Karl Bub Lithographed Tin "Automobiles"

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Karl Bub Lithographed Tin "Automobiles"

http://www.bertoiaauctions.com
(Please click on the above address to be redirected to Bertoia Auctions website)

Introduction

    If you look hard enough, it's amazing how many discoveries are yet to be found in the old and antique toy world! Yesterday morning, I went to LiveAuctioneers to see what I might find, and what I found was another "Eureka" moment. I discovered the Karl Bud (Germany) line of toys. I've had a few large-sized pressed steel toys similar to these made in the USA, but never did I see the detail and the many different models of "automobiles".  I put automobiles in quotation marks, because  there are toy cars and there are "toy automobiles". Considering the era (1020's-1930's), a time in the world when economies were tanking,  millions of people were unemployed,and the world was about to enter a war within the decade, it's a wonder that toy companies made toys at all. 

    I started to screen-capture images with my great program called Snag-It, and I captured and captured, and decided to stop at 17! I"m getting faster and faster at presenting the images the way that I want to, but it still takes time. So 17 is a large number. However, the total number that Bertoia Auctions had on their site was somewhere near 55. I'm sure there are a few duplicates, but nevertheless, the many different models are outstanding.

The Company

    The original company was Carrette & Co (Carette & Cie) - a French company. Carrette was established in 1886, by Mr. George Carrette, and  closed in 1917. It was acquired by Karl Bub. Karl Bub produced other toys such as trains, but his  automobile toys remain the  beacon by which the name remains.  There is an exceptional website for toy histories that you might want to visit for information:   www.powerhousemuseum.com

If you study the Karl Bud cars long enough you'll be able to know what the characteristics are that identify this particular brand. 

1. Opening doors,

2. Nickel-plated bumpers and grills

3. Early model spoked-wheels

4. Rounded and folded metal parts

5. Fine lithographed printing and detailing such as around doors, 

the car sides, the air vents, and so forth

6. The rounded lithographed metal tires

Of course, if you study these long enough, you'll find another 6 more features to help you identity these outstanding models. The question though is whether you'll ever find one in some barn somewhere for a really great price! Everyone nowadays is watching the British Road Show or the American version, as well as the various antique seekers on TV.

But you never know!

Thanks for visiting, 

and have a great day wherever you may be reading this.

Stacey

Vindex Toys - Revisited

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Vindex Toy Company

(Farm Machinery)

   Vindex was a division of the National Sewing Machine Company.  National and the magazine, Farm Mechanics came up with an idea to sell more subscriptions to the magazine.  The idea was for children to promote and enlist magazine subscribers in return for getting farm machinery toys as rewards and incentives (Wikipedia). 

     Vindex also made other types of toys and promotions. You can find a great article, written by 

Mr. Bill Vossler about the history of the company at the link below:  

http://www.farmcollector.com/Toys/Vindex-Toys.aspx

(Please click on the link above to be redirected)

   The toys are cast iron, which are one of my favourite types of toys. As I mentioned before, there's nothing like having a "heavy" toy in your hand to play with! As for the farm machinery toys, you have to realize that at the time farming was very important to the US, as well as providing many jobs (proportionally) to the total population of the US. The term "breadbasket to the world" was  related to the vast crop production of the US at those times (1920-1950), and even now!

http://www.bertoiaauctions.com

(Please click on the link above to be redirected)

     I am always amazed at what the Net has done in terms of accessing knowledge and other areas of mankind. AS for myself, just writing this blog has been a real education. And I have to thank all of the kind and generous people-the Bertoias.  They have allowed me to write about them and use their photos to share with everyone dropping by to read this blog.

   The fact that many toys,especially these Vindex toys survive today says a lot about people and the Vindex toys. People liked them and kept them , passing them on from generation to generation,and eventually being sold at auction. That certainly says something about people and toys!

Thanks for dropping by,

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

wherever you are, and whatever time of day 

you are now reading this post.

