A Surprise E-Mail

Friday, December 20, 2017
Overcast 
-3 C  26.6 F

A Surprise E-mail

       I received several e-mails today, but today's post is about the one that gave me a big surprise.

The writing below is the surprise that I received. I've had the pleasure to write about these 2 fine auction houses over the last 6 years. Both  Morphy Auctions and  James D. Julia are 2 exceptional auction companies that gave me their permission to write about them and I am very grateful for that. I've had the pleasure to learn about toys through these 2 fine people.

Below is the notice that I received in the mail:

"Hello,

I am excited to share the news with you that effective December 14, 2017, Morphy Auctions of Denver, PA and Las Vegas, NV has successfully merged with the renowned international auction company of James D. Julia, Inc. of Fairfield, ME and Woburn, MA. James D. Julia, Inc. will become a division of Morphy Auctions. Joining forces creates a synergistic team of passionate staff members to better serve customers and strengthens the antiques and collectibles industry.

Morphy Auctions realized annual sales of $35 million dollars within the last year. Within this same time, Julia’s generated $43 million dollars in annual sales; for a combined gross of $78 million dollars.  With this combined total of potential annual sales, Morphy Auctions is poised to become the one of the largest antique auction houses in North America.

Please see the attached press release and leadership photographs for more information.

Sarah Stoltzfus, Morphy's Marketing Director, is happy to speak with you further about the sale.  She can be reached at 877-968-8880 x710 or Sarah.Stoltzfus@morphyauctions.com.

My contact information is below if I can be helpful in any other way.

Happy holidays and best,
Rebekah Kaufman"

Please click here to visit Morphy Auctions

Over the years, Dan Morphy has expanded his highly-successful business to encompass many different categories of merchandise.  Below are the many different divisions that Morphy Auctions now has.

Please click here to visit James D. Julia Inc. here

I have always been impressed with Mr. James D. Julia's fine website. He too is a highly-successful businessman. His toy division was sold off to Mr. Morphy about 2 years ago. What impressed me most about his website was the exceptional research into each item that wen to auction. Also, his photography was superb!

  In the photo below, Mr. Dan Morphy on the left is shaking hands with Mr. James D. Julia on the right. Total sales for James D. Julia, Inc. were $ 45,000,000 million dollars, while total sales for Morphy auctions were $ 35,000,000 dollars.  

 I'm quite confident that with the 2 companies having merged, their success will continue, and 

within a few years will hit stratospheric sales approaching $ 100,000,000 dollars (US).

I wish them both success and happiness in the New Year, 

under the banner of Morphy Auctions .

In closing, I want to wish all my readers and the companies and owners  that I 

have written about over the years, a  very 

Merry Christmas Healthy and Happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

Let's Rumble!

Thursday, October 30, 2014
Sunny and cold

Let's Rumble!

  We're already more than a month into the fall (autumn) season, and all of the auctioneers are presenting their fall lineups. The fall season offers people more time to spend indoors, but they still like to go out. So lots of auctions take place inn the fall. Winter, of course is less busy,, because many people are off to the south (florida), or spent  lots of money on Christmas presents. When springs starts to arrive, everyone has been "hibernating" indoors, and they all want to get outdoors, and so more auctions happen once more.

   I've been visit James D. Julia many times lately to see all of the fine items that he and his staff have up for auction. Sometimes I'll know exactly what I'll be writing about, and sometimes, I'm like a shopper that keeps coming back to the store, unsure of what to select.  James D. Julia has lots of fine items, and it was his fine auction company that introduced me to the "salesman's sample", which I have written about on many occasions.  But for today, it's his grouping of motorcycles that caught my eye.  Most times, auctioneers list and sell items one at at time. But if the value is lower, then they can group some to many items together, and have people bid. It saves time, and offers collectors a change to win a whole grouping in 1 bid.

   When I first went to James D. Julia, I also was not aware that he had many different divisions, one of them being guns. His company's photography is superb, and the knowledge that the writers have to add to these items is encyclopaedic in nature. What's amazing is that guns deem to move on in time, and you can find the most historic armaments, especially relating to American history.

Please click here to visit this fine American auction company

Since these toys will be going to auction on November 7, 2014, I have included the  original condition descriptions that were described with  the original photos. 

The motorcycle on the left is a Harley Davidson with a front working headlight (battery operated).

The one on the right is an Indian brand. Harley Davidsons have their famous "V"_shaped cylinders, while the Indian motorcyles were more vertical in design.

When you see a quartet of motorcycles, each one seems to enhance the beauty of the other. What I first noticed on cast iron toys were the brilliant primary colours. Next of course was the design,followed by nickel plated wheels. Imagine, nickel was used for the wheels to keep them from rusting. That certainly worked!

What I am impressed with is the fine detail that could be achieved from cast iron. You have to remember that the cast iron process is one of the first processes that man made when he learned to mine ore and melt it. What makes these toys so exceptional is the detail. You have to be careful when buying cast iron because there are a lot of "fakes" and reproductions. However, one of the way s to differentiate "fake from authentic" is to look at the smooth surfaces and fine detail. American toys made from the 1880's-1930's used very fine sand, with exceptional craftsmen, and it's this detail that makes the toys so much enthralling.

Look at the folds and pleats in the policeman's uniform. Then of course, is the small round indentation on the holster, representing probably a snap or button to keep the gun secure. I can;t be sure, but do I see a small indentation in the eyeball representing the iris?

I whitened the foundation (what the toys are sitting on), in order to focus moron the toys. 

I don't think this photo was taken by Julia's professional photographer, but was taken to add more photos.  The photo was underexposed, and a bit out of focus. Nevertheless, I saw a great photo here.  

