VintageToySB Presents a Toy Company That I Never Wrote About

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

3° C/ 38° F

Overcast andDamp

A Visit to

VintageToysSB 

Please click on this sentence to go to VintageToysSB website on Etsy

I've written before about VintageToySB before (March 2024). It's a fine store, and has nice toys to sell. Earlier in the week,I decided to "drop by" and have a look at

what VintageToysSB had to sell.I looked around the store, and found a nice airplane from a company that I had written before - Ferdinand Strauss.

The toy is an airplane and here's the description:

"1920's antique pre-war Ferdinand Strauss aluminum

wind-up toy airplane Silver Eagle boxed aeroplane

flying hanging string display monoplane"

When you go to the store on Etsy, there is a short video that shows

the airplane moving around is circles . It is tied by a cord that is anchored 

by a hook in the ceiling. You have to go there to see how this airplane flies 

around and around. It's amazing to know that a child would play 

with such a toy for a long time!

Below:

What's amazing is to find the original box

from a toy that is so old!

Length:  11" / 27.95 cm

So that's it for today. I hope that you enjoyed this post

and visit the link of VintageToysSB on Etsy. It's fantastic

to see this toy go round and around after is has been wound up 

by a key, and is hanging from the ceiling, even after all those years gone by.

Thanks for visiting my blog today, and as always, have a great part 

of the day or night wherever you may be. Also, I'd to wish

everyone a Healthy and Happy New Year.

If ever you'd like to have me write a post about you and your toy or toys,

please feel free to write to me.

My name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman, 

and I can always be reached at:

toysearcher@gmail.com

A Reader Asks for Names of Repair Shops

Saturday, October 6, 2018
Overcast with Rain
12 C  54 F

A Reader Asks for

Names of Repair Shops

     From time-to-time, I get requests for recommendations  for toy repairs or restorations.  I've only used a repair shop once, and this person was mostly a repair person for painting and clocks. He also did repairs for electronics. Sadly, he closed his business as people began to through out their old toasters and radios and buy new ones, rather than repair old ones. The cost of a new replacement was less expensive than repairing the old one. In the past, I used to keep "old" toasters for a long time. I found them better than the newer plasticized ones!

     Anyway, I recently received an e-mail from Mr. Greg Niederwerder asking me if I could help him out in recommending to him a toy repair person. I sent him 2 names. One that I am familiar with, and one that I wasn't familiar with.  I try to suggest more than one person or repair shop, so that the owner of a toy can ask questions, and then make a choice. I also add a caveat, that I do not really know the people and that the toy owner should ask questions to get a sense as to the person who would be selected for the repair. Another point is that any repair of anything can cost a lot. A repair even for an old toy might cost more than the toy itself. Of course, if the toy is of sentimental value, it's worth the cost, especially if its' your grandparents or parents legacy.  Greg's toy happens to be from his father. 

I just remembered that I did one repair at a local repair shop. I had purchased a Teddy bear at a garage sale and had it cleaned. The arm came off, so I went to a local porcelain and art work repair and restorer to see if he could do the repair. He did, and I think the repair cost more than the garage sale purchase. But it was worth it to me  for sentimental reasons!

What is needed for this smaller-sized toy are a wheel replacement and a repair to the wind-up mechanism. When I finish with this blog post, I'll ask Greg what has happened since I wrote him back, in order to see if he has chosen someone to go ahead with the repairs, and then I can write about it on my blog, by adding the new information to this post. When I finish with this blog post, I'll ask Greg what has happened since I wrote him back, in order to see if he has chosen someone to go ahead with the repairs, and then I can write about it on my blog, by adding the new information to this post.

"Ferdinand Strauss Co. was founded in New York City. Strauss specialized in importing tin mechanical toys and produced toys from 1914 to 1927.Strauss hired Louis Marx, whom later founded the Marx toy company.Strauss produced (wind-up) toys for the Abraham & Strauss Department Stores and was a pioneer in the friction tin toy industry." (Citation www.fabtintoys.com/strauss/)

     One other thing - Can anyone tell myself and Greg when this Ferdinand Strauss toy might have been made, and what the value might also be?

