Monday, April 8, 2024
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One of the Best Toy Block Websites on the Internet
One of my favourite movies is Forrest Gump. It's about a very
kind person who becomes a big success as a fisherman. In one scene,
Forrest is sitting on a bench with an older lady, and they're waiting for a bus.
Forrest is talking to her, and after some time he says:
"Life is like a bowl of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get"
I've written 1,565 posts since 2011. Part of my day is spent searching for something to write about I search using different words each day. On the latest day that I was busy browsing, I spent about 15 minutes scouring the Web. I looked at many websites from the Google search results, and suddenly I saw two words that caught my attention.
"Collecting Keystone"
I clicked on the URL address from the Google search, and
as another expression is written: "the rest is history".
The writer of this exceptional blog is Mr. Derrick Clow.
I'd been communicating with Mr. Derrick Clow now for a while now.
He's been an active member of ATCA , an acronym for
American Toy Collectors of America
ATCA is a fantastic resource to learn about toys.
So when I went to the "Collecting Keystone" website, I must have been tired,
not to realize that Derrick Clow is the same Derrick of ATCA. Not only that, but Derrick has just been appointed an "at-large director" for the Fall of 2024.
Without exception, Derrick's blog has to be one of the best blogs
on the Internet. The photography is excellent, Derrick's writing skills are superb, and you want to keep reading like the great book (Forrest Gump)
that I just mentioned.
The "piece-de-resistance" (masterpiece) of Derrick's website is the encyclopedic vast amount of information on one of the great toy manufacturers -
Keystone Manufacturing Company.
The Keystone Manufacturing Company started out in 1919, manufacturing
movie cameras for the industry. Over time, the company expanded and entered the toy business making pressed steel toys.
Above is a screen-capture of the page when you arrive at Derrick's website.
The 4 titles (from left to right) have sub-sections that provide you will
lots of information.
I've screen-captured each of the 4 first titles
and their contents as you can see below:
Below is a 1959 advertisement for Jacrim's toy sail boats.
Jacrim was a division of the Keystone company.
Below are 4 examples of their catalogues. There are
lots and lots more catalogues going all the way to 1957.
What's great about Derrick having added these catalogues is that
you can search for toys, but more importantly, you can
try to find out when the actual toy was made.
On Derrick's website, each catalogue can be opened through an app.
The app allows you to turn pages, enlarge each page, and even make the
photo brighter or dimmer.
The titles below only have 2 sub-sections
Nevertheless, this information is of value for those looking
for more detailed information.
When you click on Keystone, you are redirected to another menu.
That menu will list the many different toys that Keystone made.
the 4 well-photographed screen-captures.
This is another section of Derrick's website
This section has to do with "confirming Keystone Model Numbers"
Derrick has taken on a mega-project to catalogue all of the toys ever
produced by Keystone. It's a major undertaking, and it's ongoing.
There are pages and pages of catalogued items, and it will keep Derrick
busy for a long time.
So that's it for today.
This was a brief introduction, and my next post
will be more emphasized on actual toys and the descriptions.
You can see just how complex and expansive Derrick's website is.
But once you click "here or there", you come across the most
interesting sections about this once great company.
I'll be working from now on to show the toys that the Keystone
company once made.
Thanks for dropping by,
and 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
toysearcher@gmail.com
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