Friday, June 27, 2014
Sunny and Hot
Sunny and Hot
Homestead Auctions
with "Loads" of Cortlands
Earlier in the week, I introduced you to Mr. Jeffrey P. Prinz and Homestead Auctions. I had found this fine auctioneer on Liveauctioneers, but now he and the company may be found on Proxibid, as well as their own website (please see below). I presented some of their nice American-made Courtland toys (circa 1947-1954), and decided to continue with the Courtlands again for today. The toys were made in Camden, New Jersey from 1944-1954, but their legacy lives on in being collectibles that still work and in usually very good to excellent condition.
You can almost always tell a Courtland toy from the following characteristics:
1. Lithographed pressed steel (tin?)
2. The lithogaphy is circa 1940's style. If you look at vintage cartoons
from the newspaper of that ere, you will easily know what I meant by that.
3. Most of the Courtland had wind-up motors tightened with an attached key. But the most interesting thing was that these motors were guaranteed for life (read the writing on the motor).
I like the steam shovel operator lithography. He's smoking a pipe, wearing a turned up brim of the cap, gloves, and a heavy duty overcoat.
On several of the Courtland toys, the folds of the edges of one part of the toy fold over the other and secure the 2 parts together. Someone engineered this very well, as you can see how the toy has stayed together so well for all these years.
The yellow cab of the firetruck appears to be plastic. I would assume that this toy and the last one below (blue pick-up decorators truck) were manufactured in the 1950's, rather than in the 1940's.
The unpainted or un-lithographed parts of several of the toys appear to be rust-resistant.
Price-wise, these toys are within reasonable reach of most collectors, and would make a nice collection for someone interested in collecting. Of course, they may not appreciate in value, but you'll have loads of fun playing with them (if you're "young-at-heart".
When you're around toys, you have to be!
Thanks for visiting,
and as always,
have a great part of the day or night,
wherever you may be,
Stacey
toysearcher@gmail.com
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