A Reader Sends Photos of His Identified Arcade Coupe

Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Overcast, very windy, and very cold

A Reader Sends Photos 

of His Identified Arcade Coupe

It's always great to hear from readers. I can see from my Google statistics that there are people who visit my website each day, however, it's always great to actually have someone write to me.  A few days ago, I heard from a Canadian reader - right "next door" in Ontario, the province next to mine, which is Quebec. Mr. Ken Keenan had written to say that he had a 70 year old (at least) cast iron toy car given to him when he was 3 years old. He was searching for the identity of his toy, and came across my blog and found his answer. As it turns out, it is a nice Arcade cast iron coupe from the 1930's or even earlier.

In His Own Words

I was given a cast iron car when I was three years old, that would be 70 years ago, how time goes by, and decided to look it up on the internet when I came upon your web site.

 

  There it was!  I couldn’t make out the name of the company stamped underneath so I made up some modeling clay and pressed it on the logo, and after tapping some flour on it and using a mirror to read the name I saw the word Arcade  and a serial number that looks like 13, but the serial number is hard to make out but two numbers for sure.

 

  When I was in my 40’s I took it from the curio cabinet and decided to paint it black as it looked pretty drab.  Years later I thought I would try to take the paint off with some paint remover and now it looks a speckled green more like when I got it originally.

 

  I once had a cast iron bank too that looked like the empire state building,  but somehow it got lost or thrown out.  I couldn’t seem to save money anyway.

 

  Your site was very helpful in identifying my car.  I remember many years ago on a radio program that they said cast iron cars some day could be worth a hundred dollars so hang on to them.  

 

  Anyway, thanks for the pictures and info, and if you would like some pictures of mine I would be only too glad to send you a few.

 

Yours truly,

Ken Keenan

I was going to do my  "usual" whitening effect for Ken's photos, but decided to pre sent all variations of Ken's photos.  Below is my usual "whitened" effect. Because the toy was on red, I had to remove the foundation. Once that was done, I removed the red colour that bounced from the  nice red fabric that Ken used on to the sides of the car. I should have removed  the red colouring of the fabric and leave something for the car to rest on.

As for the car, it certainly had been kept "as is" over all those years.  It really looks like something very old with the remnants of the green paint flakes.

Ken used this nice white material with a rectangular grid pattern on it. I removed the background, but left the grid as the foundation (what the item sits on). This foundation is a fine choice to photograph the toy. If you look at the rear of the car on this photo and the one below, you can see a "rumble seat". What's interesting here is that the rumble seat has been placed into 2 holes on each side of the car. It has small projections that rest in the holes, that allow for the seat to open and close.

I removed the area behind the black letter bin, but left the bin ad the foundation.  Black works well to present the toy, and since it's dark, the toy shows well  being a lighter colour. In the 1930's and earlier, Arcade made some of their cars with totally= cast iron wheels. Later cars and trucks would have metal rims with whitte or black rubber tires.

Here's Ken's car resting on the red fabric. I left the red on the side of the car to illustrate how a foundation will reflect colour on to the car.  Red also worked well, but a good idea would be to try to limit light on the car and darken the red. The red will be less noticeable, but allow for the red regal  to show the car as a "regal" item.

 What's great about these cast iron toys is that it takes forever for them to really rust out and return to the earth. 

The length of this car is 6 1/2" or  165 mm. If you do  a search on Liveauctioneers for 

Arcade Cast Iron Coupe or Arcade Cast Iron Rumble Coupe, 

you'll find images of the same toy, in various degrees of condition.

You may find  this toy in better condition when you go to Liveauctioneers, but for Ken, and for myself, the personal meaningful value is more important that the condition of the item.  I have some old fishing reels that my father gave me and my brother, and some that We inherited when my father passed on. They're not in the best condition, nor they are the most valuable, but there were my father's.

What's more is that they still work and can catch fish, and they're all metal, not the plastic that one finds today.

Some things are not worth changing regardless as to how old or in what condition they are!

