Tuesday, January 28, 2014
(Sunny and Very Cold)
(Sunny and Very Cold)
A Collector-Seller Comments on a Post
Last week, I saw that someone had commented on one of my older posts. The post had to do with a Hubley cast iron racer. The person happened to be Mr. Cliff Olsen - a fine seller on ebay who I had written about several times. I wrote back, and we corresponded back and forth a few times. n The name of his store is Gothamcitytoys.
My original post talked about what is called a "Hubley Animated Cast IronToy Racer". There are 2 long rods underneath the car that move irregular up and down. This happens because there is an irregular-shapedfront axle that cause this movement. The movement in turn causes the red flaming "fire" to move up and down through a set of 8 holes to mimic the piston explosions. Below are the original set of photos from that post.
©Copyright 2014 Stacey Bindman
Please do not copy without my written permission
Cliff initially commented that he thought that this mite might not be authentic as these particular original and authentic toys are quite expensive. If I remember correctly, I did not pay a lot for this toy, but sometimes to you do see these authentic" animated racers selling for low prices.
Cliff mentioned a website that discusses ways of checking for "reproductions" compared to original cast iron toys. The address is below:
What I would also do is to do a search with words like "authenticating antique toys" or other similar searchers. The more varied references, the better that you are. Also, you should only buy from someone with an excellent record (ebay) or an antique store that has a very good reputation.
In the ensuing correspondence, I had asked Cliff how the market was doing with regard to antique toys. I had heard from another person months ago who asked if I sensed that the American antique toy market was slowing down, and that prices were dropping. I couldn't comment to that person because I don't buy and sell, and I don't want to comment since I am writing about toys and sellers, and I wouldn't want to comment on something that I have not researched enough.
Cliff mentioned though that prices can fluctuate broadly from year-to-year. I agree, and this might be similar to my thoughts on the stock market. Some of my retirement funds are in Canadian stocks, and their share value does go "up and down". My personal opinion is that as long as I don;t need the money right now, in the long term, I will keep the stocks. They pay good dividend, and I usually reinvest the dividends into more stock. However, this last quarter, I decoded to take the dividend in cash.
Cliff's opinion was similar regarding antique toys, but from his viewpoint as a collector. He has some superb cast iron cars and trucks, and even a set. This set is the Dent set of Lasalle trucks and cars.
These fine items came as a set with interchangeable parts. You could change the top parts (upper frame) with the lower part (nickel-plated chassis). So one time you could have a convertible the next time a hardtop, and another time a truck. Cliff sent me 3 photos, which I decided to both whiten the background, and to make some enlargements of the originals. His collection is fabulous, and having the complete sets with individual complete frames and chassis is even more astounding!
These take apart cast iron toys are great because children could disassemble and reassemble the toys. As well, I like cast iron because of the tactile feeling in your hands of a heavy weight. The above toys are Dent LaSalles, but Hubley and I believe Kilgore also had these "hands-on" kits from which you could really play around with. When you see the completed set above, you have to admire Cliff and the collection. These are truly vintage collectibles!
Thanks for visiting,
and have a great part of the day or night,
wherever you may be.
Stacey
toysearcher@gmail.com
New here and wondering how to post a photo of an old cast iron truck I found to see if anybody knows about it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mike
Hi Mike,
ReplyDeleteI when I clicked on your name, I came to your Google+ website:
https://plus.google.com/115279478735016071562/posts
You would need to send me your photos and then I'd add a post on my blog.
However, the photos are mostly out-of-focus, so I wouldn't be able to use them
Also, I have a feeling that this item may not be a real and old antique toy from any of the original manufacturers (Hubley,Dent, Kilgore,Kenton) and so forth.
If you rephotograph the toy with a camera rather than a computer pad, I can add a post. I like to maintain a certain level of quality on my blog.
Also, try to get some white cardboard (at an art store) to add light into the shadow areas of the toy. The better the item is lit, the more detail shows.
Also, if have have many toys and photograph them better, I will gladly add a post about you, and your website to get readers to visit your site.
Thanks for dropping by,
Stacey Bindman
toysearcher@gmail.com
author: oldantiquetoys.blogspot.com