wind-up mechanism (motor)

to run their toys. You can see the wind-up motor in the third image below in the composite.

Vintage Kingsbury Pressed Steel Wind-up Motor Army Cannon Truck

Circa 1920's

Pressed Steel 

Length:  11"  28 cm

The "motor" in the D.B. Clark truck below was a friction motor.

You pushed the truck wheels on a flat surface, and a large rotating 

wheel started to spin the tires. You kept doing this until the wheels were

spinning fast, then you let the toy go, and it moved as much as 15" (4.57 M)

D.P.Clark Hill Climber

Circa 1920's

Length 12 1/2"  30.5 cm

The structo toy below is "somewhat" rarer than other Structo toys.

It has a battery (size "D") compartment to add light to the front light.

Vintage Structo Pressed Steel Tank with Rotating Head

Pressed steel with wooden wheels

Length x Height: 

12 1/2" x 6.5"

31.7 cm x 16.5 cm

Buck Rogers was a favourite comic character in the 1930's, 1940's and a bit later.

I remember going to the Sunday school movies, and there on the screen was Buck Rogers.

The movie effects the were "primitive",to say the least. I remember seeing the toy move on the "invisible" string that was clearly visible. 

Vintage 1940's Wyandotte Buck Rogers Space Ship

Pressed steel with rubber wheels

Length:  6"  15.2 cm

So this is it for today on a very rainy day.

Thanks for dropping by,

and have a great day or evening.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

Bliss Lithographed Wood Toys

Sunday, January 21, 2018
Partly sunny with clouds
-2 C  28.4 F

Bliss Lithographed Wood Toys

R. Bliss Manufacturing Company

Pawtucket, Rhode Island, U.S.A.

1832 - 1935

" Even though Rufus Bliss founded the R.Bliss Manufacturing Company in 1832, it is not exactly known when they began producing toys. The earliest mention of toys can be found in the "New England Business Director" of  1871.

The R. Bliss Manufacturing Company was originally founded to produce wooden screws and clamps for piano and cabinet making. Rufus Bliss is known for inventing a machine for cutting wood screws rapidly and more accurately than had been done in the past. These toys cross the borders of collecting with their folk art designs. They are known for their high quality, beautiful colors, and artwork. R. Bliss Manufacturing Company was sold to Manson & Parker of Winchendonm ,Massachusetts in 1914. Toys carrying the Bliss name were produced until 1935,

but only a few toys were marketed during these later years"*

Courtesy Mr. Richard Mueller Jr.

Please click here to visit Richard Mueller Jr.'s excellent website

Please click here to visit the Lloyd Ralston Gallery Auction of these toys

Interestingly, many of the above toys had been repaired and/or parts replaced.

However, the toys managed to sell for from $ 130.00 - 290.00 US, plus auctioneer's commission!

There certainly is a demand for these old and most-interesting toys!

Thanks for visiting,

and hard a great day or evening.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

A Collector of Pull Toys Contacts Me

Friday, May 13, 2016
Raining and 21 Celcius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)

A Collector of Pull Toys Contacts Me

Hey Stacey,

     I don’t know exactly what you are looking for but I will give you some information. I started collecting old wooden toys a little over three years ago after buying a box full at a local auction I attended near Waynesboro, Ga. One of the toys was a Ted Toy-lers Walking Soldier pull toy. I had never heard of Ted Toy-lers so I decided to do a little research. I came across a website, oldwoodtoys.com. The site belongs to Jim and Judy Sneed. I contacted Jim and discovered that Ted Toys were very hard to find. He told me that his wife had sold most of her collection. He had about five or six left along with several parts. I bought all of them. Jim and his wife are the premier experts on Ted Toy-lers toys, along with several other companies.

                  I bought several toys online, and in the process met Peter Thomashow. Coincidentally, Peter was one of the two individuals who purchased several of Judy Sneed’s Ted Toy collection. I bought all of Peter’s Ted Toys as well. Since that time we have become friends and we talk toys almost daily. I’m in the process of purchasing some very rare Toy Tinkers toys from him at the present time.