Thanks for visiting and as always

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

A Great Canadian Story

Wednesday,December 10, 2014
Overcast, snowing and cool

A Great Canadian Story

  Today's post started out with Mr. Alvin Shier, a Canadian writer in several Canadian publications. Alvin introduced himself  by saying that he writes a toy column titled "Pollution Free Motoring" in the Canadian Publication "Old Autos".  He wanted to know if I knew if I knew of any information about the Lil' Beaver Toy Company besides what one finds on the Internet.  When he first mentioned Lil' Beaver, What came immediately to mind was the famous Canadian Wrestler by that name.Lil' Beaver used to be on TV in the 1950's with all of the other famous American and Canadian Wrestlers at that time. Television at that time was in black and one and there were 4 channels - 3 American and 1 Canadian CBC.

  That sounded like a post idea, so I wrote Alvin back and said that I'd search. I did find some "bits and pieces', here and there, but no story - yet!  

  My next idea was to go to ebay and Liveauctioneers. Most sellers on ebay and Liveauctioneers will usually include a brief history of the company, but again I couldn't find anything - not even a toy! Of course, if I keep searching on ebay , one will eventually appear!

  And then an idea came into my head, nd I said to myself (Just like those old V-8 vegetable juice drink commercials), "Now why didn't I think of this before?". "Look for Canadian toys on Kijiji".
For those who don't know, Kijiji is a Canadian company that provides free advertising for people wanting to sell all kinds of items. It's of course "buyer beware, and you're advised to meet in public areas, and note at your home. Personally, I've had very good experiences both in buying and selling, and have met people at Tim Horton's , the iconic Canadian coffee shop, established in 1967.

  I couldn't find and Lil' Beaver toys in Montreal, so I got another idea - search west, staring with Ontario, and going westerly. Eventually, I found a nice toy in Winnipeg,Manitoba.

  I have to interject here, and provide you with a mini-story that I used to not believe until it happened to me. Most people in the world (no disrespect intended) don't know much about Canada. Even I don't! Canadian history, when I was a kid was boring, and even today it still is. The great part is that we have been a peaceful country for our short history, and I can't argue with that.

  So here's the mini-story that actually happened to me. I met someone a few years ago,and the conversation turns to Canada,and the person says "Do you know such and such person in Vancouver,British Columbia?". I didn't, and had to tell the person that Vancouver is  3,052 miles or 4,912 Kilometres. The next time you meet a Canadian, eh, ask then if they ever hear this story or if it happened to them.

   Back to the toys…


I wrote to a Kijiji seller in Winnipeg, Manitoba  (1135 miles or 1826 Kilometres), and he answers with exuberation. Mr. David  Gledhill wrote to say that he'd be very happy to be a guest on my blog. He's a contractor,but also happens to sell toys and comic books. What I liked about David is that he takes fine photographs. Not everyone on Kijiji takes the time to photography their merchandise, and provide more than one image. However, David took 8 fine photographs and large-sized as well. So below is the first Lil' Beaver toy that I found.

I did my usual minor whitening effect to present the toy,but David deserves all the kudos for the quality of the images. If you look at the photos in Google Blogger's slide format,you'll see the Lil' Beaver decal. As for the toy, it was probably made in the 1960's (an educated guess) and is not so old ( I had to say that, as I am 66 and don't feel old!). However, I think it's in better shape than I am. I keep saying that I have to start exercising!

The toy is in great shape and works well (please read the description).

I hope you didn't mind my long-winded story today or mentioning  Canada 15 times in this post.

Canadians are supposedly described as being very reserved and quite about our country, unlike our Southern neighbour - USA. 

You'd think that after all this time, we would have got out of our shyness, being so close to America!

I promise that for tomorrow, the post will be about toys with minimal diversions or stories!

Thanks for dropping by, and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

Checking Out a Future Auction

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Checking Out A Future Auction

    More and more auctioneers and auction houses  are going to bidding via the Web.  As a result, they need to prepare in advance so that all of the viewers and the bidders who will go to the auction can see the items ahead of time. So that's how it was that I came to visit Dan Morphy's Auctions and came to post today. I looked a bit more than usual to try and find items that I may nor have seen before, and I did find many. He also seems to always have a nice collection of  shaving mugs from a long time ago, but since I write about toys, I rarely "investigate" these interesting items.

Please click here to visit Morphy Auctions fine website

This toy is quite interesting

After the toy is wound,the fireman goes up the ladder!

What makes the 4 above listings more valuable is that they happen to have their original boxes.

This is a Marx truck that I've never seen before.

It's too bad that I can't see the rear door, as I think it's one of those steel platforms that rise and fall for unloading merchandise from a "real" truck.

