Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Selkirk Auctions

Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Overcast
7° C / 44 ° F

Selkirk Auctions
(St. Louis, Missouri, USA)


I allot about 1 hour a day to search for interesting auctioneers and their nice toys.
Last week, I came across a beautiful grouping of old dolls.  They were European Dolls mostly from France. What caught my attention was that they were is such great condition, considering they were fairly old. Moreover, being a photographer, their photography was excellent for the subjects being photographed. The dolls were propped up by a hidden stand,
and were photographed with soft lighting (the photographic unit is called a "softbox".

As part of the hour, I was able to send an e-mail to Selkirk Auctions, and then waited later in the week or more, for a reply.  I received a reply a few day later, and the writer gave me 
permission to write about this beautiful set of dolls.

Description:

FRENCH SFBJ BISQUE HEAD DOLL
"Head marked from top to bottom "23 - France-SJ BJ-14".
"Set eyes, mouth is open below the teeth with pierced ears,
jointed at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrist, hips, and knees.
30.5" (77.5 cm) height."

* I was curious what the initials SFBJ stood for, so I did a quick search in Wikipedia.
If you click on the sentence below, you will be redirected to a  short but well-written article
about the SFBJ company.



What I also found interesting and informative is the amount of detail for any small "issue" with the condition of the toy, such as a small crack, a missing earring, and so forth.
Not all buyers will look scrupulously  at a photo to look at the details.

Bravo to Selkirk for letting on-line buyers know 
this information with what they are buying!  




Description:

BISQUE HEAD DOLL
"Possibly German. Head marked "13".With sleep eyes, mouth open below the teeth and pierced ears. Jointed neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips and knees.
 29" (73.66 cm) Height"

I'm still in awe at the condition of these old dolls, as well as the shoes the dress 
and the earrings!




Description:

FRENCH BISQUE HEAD DOLL
" Head  marked with a script "13". Sleep eyes, open mouth with teeth, pierced ears,
jointed neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips and knees.
29" (73.66 cm) Height





So that's it for today. I hoped you liked this post today. It was something different from what I usually write about. Seeing these fine-looking and excellent condition dolls, photographed beautifully, was inspiring enough to write this post.

I hoped that you enjoyed it.

Thanks for visiting, and as always,
Have a great part of the day, or night wherever you may be.

My name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman
and I can always be reached at my email address:

toysearcher@gmail.com




Sunday, April 28, 2024

Upcoming Matchbox Auction by Toys Trains and Other Old Stuff Auction

Sunday, April 28, 2024
Overcast
10° C /50° F 

Upcoming Matchbox Auction by 
Toys Trains and Other Old Stuff
Auction

The last auction of a sequence of 4 auctions will start on June 8, 2024.
However, you can visit the website to look at the Matchbox toys up for sale.
This auction consists exclusively of a broad range of Matchbox toys. 

Toys Trains And Other Old Stuff is
a well-regarded online company that sells lots of toys.
In this case, the auction will be online.



History of Matchbox brand of toys
(Courtesy of Wikipedia and notes from the Internet)

Matchbox is the specific name of a toy brand in which the toy comes in a small box, hence the name "Matchbox".  The Lesney Products Company  was created by 2 British die casters by trade, and a partner in 1947. Their names were Leslie Smith and Rodney Smith. Their partner's name was Jack Odell. Interestingly (and I never ever knew this) the small-sized toys were created because of restrictions and shortages of metal use during WWII.  In 1952, Mr.Odell, inspired by a rule at his daughter's school that limited the size of toys that students could bring to school. You most-likely guessed it to be a matchbox size!

I haven't added the descriptions, because they don't appear on the website.
I searched but I couldn't find the descriptions. It might be that since the opening auction day starts on May 24, 2024 and finishes on  June 8, 2024, the company doesn't present future auctions too early in the calendar year.

So what I'll do is wait and keep a lookout as to when the auction starts.











So that's it for today and
thank you for dropping by.

My name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman, and I can always be reached at:
toysearcher@gmail.com

Have a great part of the day or night,
wherever you may be.




Upcoming S-Gauge Toy Train Auction

Sunday, April 28, 2024
Rain and more rain
10° C / 50° F


This post is the 3rd of 4 about upcoming auctions. 

The title of the auction is:

ONLINE ONLY S GAUGE POSTWAR AND MODERN ERA TRAINS
AMERICAN FLYER, S HELPER AND AMERICAN MODELS
MAY 25, 2024 10 AM EDT


         

The auction title refers to the "Only S Gauge". I had to research what "S" gauge meant
 in terms of the size of the trains. The sizes are described in numbers with different letter representing the actual size.

The distance between the rails (track sides) is called the "gauge". Standard size (in North America) is 4 feet, 8 1/2 inches. The distance is measured from the inside of the rail track.

    Gauge Letter                 Ratio          Expressed in inches
                                        
                                        Z                            1:220                    .25"
                                       N                            1:160                   .375"
                                     HO                           1:87                     .625"
                                      S                              1:64                    .875"
                                     O                              1:48                    1.25"
                                     G                              1:25                   1.75"

I visited Wikipedia in order to find a nice diagram to help
explain the "Gauge"system for toy trains.
                

For those who might not know, if you click on any
image a(photo), the image will show up  as a large size.










I had trouble trying to find the descriptions of the individual items
up for auction. Hopefully, as the time comes for the actual auction, the 
descriptions will have been activated.

So that's it for today.