                  I won an original Ted Toy-lers box online and the seller told me the backup bidder wanted to meet me. He gave me his contact information. The backup bidder was Richard Mueller. I had already heard of him from Jim Sneed. He is known in toy circles as the Pull Toy Professor. He owns a toy museum on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that is incredible to see in person. Richard and I trade toys and I count on him for guidance as I learn more each day about old wooden toys. You won’t find better people that Richard and his wife, Linda. Richard is who bought the other Ted Toys that Judy Sneed sold. Through Richard, I began to progress beyond Ted Toy-lers toys and started collecting many other companies. Richard’s collection consists of toys from over 175 companies. I prefer to collect from approximately 25 different companies.

                  I was searching for toy collectors online one evening and came across an ad in a local publication. It was someone wanting to purchase Rich, Hustler, and Ted Toys. The man’s name was Perry Eichor. I had seen his name on Jim’s website a few times so I contacted him. I struck a deal with Perry that included approximately 60-70 toys. Perry was a major Rich and Hustler collector so many of the toys I purchased from him are rarely, if ever seen. I’m in the process of working a deal with Perry for several Cameo and Ideal dolls.

                  So, along with networking with Jim, Richard, Peter, and Perry; I also network with individuals all over the United States that contact me when they find toys. Brooke Larsen, Gary Cenname, Tracy Tedder, Mike Jones, Keith Spurgeon, and Kevin Mcguire (Playful Plans) to name a few. I let them know when I find toys they might want.

                   I surmise I have about 3,000 toys in my collection. Many are the best known or only known examples. To put it in perspective, I would surmise that Richard has over 10,000 toys. Although I buy anything I find interesting, I concentrate on the following companies: Ted Toy-lers, Hustler, Rich, Toy Tinkers, International, Buck-A-Roo, Scarey Ann, Wilson Walkies, Newton Thompson, Fulton, Hyker, Gibbs, Gluck, Performo, Jaymar, Twistum, Cameo, Ideal, Strombecker, Gong Bell, All Fair, Go-Toys, Reed, Bliss, Bumpa, and Crandall.  Complete toy histories for these companies and many others are available on oldwoodtoys.com. Here are a few reference pics from my collection:

Very rare Hustler Derby purchased from Perry Eichor  

Extremely rare Hiram Hustler Purchased from Perry Eichor

Extremely rare Hustler Sam’s Transfer purchased from Perry Eichor

  

Very rare Hustler Jimmie Mouse. Obtained during toy trading with Richard Mueller

Gong Bell Racer 420. Purchased on Ebay

Hard to find Alderman Fairchild (All Fair) Rabbit Pull toy purchased online

Very Scarce Hustler Rastus and Rachel Pull Wagon purchased from Perry Eichor

As you can see, Steve is quite involved in being knowledgeable about pull toys, as well as knowing many people who collect similar toys. One of these people is Mr. Richard Mueller. If you Google "Richard Mueller", you will find his website and correspondingly his toys.

I haven't added much written dialogue on of my own, As Steve did a fabulous job with his written narrative. It's certainly amazing how may different toy manufacturers of these pull toys that exist, and whose names I have never come across until now.   It's great to have readers communicate with me, because I like to "discover" new "old toy manufacturers" from way back when.

Thanks to Steve Mayo, I'll have plenty of new manufacturers to search out over the summer.n

Thanks Steve for your help and willingness to share your knowledge and toys with us.

As always,

thanks for dropping by,

and have a great day,

wherever you may be,

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

Wood Toys from Pook & Pook

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Wood Toys from

Pook & Pook

   I've been returning to people and companies who have helped me out in the past. SO when I was looking at my posts, I found Pook & Pook,Inc.

The History of Pook & Pook

"The firm of Pook & Pook Inc. was founded in 1984 by Ronald and Debra Pook. Located in Chester County, Pennsylvania, approximately thirty-five minutes west of Philadelphia, Pook & Pook’s offices reside in an old stone inn built in 1761. The auction company grew out of the Pook’s antique business, which they had started a decade earlier in the same location. Right from the start, the auctions at Pook & Pook were a draw for major museums, estate representatives and serious collectors."