Stacey

The Schieble Toy & Novelty Company

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The Schieble Toy & Novelty Company

http://www.bertoiaauctions.com

(Please click on the above address to be redirected to this outstanding website)

   Mr. William E. Schieble originally was a partner in a company called D.P Clark & Company. However, a major disagreement occurred between Mr. Schieble and Mr.Clark, and Mr. Schieble bought out Mr. Clark. The name of the company changed to  Schieble Toy and Novelty  in 1909. The company  continued and produced toys up until 1931, whereupon it was forced to declare bankruptcy and close.

   The company made mostly pressed steel and heavy-gauge tinplate for the bodies of their toys. Many of the toys also had friction mechanisms to move the toy.  A friction mechanism is a set of gears that builds up energy as the wheels of the toy are moved along the ground. When the toy is released, it moves.

    What I found interesting as I checkered pricing on E-Bay is that the toys are not expense, considering the some of them are true antiques (100 years old).  Another interesting fact is that mist of the toys are large! I only had the length or wingspan (airplane) to work with for measurements, but these are large toys nevertheless.

     It's almost the end of February, and the temperature has finally started to go above 0 Celcius. March, the March break for schools, and of course Easter will soon be upon us. With the warm weather, everyone  wants to go outdoors and get some fresh air, and work around the house or  take small trips here and there.  What then happens, for myself at least, is that  my sales on E-Bay used to slow down in terms of the speed at which toys sold. As well, on my blog the reader drops by about 10-15%.

   So if you're a toy enthusiast, now's the time to venture around searching at garage sales (Canada) or yard sales (USA) for those elusive old toys. Also, there's plenty of auctions coming up at auction houses and companies around the world.

   If you do find some interesting items, or have nice items,and you'd like to share them on my blog, by all means send me an e-mail at toy searcher@gmail.com 

I'm always open for new stories.I just need JPEG images that are at least 4" x 6" @ 300 dpi (102mm x 152mm).

Thanks for dropping by,

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

Stacey Bindman

Buffalo Road Imports- A Start

Monday, February 25, 2013

Buffalo Road Imports - A Start

     You're probably wondering why I titled this post "Buffalo Road Imports - A Start". 4 Days ago (February 21, 2013), I wrote about EMD - a company that is owned by Buffalo Road Imports LLC. That company makes their own diecast brand of modern-era models. However, Buffalo Road Imports  has many,many, many  models, and I thought I'd have a real look. So I looked and looked, and looked even more.

     If you want to look at lots of models, or compare models, or find a particular model that you're looking for, you have to come here! I spent about 30 minutes perusing the site, and all models are referenced ob the OEM (the company that makes the "real" item", and by the model manufacturer. f you bookmark, this is definitely 1 site to record when it comes to models.

    If you've noticed, I use the term "model" here. From what I can gather ma model is more of a collectible that's for display, rather than  a toy, that would be played with by a child. And almost every model maker and seller of models will have somewhere on their site a "warning" that models are not for young children as they have many small parts that may post a potential danger to children. 

   I decided to present Komatsu models via several different manufacturers.I've been trying to get permission from several manufacturers who make very big models (large scale), but  I have to wait and wait. Thankfully,  Brandon Lewis, the owner of Buffalo Road Imports LLC gave me permission to use his photos from this site. Someone at the company has taken thousands and thousands of photographs of their numerous models, as well as using some of the manufacturers photos.  However, I only will use the distributors own photographs for copyright reasons. Some of the manufacturers are very "guarded" about how they allow distributors to use their photos.

    Last week, I checked on Komatsu, which is a Japanese company. They had revenue in FY 2012 of  1.981 trillion Yen, or  1,981,000,000,000.00 Yen - That's a lot a Yen!  Komatsu, like most other large-machinery companies have a big following in terms of model manufacturers, and collectors. The main reason for my checking out Komatsu, is that they make HUGE machines, just like CAT, and of course, those gargantuan earth movers by Bucyrus-Erie.