Thanks for dropping by,

and have a nice day.

Stacey Bindman

 One other thing - Can anyone tell myself and Greg when this Ferdinand Strauss toy might have been made, and what the value might also be?

The Ferdinand Strauss Toy Company

Wednesday November 16, 2016
Cloudy with Sunny Periods
9 Celsius  48 Fahrenheit

The Ferdinand Strauss  Toy Company

Ferdinand Strauss Co. was founded in New York City. Strauss specialized in importing tin mechanical toys and produced toys from 1914 to 1927. Strauss hired Louis Marx, whom later founded the Marx toy company. Strauss produced (wind-up) toys for the Abraham & Strauss Department Stores and was a pioneer in the friction tin toy industry.*

* Courtesy Fabtintoys.com

The company manufactured pressed tin toys that  had colour lithography on them.  Many of the toys also had wind-up mechanisms in order to have them move by themselves. In the early 1900's, European toy manufacturers had already perfected colour lithography, and were manufacturing many tin toys and pressed steel toys for the North American market. I was surprised to find out that toys from metal were being manufactured during WWI. In WWII, most of the  toy manufacturers had to switch to wood in order to save metals for the war effort. THe toy manufacturers retooled from toys to manufacturing parts for all kinds of military machines.

Most of the toys usually are less that 12" ( 310 mm) , but as you can see, 

have stood up well all these years.

I couldn't find much information on Ferdinand Strauss or his toy company, so if 
anyone out there has information, would you please share it with m,e and my readers.

Please click here to visit this outstanding American Auctioneer

Most of the Strauss toys are mechanical wind-up toys. 

I would assume that since wind-up toys were popular at the time, 

Mr. Strauss decided to produce lots of them.

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always,

Have a great part of the day or night,

Wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

A Tale of Two Tow Trucks

  Thursday, May 8, 2014
Sunny and warm , but seasonally cool.

A Tale of Two Tow Trucks

  I saw two nice tow trucks that Ron Michaud from Maine had sold  and decided to compare the two. Ron always seems to have very nice old toys up for sale, and like all the people that help me out, I really appreciate his help. I decided to compare the 2 toys because Mr. Marx had at one time worked for Ferdinand Strauss.

Please click here to visit Ron Michaud's fine ebay site

I don't have the dates of manufacture of these 2 toys, but they look similar as to the type of tow truck that they were modelled from. What I'd like to comment on, is the nature of the construction and lithography of the toys. I had once read that the Marx company once had used discard metal from other companies to make their toys. As such, perhaps there was either a shortage of materials or they could save money in this manner. Of course the paint or printing was on the inside.

When you start to compare the 2 toys, you can see (in my opinion) that more money would have been spent on the Ferdinand Strauss toy.

1. There is more lithography on the Strauss as compared with more solid colour painting.

2. The Strauss toy is painted all over and more thoroughly. look at the underside photos to compare.

The Marx toy has extensive surface rust.

3. The wind-up mechanism is covered on the Strauss toy, compared with the Marx toy.

I don't know if that was for safety or cosmetic appearance, but this would of course cost more in labour and materials.

4. The Marx toy  has 6 wheels, while the Strauss toy has 4.

However, the Strauss toy  had the better lithography (more colours)and is finished on the inside. 

5. The Marx toy has small hubcaps on the wheels.

6. The Strauss toy is larger in size.

7. The Strauss toy has more extensive design which would have required more cutting and shaping on the large presses of the time.

I don't know what the original costs of the toys were at the time. And both companies were quite successful. In the end, the Marx company outlasted the Ferdinad Struass company, and at one time Mr. Marx even made the time magazine cover. His company at one time was making almost 1 in 4 toys made in the U.S.A. So although the Marx toy company toys might have been less costly both in production and at the marketplace, the company certainly would have been on the top 50 toy manufacturers of the last century.

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always, 

have a great part of the day,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com