When I improved it, it came pout great. I like the high camera angle that presents to you the seat of the red motorcycle. But I like even more is the photographic composition, I like how the toys on the  left and right  sides are cropped (cut off) tightly so that the emphasis is on the bred and blue motorcycles.

Finally, here are the last two cast iron photos for this auction.

As I mentioned earlier, presenting the motorcycles in groups certainly gives you a sense of the diversity of these toys made back in the early parts of the 20th century.

What is also nice is the lighting. A soft diffused lighting is used on the toys to make the exposure easy to record details. Harsh lighting is harder to capture detail. What Julia's photographer ask did is make the background dark. He or she does this by using a barn door (a light blocker) to create a shadow on the background. What this in turn does is to emphasize the motorcycles again the dark.

They're certainly beautiful!

These photos are best looked at in Blogger's slide mode, since they are larger than I can present them to you. But if you really want large, venture over to the James D. Julia website. There, large photos are used to best present their fine items to viewers.

You won't be disappointed!

Thanks for dropping by, and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

The Carpenter Single Ladder Burning Building - Model II

Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Partly cloudy with normal temperatures

The Carpenter Single Ladder Burning Building

Model II

  Earlier today, I posted a fine and very rare toy from the Carpenter toy company. It was a two ladder burning building cast iron toy. There were three slightly different models made, and I wasn't sure if I'd fine all three. I did find the third one. This particular model  is the second one with two stories and one ladder.

  I found this one from the James D. Julia Inc. company which is one of my many friendly companies who allow me to use their photos. Not only are they one of the finest auctioneers in North America, but I first discovered that they regularly sold what are called salesman's models. These are exact small-sized (scaled down) models of actual machinery and other items. You have to visit their site to see these most fascinating items.  If I could ever afford them , these definitely would be my type of toys!

Please click here to visit this exceptional American auction company

"Originally found in a Massachusetts attic many years ago and until recently resided in a private collection. Perhaps this is one of the greatest and most amusing toys ever manufactured. The Carpenter firm (Port Chester, New York) modeled this toy after the brownstones of NYC. The elaborate cast iron facade is mounted on a wooden base with a cast iron sidewalk. There are three documented versions of this toy, this is the two-story version having a damsel on a fiery balcony awaiting the fireman below to ascend the ladder and bring her down to safety. Down below is a second fireman with a fire hose attached to the hydrant, attempting to extinguish the fiery blaze. A most uncommon feature of this toy is an open side door with cast iron jamb. A toy that appeals not only to the serious toy collector but for anyone who appreciates the rare and unusual. SIZE: 16-1/2″ h x 6″ d x 7-1/2″. CONDITION: Overall near excellent original condition. Original ladder has old inpainting (50+ years?) with original yellow paint visible in spots with original climbing fireman. Woman in balcony and fireman tending hose are old replacements. These slight drawbacks are insignificant compared to the importance of this scarce and desirable piece"*

* Description Courtesy of James D. Julia Inc. 

This particular model is in exemplary condition as you can see.

The figures in the cast of characters in this scene are beautiful moulded in cast iron. The lady has her  arms and hands in a circle allowing for her rescuer to catch her with his right hand.

He's the fireman climbing the ladder. 

You can see how much these figures were handled from the beautiful patina

 that has polished and smoothed out  the paint over the years. 

I believe that the string to have the firman move up the ladder is missing. You can look at the previous post to get an understanding as to how the action of saving the lady would have worked. 

So this is a "short and sweet" post, apart of a triad (3) that I decided to door these wonderful  Carpenter Company toys.

Thanks for dropping by, and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com

More Great Toys in an Upcoming June Auction at James D. Julia Inc.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014
                  Cold and Raining

More Great toys in an Upcoming

June Auction at James D. Julia Inc.

   In the last couple of posts, I presented samples of some very nice Steiff toys and of douse my favourites - Salesman Samples.  Today though is the finishing touches or the icing on the cake - toys! James D. Julia Inc. is an outstanding auctioneer. I sometimes look at their many different divisions because the photo quality and the items are just superb. I'm not a gun aficionado, but the items that come to action are historic and beautiful to look at.

   I only selected 5 items for today, so that you'd go to their website to look other items. Their site is better to view toys as they present very large-sized images, and on some special toys they have a 360 degree rotating platform to view the toy all around.

Please click here to visit this exceptional auctioneer's website

I like this early version of afire pumper because it looks so simple as naive art. Also, the disproportionate size of the rider to the pumper and horses adds a bit of  whimsy to the toy.

It must be nice to actually see the motion of the 2 horses as they are pulled along.

The black horse reminds me of the horses that you see carved on ancient Greek vases.

I've always been amazed at the large-sized European toy ships of the late 19th and early 20th century. First of all is my amazement that they survived in such nice condition for such a long time. My second amazement is that such toys existed for those who could afford them. Of course, there always was, and will be toys or anything else for that matter that has an extremely broad price range.

These boats or ships were carefully hand-crafted to ensure that they were watertight.

You'll have to search through my blog to see some other examples of these ships and how they were soldered together.

The only paper-backed toy that I fever had were puzzles (if you can call them toys). Therefore, I always am amazed that paper toys such as this existed and again, could last for so long.

If  you've been to my blog or are a regular visitor, you would have seen the Hubley motorcycles before. However, you absolutely, positively have to venture to the James D. Julia website to see these toys in the large sizes that are present there. Sometimes, I will talk about "fakes" or reproductions", and these 2 toys are great examples how Hubley manufactured exceptional castings for their cast iron toys. Modern "fakes" or reproductions" either cannot produce such quality, or the cost is too high to produce. 

That red -armoured motorcycle is amazing. The bends band the the rivets of the armour plating , and the strapping on the 2 policemen is exceptional! 

Thanks for visiting,

and as always,

have a great part of the day,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

toysearcher@gmail.com