Please click here to visit this fine American appraiser and auction house

Wood toys have always been popular among children and manufacturers as well. From early history, wood, a readily-available natural material could be used.

 A "pull toy" is a toy that is either pulled with a stick or a long piece of cord. 

Before wind-ups and electricity, many toys that were not played with by hand, could be pulled.

You can see several pull toys in the 2 following photographs.

Even in Japan and other countries around the world, there are wooden toys.

The 2 larger horses and a donkey (mule) are also pull toys. THese happen to be made of lithographed paper images glued on to wood. 

The clown and chick toys are "animated" when they are pulled. THe clown swings and moves his weight, while the young baby chicks are in a pulling "tug-of-war" for the worm. 

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

Wouldn't you Know?

Saturday, August 2, 2014
             Partly cloudy and hot

Wouldn't You Know?

  Two days ago, I published a marvellous post about the Buddy "L" wooden toys produced during WWII. I'd written one post previous to that, and when I found a father and son ( The Hartmans) on ebay who had sold and were selling these rare treasures, I know  I had to contact them. I did, and as they say the rest is history! You can redirect to their post after reading Bertoia Auctions trio of these great toys.

Please click here to visit Shawn and Mark L. Hartman's post

Please click here to visit this exceptional American toy auctioneer

  I decided to check what Liveauctioneers' auctioneers had for sale or had sold in terms of these very special wooden toys. Sure enough, I found  about 18 sold items with duplications. What I also found was a nine toy that contradicted an "assumption" that I had made on my previous post. I'll inform you about that below.

  If you did not know or didn't read my previous post, during WWII,there was a limitation for metal usage due to the war. Rationing was imposed, and toy companies needed to reduce or elimate most of the metallic content and change to wood, which was more readily available and not as much  restricted. Consequently, most of the toy companies adapted to manufacture wooden toys, while changing over their factories to manufacturing war material, armaments, and machines.

  My incorrect assumption that I wrote on the Hartman post was that  the Buddy "L" company left their wooden rear door of their Town and Car wagon (modelled after the real Chrysler car) flat, rather than round it, as you'll see in the exceptional convertible below.  I incorrectly stated that this was probably to save time. They most likely just designed it that wayI Anyway, the writing lesson here for myself (from the previous post) is to never make assumptions unless you can corroborate  (gather evidence) what you write! Mind you, I could be correct, because the toy below was made after WWII (1947), and perhaps the company had more time

The convertible below from Bertoia Auctions is exceptional in many ways both as a toy, and as a collectible. Mint condition, original box, and beautiful features.  TJHis toy must have had lots of bidding, and the final gavel price ascertained to that.

It's interesting that  the Buddy "L"company was still manufacturing wooden toys after the war, even here with this 1947-1948 Coca-Cola truck.  As you can see, it's also a nice toy, similar to the ones that I posted previously, but certainly can't come near the elegance of the town and country convertible.

Nevertheless,  what I like about the previous toys, the Coca-Cola truck, and the Buddy "L" moving truck below is the simplicity of design. An analogy that I can make to compare my thoughts are famous company logos (symbols or lettering that identify a company). The Apple logo (computers), 

the Audi logo rings (cars), the VW logo for the Volkswagen cars,  and the Shell Oil Company logo (Scallop shell).

All  the logos are simple but readily identifiable with the company, and so are these toys. They're trucks of different  functions, but we can immediately recognize them .

Simplicity with elegance - at its best!

What I've mentioned several times,and I'd like to repeat myself is my appreciation to the skills and crafts of the people (men and women), and the companies who manufactured toys not made from metal, that have survived "the test if time". We've seen the lithographed paper placed on wooden toys of the 1880's an-1900's, and now these wooden Buddy L" toys form the 1940's. They're still around ,but the Buddy "L's" (so far) are not as numerous as I would have thought.

I'll be searching for more and keeping a mental note to be on the lookout for them!

Thanks for visiting,

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

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