Was This Toy Built This Way?

   Thursday, July 17, 2014
Partly sunny, windy, with a chance of rain

Was This Toy Built This Way?

    I was browsing on ebay when I came across a 1930's Arcade cast iron manure spreader. Initially, I was attracted to the metal seat in the front of the wagon. However, as I looked closer the rear left side of the wagon where the gears for the rotation of the spreader were exposed.  I thought that perhaps this toy was missing a protective cover, so I decided to investigate further by going to Liveauctioneers.  I visit Liveauctioneers regularly to start my searches because their records of current and past sales are outstanding. I can check out upcoming auctions for the next month, or do a search to find items dating back up to 8-9 years.

   I initiated a search for the Arcade manure spreader, and sure enough, every photo from the many different auctioneers, did in fact have the gears exposed. There was no cover plate to protect the gears! So that's how today's post came about. I have a hobby garden with the city that I live in that I joined late. I joined in early June, and have planted tomatoes, red,green, and yellow peppers, cucumbers, four different kinds of lettuce, rosemary, dill, and parsley. The local groundhog has eaten my purple lettuce, and I'm slightly behind everyone else in my vegetables growth.  The cost is expensive, and of course, I even used some sheep and cow manure to fertilize the veggies. The city does not permit artificial fertilizers to be used. THe "funny" thing is that the manure has been sanitized and does not smell! Welcome to the 21st century!

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Description 

(Courtesy of Bertoia Auctions)

Arcade McCormick Deering Manure Spreader

Cast Iron open body, sold tin seat

interior nicker-plated grinders, yellow hitch, nickeled spoke wheels

15" ( 381 mm) to hitch.

(Restored)

Although the toy was restored, you can easily see why the parts did not rust 

and didn't need a protective cover.

They were nickel-plated!

The seat is made of tin, so that is has some "springiness" to it,

 to move up and down as the wagon is pulled.

Of course, what would a yellow hitch ( a device for pulling the wagon) be without a team of horses.

 I would think that you could purchase the wagon by itself or complete with the pair of horses.

I selected the pair of images below to authenticate in fact that the re was no protective cover for the gears. What's also noteworthy is that the pair of horses could be used, and purchased for another toy - an open bed wagon (green).

Description for Spreader Below:

Arcade McCormick Deering Manure Spreader

Cast iron, red painted open body solo tin seat, interior nickelled grinding gears, 

black rubber tires

Length:    8 1/2"   216 mm

 The top 3 versions are from the 1930's and earlier, 
while the smaller wagon (above) with the rubber wheels is a later version (circa 1929-1940).

For those who don't know,  the United States and many other countries have had and still have a lot of farming people who provide the food for the world. They also happen to be collectors of these fine toys, and there are many companies that still produce farm machinery for collectors even today.

Thanks for visiting,

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com