Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Mr. Charles Gilbert
Dinky Toys
Sooner or later there are certain toys that I knew I would eventually write about. Two of these are Dinky toys and Japanese robots. Today is the beginning of Dinky toys. I never played with toy trucks or cars.When I started to write this blog, I discovered Tootsietoys, and I liked them. However, you cannot go anywhere relative to toys without finding Dinky toys. And so for some mysterious reason, a few days ago, I decided to write about Dinky toys. I ventured to England (on the Net of course),but the listings on ebay there only includes 1 photo. So I crossed back to our side of the Atlantic (on the Net) and searched for a Dinky toy seller in North America. I came across many sellers, but focused on two people, the first of which is Mr. Charles Gilbert who has a store on ebay by the name of Gilbert Antique Toys.
When I search for someone from ebay that I would like to appear on my blog, I have 2 criteria.
The first is that their feedback is very positive, and the second is that they have many photos, and a very good description of what they are listing. Charles, of course easily met those goals. As I mentioned before, I like Tootsietoys. I've seen Dinky toys in Montreal, and on the Net, and they are still around. The company has a long and interesting history (future posts for sure), and you can't argue about their success and longevity, especially when some of these small toys are being offered for sale in the thousands of dollars. Not only are they popular, but they are very sought after as collectibles. Furthermore, they can be found all over the world!
Whenever I ask someone to be a guest on my blog, I ask them if they'd like to write a short narrative or story about themselves and the items they sell . I suggested that since Charles sold many Dinky toys, he might be somewhat of an expert. He humbly wrote back that he wasn't, but I think he's very modest. His accompanying written descriptions for each listing are well written and lots of fine detail. But the best of all was that Charles and his super photos have made me a new follower of Dinky. When I started to improve his already fine photo in Photoshops, his exceptional photos totally changed my view on Dinky toys. Each photo that I worked on, made me appreciate the beauty of the toys that are modelled after all on real things of the time. And if photos can do that, then it says a lot about the photographer, as well as Charles Gilbert - the seller of fine Dinky toys.
Charles Gilbert Antique Toys
For those who haven;t been to my blog before, I'll let you know that I like toys with detail among my list as to why I like certain toys. Charles has lots of toys for sale and has sold many before, but for today, these are 4 that I selected.
I don't know if Chalres decided to use a wide-open lens opening (aperture) for the shallow depth-of-field. Nevertheless, this pair of photos of the Armstrong Siddeley are my favourite for that reason.
The centre of attention is at the front, with lesser emphasis on the background and the rest of the car.
Of course, when it comes to collectibles, the box is most important, and absolutely is a must in order to be more valuable!
This is my favourite of the four Dinky toys. The photography is outstanding for its' quality and informing the viewer what the toy details are. However, it's the total difference of this toy that makes it my favourite. The design and the hands-on ramps are what I like the most.
When I finished adding the final touches to the photographs such as the watermarks, the written descriptions, and the copyright notices, I felt that this presentation was one of my best ones as far as the visuals went. The writing and the photos just seemed to fall into place as if by "magic". But as I said, these photographs from a very fine seller and photographer were able to change my previous views of these toys!
I will be returning from time to time to write more about Dinky Toys. With so many Dinky toys out there, if I had the time, this would be a new blog.
I will be returning from time to time to write more about Dinky Toys. With so many Dinky toys out there, if I had the time, this would be a new blog.
Thanks for dropping by,
and as always, have a great part fo the day,
wherever you may be.
Stacey
write to me antime at
toysearcher@gmail.com
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