I haven't seen the milk wagon before .The casting is quite interesting, as it involved producing the milk cans on the inside of the cart.

This surrey is interesting from the two different metals that it was made form. Normally, these pull toys were made from just cast iron in the early 1900's. However, this one happens to be made from both cast iron and tin.

Imagine that this particular listing has all  of its original pieces intact!

The wires attached to the front wheel cause the pair of horses to move up and down as the toy is pulled. At the same time, the bell underneath the wagon chimes

Farm toys have always been a favourite of farmers in the USA. 

The two slightly different  offer the buyer a nice start to any collection.

Finally, here's a very rare tractor. What makes this particular Arcade cast iron tractor rare is that the front steering part is nickel-plated. This one certainly would be nice to add to any collection.

So that's another post.

Thanks for visiting, 

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night, wherever you may be.

Stacey

(toysearcher@gmail.com)

Early Coal Toys

Thursday May 9, 2013

Early Coal Toys

     Yesterday and the day before, I went over to my sister-in-law's house to work with her on her lawn. First there was the raking to remove the dead grass. Next, we applied an earth and pear moss combination, then fertilizer, followed by an application of seeds. Yesterday, I also removed a large patch of grass that had been infested with grubs. Grubs are the larval stage of insects that deposit their eggs in the ground. These particular grubs like grass roots, and when they eat the roots the grass dies. Un in Canada, and especially in Quebec Province, we cannot use the "old" and more poisonous pesticides anymore The newer method is to use nematodes. These are "live" small worm-like creatures that you apply on a lawn, then water the lawn for the nematodes to dig into the soil, find the grubs then eat them. Yesterday, and today, I repaired my lawn with raking dead grass, then adding seeds, and then black earth.

    So all of this "exercise" has made me tired, and thus no blog post yesterday. As far as today's post goes,an old toy cast iron coal truck caught my eye, and I decided to post about the early coal toys.   Coal of course, in no longer used in North America to heat homes, but once upon a time it was the main source of fuel. Also, America became what it was due to coal - a superpower. Steel, electric power plants,  and many other industries were and some are still, powered by coal. Of coal in 2013, certain countries still can use coal, (China and India), but in North America, less and less. There are those "penalties" and trades regarding that "carbon tax",but that;s not for the post today!

   The real early toys of course were designed after what was availble to move coal, and that of course was the horse (or donkey) and wagon or cart. Later, when the car was invented and then followed by the truck, the toys were designed after the newer modes of transportation.

   I've been to a coal mine in Nova Scotia , and saw the last of the coal-powered steam train engines in the early 1950's. In the late 1960's, I met 2 very nice Pennsylvanian fishermen up in a fishing lodge called "Dorval Lodge". This can be found in 1 of our provincial parts called "La Verendrye".

I never caught anything really big there,although I did see some 15-18 pound pike. The waters there are crystal clear, but reddish from all of the forest and sunken trees in the waters. The park was established in the 1950's as a dam for hydro-electricity. Most of the trees were cut to the level of the water, and all that remains are the stumps.

   The reason that I mention the Pennsylvanian fishermen, was that I went fishing with them one day. It turned out they were coal miners on a vacation. What caught my attention was the fact that both men had small black spots bellow their hands (subcutaneously), as well as the occasional ones on both their faces. I  asked them what the black spots were from,and they answered that they were form minute splinters that broke off the coal seams when they used their jackhammers to break apart the coal from the walls of the mines. That day was great to have these Pennsylvanians to fish with, and we even caught a few fish!

   The toys presented today are from the 1890's - early 1930's. 

Please click to be redirected to Bertoia's fine website

An exceptional  toy due to it's almost untouched condition!

I like the small lver that allows the dumpster to be titled.

A different colour-theme from the same toy above it.

This one also doesn't have the driver.

 

The above toy is my  favourite from today's post.

However,it wasn't the most expensive due to  the poor  condition of the paint.Of course, that's what I like the most - the  varied degrees of the red shades and hues due to most likely water and rust.

The last to toys are from the 1930's. cast iron toy manufacturers still produced toys,but the age of pressed steel and lithographed tin was becoming more predominant. With the latter materials, the process was faster, the toy designs and aesthetics could be more detailed, and of course, the costs were less, as more toys could be produced in less time.

I'll most likely post  another post with the later-era coal transports.

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always, 

have a great part of the day,

wherever you may be.

Stacey