Saturday, April 13, 2024

Mr. Bob Woodburn Revisited

Sunday, April 14, 2024
Cloudy with Rain
11°C  52° F


Mr. Bob Woodburn Revisited




I've been re-reading my old posts to find new material to write about.
One of these people that I decided to revisit is Mr. Bob Woodburn Bob lives in
Bozeman, Montana USA, and is a very successful seller on ebay. I had written to him 7 years ago  to ask about Mr. Tom Sehloff, who makes these remarkable cast iron toys in the style of
the 1920's-1930's cast iron models. 

However, today, he's selling another artisan and craftsperson
by the name of  the late  Mr. Marvin Silverstein. Marvin passed away in 2010, but his legacy lives on. Marvin took old pressed steel cars, and restored them to their original condition. In some cases he "modified them"  to look even better than the original. 

On Bob's site are 3 fantastic "models" that Marvin "crafted".  Bob considers these as collector's items rather than toys. One was crafted in 1995, and another crafted in 2004. The third one is not identified by date. The original models (before being modified) were from the 1930's.

This fine toy started out as a pressed steel Wyandotte Cord convertible that was made in the mid to later 1930's. It was modified by Marvin Silverstein, and you can read the entire process on Bob Woodburn's ebay store.

Bob considers these pressed steel cars to be "collectors items" rather than toys. it's best that I add some direct wording from what Bob wrote on his ebay descriptions of the 3 cars.

In the following description, I referred to this item as being a toy primarily because it started out as a toy. However, after giving this some thought over night, I consider this item to be more of a work of art than I do a toy. An artist can compose or play music, work on canvas, sculpt clay to make bronze castings, style automobiles or other commercial products, carve wood or do lots of other creative things. One or more master metal shapers rebuilt a child's toy to make the masterpiece you see here. 
Please enjoy it like I have for several years. 
Thanks a lot,
Bob Woodburn
in Bozeman, Montana, USA 
                                                       


Size:  L x W x H
13 1/4" x 4 3/4" x 4 1/4" 
334 mm x 120 mm x 113 mm







Crafted from an original  pressed steel Wyandotte Cord convertible coupe
that was also made in the mid to latter 1930's.

L x W x H
14 1/2" x 4 3/4" x 4 1/4"
368 mm x 120 mm x 113 mm









Like the other 2 previous toys, this model started out as a Wyandotte pressed steel toy 
manufactured from the mid to later 1930's. This particular model has the most work and has been changed the most from the original toy.

L x W x H
14 1/2" x 4 3/4" x 4 1/4"
368 mm x 120 mm x 113 mm









You can see the fine craftsmanship that went into the modification of all 3 of these
vintage toys. These are more collector's items than toys, and  certainly have been well build and
modified from the original Wyandotte toys.

I've abridged (shortened) the lengthy narrative that Bob wrote about all 3 of these toys presented today. So please go to Bob's ebay site to see the entire descriptions that Bob has taken the time to write about.

Thanks for dropping by,
and have a great part of the day or night
wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com



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