Identifying an Unknown Cast Iron Toy Truck

 Thursday, December 9, 2021                          Cloudy                                           -4 C    24.8 F  

         A Reader asks me to Identify an Unknown Cast Iron Toy Truck 

    Early this week, I received an inquiry from a reader. Jamie Green's Husband had inherited a cast iron toy from his grandmother, and Jamie wanted to know who the manufacturer was, and when the toy was made.

    The toy was in excellent condition, but what caught my attention was the fact that in the topmost photo, a flathead screw with the cut for a screwdriver was blatantly the most apparent thing that I noticed. Immediately, I eliminated all of the 1930's manufacturers such Hubley, Arcade, A.C.Williams, Dent, and Kenton as possible choices. The reason was that none of them ever used a screw to attach the 2 halves (left and right sides) of the toy together. Most would have used a flat head bolt on one side, with the other side cut and flattened to attach the 2 sides together.  Also, if you look at the second photo, you'll notice  very apparent grinding marks from a grinder.  The cast iron toy companies that I previously mentioned used very fine sand in their moldings. When the molten iron cooled after the casting, the 2 sides were carefully removed, and the casting surfaces would be very, very smooth.  Any defective or flawed castings would be broken down and melted, with the molten iron to be reused again.

    I did some searching and was lucky to come across this site: https://trivetology.com/2019/06/01/the-iron-art-company-philipsburg-nj/

If you read this excellent article, and look at the photos of  a cast iron stake truck, you will find an image of a truck similar to that of what Jamie Green sent me. I sent a letter to the writer of the trivetology.com, and I hope to hear from him/her in the near future, so that I might have permission to use some of the photos there.

Jamie's husband's toy is most likely from  The Iron Art Company of Philipsburg (New Jersey, U.S.A.) and was manufactured in the early 1950's.

So that's it for today. I can't believe how fast 2021 has passed by, and in just a few weeks Christmas will be upon us. As for Covid, I hope all of my readers are taking care and caution, and have received their Covid inoculations. I'll be getting my Pfizer booster on January 12, 2022. Wow, how the time flies by.

Thanks for dropping by, and feel free to write to me anytime at:

(Mr.) Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

As always, have a great part of the day or night, wherever you may be,

Stacey