 While I was checking on the Buffalo Road Imports site for Komatsu, I realized that there were at least 3-4 model manufacturers who are licensed to produce the Komatsu machines.That's certainly a fair amount just for manufacturing 1 OEM's machines! SOme of the models are made of brass, some of diecast metal,and some are a combination of diecast and resin or plastic.

 Buffalo Road Imports' photographs are well-taken, but what I've done is separate the models from their custom-made foundation (what an item sits on) and place them on a white background. I find a model presents itself best against such a background. What's great about Buffalo's photographs are that they are in focus, properly-exposed, and large! A true toy and model blogger's delight!

 Material: Diecast

Size: 1:50

Material: Brass
Size: 1:87

Material: Diecast
Size: 1:50

 Material: Diecast

Size: 1:50

Material:  Zamak (A composite  metal alloy of zinc and other metals) and  Resin
Size: 1:50

     Don't forget that you can look at these image in a slide show format.  As well, you can magnify them larger than they are as you view them. That allows you to see the fine detail that goes into many of these models.

     I'll only "touched the surface" of this excellent site for models.  So if you're looking for a place to search out models of all kinds of trucks, machines, and so forth, this is the place!

Thanks for visiting, and as always,

have a great part of the day wherever you may be - morning, 

afternoon, or evening.

Stacey

Old Toy Seaplanes

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Old Toy Seaplanes

http://www.bertoiaauctions.com

   My wife doesn't travel well  when there is any motion or excessive motion. I remember when we couldn't go out on the lake in the country because the waves were about a foot (254 mm). And, about 25 years ago, when we went fishing on the Pacific off Vancouver, British Columbia, my wife got sick, especially when my brother was licking his fingers after eating something! I caught a what I thought was a "keeper" salmon, but we had to return the fish as it was too small! It was about 20 inches, but whatever type of salmon  it was, it was "small".

    I've been fortunate to be able to have flown in a seaplane to go fishing. Once my father took me, and the other time, I went by myself. I don't think my wife would ever go! The ride in a seaplane is bumpy and rocky, and rickety. The airplane parts bend and move as you fly,but you know you'll get where you're going. The pilot has to turn into the wind to set out, ,and I think it's the same when landing. 

   I've been in a smaller seaplane where there was only room for 2 passengers and a pilot, plus the gear. I've also been in a larger seaplane where the capacity was 5-6 people, the pilot, and the cargo.

Many seaplanes are modified wheeled runway  airplanes that have been adapted for the water. I think they can be reconverted back to the wheeled version. Also some airplanes can be also adapted with skis for winter landings and takeoffs, on frozen lakes. 

   Most of Northern Canada was developed with the  aid of the seaplane, and there are many famous company names such as the "Beaver" company. There are some islands in the Caribbean that still have seaplanes, and in 1 James Bond movie there was one, but the name of the movie  is forgotten. 

   In the early days of flight, there were lots of seaplanes, since you didn't need runways to land, and there were plenty of lakes and seacoast.  Eventually, countries were settled, the  population expanded, the railways grew, and then the roads came.  However, most of Northern Canada still replies on the seaplane, and if you want to catch larger-sized freshwater fish in remove areas, you'll need a seaplane!

   The largest "seaplane" ever made was developed by the famous Howard Hughes. It was nicknamed the "Spruce Goose". It was designed to carry a huge cargo or lots of troops during WWII.  It was 218" 8" (66.65 M), 79' 4" high, and had a wingspan of 320' 11" (97.54M). The ceiling (flying altitude) was 20,900' (6,370M)m with a range of 3000 miles (4,800 KM). Sadly, there were some problems with the airplane, and the war changed for the Allies, and the airplane was never needed.

Thanks for dropping by to visit today.

As usual, have a great part of the day, wherever you may be.

Stacey