Friday, May 13, 2016
Raining and 21 Celcius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Raining and 21 Celcius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
A Collector of Pull Toys Contacts Me
Hey Stacey,
I don’t know exactly what you are looking for but I will give you some
information. I started collecting old wooden toys a little over three years ago
after buying a box full at a local auction I attended near Waynesboro, Ga. One
of the toys was a Ted Toy-lers Walking Soldier pull toy. I had never heard of
Ted Toy-lers so I decided to do a little research. I came across a website,
oldwoodtoys.com. The site belongs to Jim and Judy Sneed. I contacted Jim and
discovered that Ted Toys were very hard to find. He told me that his wife had
sold most of her collection. He had about five or six left along with several
parts. I bought all of them. Jim and his wife are the premier experts on Ted
Toy-lers toys, along with several other companies.
I
bought several toys online, and in the process met Peter Thomashow.
Coincidentally, Peter was one of the two individuals who purchased several of
Judy Sneed’s Ted Toy collection. I bought all of Peter’s Ted Toys as well.
Since that time we have become friends and we talk toys almost daily. I’m in
the process of purchasing some very rare Toy Tinkers toys from him at the
present time.
I
won an original Ted Toy-lers box online and the seller told me the backup
bidder wanted to meet me. He gave me his contact information. The backup bidder
was Richard Mueller. I had already heard of him from Jim Sneed. He is known in
toy circles as the Pull Toy Professor. He owns a toy museum on the Mississippi
Gulf Coast that is incredible to see in person. Richard and I trade toys and I
count on him for guidance as I learn more each day about old wooden toys. You
won’t find better people that Richard and his wife, Linda. Richard is who
bought the other Ted Toys that Judy Sneed sold. Through Richard, I began to
progress beyond Ted Toy-lers toys and started collecting many other companies.
Richard’s collection consists of toys from over 175 companies. I prefer to
collect from approximately 25 different companies.
I
was searching for toy collectors online one evening and came across an ad in a local
publication. It was someone wanting to purchase Rich, Hustler, and Ted Toys.
The man’s name was Perry Eichor. I had seen his name on Jim’s website a few
times so I contacted him. I struck a deal with Perry that included
approximately 60-70 toys. Perry was a major Rich and Hustler collector so many
of the toys I purchased from him are rarely, if ever seen. I’m in the process
of working a deal with Perry for several Cameo and Ideal dolls.
So,
along with networking with Jim, Richard, Peter, and Perry; I also network with
individuals all over the United States that contact me when they find toys.
Brooke Larsen, Gary Cenname, Tracy Tedder, Mike Jones, Keith Spurgeon, and
Kevin Mcguire (Playful Plans) to name a few. I let them know when I find toys
they might want.
I
surmise I have about 3,000 toys in my collection. Many are the best known or
only known examples. To put it in perspective, I would surmise that Richard has
over 10,000 toys. Although I buy anything I find interesting, I concentrate on
the following companies: Ted Toy-lers, Hustler, Rich, Toy Tinkers, International,
Buck-A-Roo, Scarey Ann, Wilson Walkies, Newton Thompson, Fulton, Hyker, Gibbs,
Gluck, Performo, Jaymar, Twistum, Cameo, Ideal, Strombecker, Gong Bell, All
Fair, Go-Toys, Reed, Bliss, Bumpa, and Crandall. Complete toy histories for these companies and many others
are available on oldwoodtoys.com. Here are a few reference pics from my
collection:
Very rare Hustler Derby purchased from Perry Eichor
Extremely rare Hiram Hustler Purchased from Perry Eichor
Extremely rare Hustler Sam’s Transfer purchased from Perry
Eichor
Very rare Hustler Jimmie Mouse. Obtained during toy trading
with Richard Mueller
Gong Bell Racer 420. Purchased on Ebay
Very Scarce Hustler Rastus and Rachel Pull Wagon purchased
from Perry Eichor
As you can see, Steve is quite involved in being knowledgeable about pull toys, as well as knowing many people who collect similar toys. One of these people is Mr. Richard Mueller. If you Google "Richard Mueller", you will find his website and correspondingly his toys.
I haven't added much written dialogue on of my own, As Steve did a fabulous job with his written narrative. It's certainly amazing how may different toy manufacturers of these pull toys that exist, and whose names I have never come across until now. It's great to have readers communicate with me, because I like to "discover" new "old toy manufacturers" from way back when.
Thanks to Steve Mayo, I'll have plenty of new manufacturers to search out over the summer.n
Thanks Steve for your help and willingness to share your knowledge and toys with us.
As always,
thanks for dropping by,
and have a great day,
wherever you may be,
Stacey
toysearcher@gmail.com