My name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman

Thanks for dropping by and I can always be reached at:

toysearcher@gmail.com







                   
                             




Friday, April 26, 2024

Another Large Auction of Silver and Bronze Age Comics

Friday, April 26, 2024
Sunny with Clear Skies 
13° C / 55.4 ° F

Another Large Auction of Silver 
and Bronze Age Comics


When I wrote to Mr.Wylie Strivers about 2-3 weeks ago, I asked for his
permission to write several posts about his Internet auctions. I first was 
interested in his company website, because he sold lots of trains. He gave me permission, and for today, I'm writing about comic books.

I like the first sentence of his introduction to this auction:

"Toytrainsandotheroldstuff presents another large auction of silver and bronze
age comics from the long island hoard that we have been selling from the past 3 years, plus a few additions.There are many key issues, CGC graded books, minor keys, small and medium sized groups for the collector and dealer alike.
We always have something for everyone on these auctions".

Of course, having been a comic book reader in my pre-teens, a sentence like that
automatically brings you back in time, and lets your imagine go rampant!
I can just sea mountains of comic books neatly arranged by the pallet, 5 pallets high, and as far as the eye can see, carefully packaged in boxes with plastic wrap to keep dust out!

OK, sorry, that's what comic books do - let your imagine run amok! 

So back to comics.

I had to check up on Wylie's terms "Silver and Bronze Age Comics"

(With help from Wikipedia)

"The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archtype. Following the
Golden Age of Comic Books, the Silver Age is considered to cover the period
from 1956 to 1970, and was succeeded by the Bronze Age."


In easier to see terms:

Victorian Age: 1828-1882*
Platinum Age: 1882-1938*
Golden Age of Comic Books:  1938-1956
Silver Age of Comic Books: 1956-1970
Bronze Age of Comic Books:  1970-1985

* " In A Complete History of American Comic Books, Shirrel Rhoades 
cites Steve Geppi (the publisher of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide)
who, taking into account comic strips, divides the history of comics
in ages"


Below are just a "sampling" of some of the comic books
to be found on Mr. Wylie Striver's website.










As it turns out, I was born in 1948.  I lived  in one part of Montreal, 
and we moved to another part in 1961 or 1962. My mother (bless her soul)
was very neat and organized. When we finally moved to the
newer part of Montreal (I was 15) and got organized, all my comic books and
toys were not to be found. I asked my mother what happened, 
and  she said that she didn't want to have all the clutter in the new house.

What could I say?

 Sometimes life is strange, but you move on. Hopefully she gave the toys 
to some charity like The Salvation Army. 

My yoyo disappeared, my 6-shooter Lone Ranger pistol 
with caps disappeared, my Meccano sets disappeared, 
and my Lionel train set - gone. 

Of course my comic books, and another type called "Classics" 
were also "gone". 
  
Classics were in comic book format, but the content 
was based on famous books, like "The Count of Monty Cristo". 
They were easier and faster to read that a 400 page book.

I was "allowed"to bring my carpentry set with us. Surprisingly,
we actually used it sometimes, before I started buying adult
carpentry tools to work with. 

This could have been a great episode script for the TV show - Wonder Years!
Of course, by then I was in high school, and there were other leisure 
activities to keep me busy.

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

My name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman, 

and I can always be reached at:

toysearcher@ gmail.com








Thursday, April 25, 2024

A Large Variety of Sports Cards and Sports Collectibles Comes to Market

Thursday, April 25 , 2024
Clear skies but Cold
6° C / 43° F

A Large Variety of Sports Cards and
Sports Collectibles Comes to the Market


Please click on this line to redirect to the Liveauctioneers Auction

I've been blogging since 2011, and have enjoyed writing, and meeting all different people and their companies who buy and sell. Most of my blog posts have been about "old and antique toys". However, I've been contacting people lately to see what they would like me to write about. 

Why not. 

So many people have been so nice to allow me to write about their companies or their toys and trusted me with their photos, 
why not try something different?

And that's how I came to write a post about an interesting sports auction from
Mr. Wylie Stivers. Wylie's specialty website is often busy with trains. 
But he also sells "other stuff" as you can read from his company name.
I always wondered what the "other stuff" was, and now I know.

Below:

A screen-capture of upcoming auctions.




I'm not the sports fan that I was when I was younger. So when I was going to write this blog post for Wylie Stivers, I asked if I could  pick some solder baseball cards from my era. Wylie didn't mind, so I chose the cards below.

When you're selling baseball cards on the Internet, you provide lots
of photos for sellers to look at the condition and quality of the cards.

And that's why, Wylie photographed many of the individual cards.
Detail and condition are very important.

Baseball Cards








There are also sets of card for sale.
The group below is made up of 38 players from the 196n set of
baseball star cards "to. include some American and National League
batting and pitching leaders cards, plus stars such as Banks, Yaz, Allen, Killebrew, Cepeda, Drysdale, Kaline, Williams, Carew, Robinson, Palmer, and more.



Basketball Cards

Wylie's auction also has basketball cards. I selected the players
whose names I knew when they played.

I remember all of these players back then. It was easier then, 
because there were fewer teams and fewer outstanding players.
In the 1970's there were 17 teams, while today in 2024, there are 30 teams.






Description Below

Factory sealed 1989, 1990 and 1991 Score baseball
card sets, all mint as seen in the photo.

When you visit Wylie's website, there are many, many 
more photos of each and every item.


There are also, other items for sale
Below is one example.

A grouping of pennants


To be continued........