The Choicest Tootsietoy for Collectors

Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Overcast, windy, and more snow to come!

The Choicest Tootsietoys

for Collectors

  Recently, I decided to add many posts about Tootsietoys - those small-sized American diecast toys that  were made from the 1920's-early 1960's. They were to America what Dinky toys were and still are to Great Britain. I was very fortunate to find Mr. Marvin Kraut  on ebay. His specialty is selling small-sized old toys that just so happen to be both Tootsietoy and Dinky. What's even better, is that he allowed me to present his items differently than I usually do. If you go back  to the last several post entries you'll see what I mean.  I added a thin line to the photo composition to create a continuity from photo to photo and add more impact to the photo (as if the excellent photos of Marvin needed any!)

   Marvin has been selling on ebay for 15 years, which says a lot about both his success and reputation.  What's more, like many people who sell , collect, or auction over a long period of time, they become very knowledgeable about their merchandise. 

   I was very surprised 2 days ago, when Marvin  sent me a large group of Tootsietoy photos that were sold as sets or kits. These sets and kits are the "choicest" because as collectibles, people want these to come with their original boxes and their original tops. Furthermore, they also want them to be in excellent condition! For myself, anytime I ever received a toy, the first thing to be thrown out was the box. Of course, my Lionel train sets, Meccano building sets, and Minibrix all needed boxes to store the parts, but my Daisy BB gun, my cowboy holster with bullets that you added round caps into, and so forth all had the boxes thrown out right away!

    What I like about the boxes that old toys originally came in is the "old" graphic design and artwork that came with the box. Design changes over time, but part of the history of anything, especially collectibles, is the boxes, the instructions, and of course the reproduction of toys through actual real items of the time.

Please click here to visit Marvin Kraut's fine toys for sale

I always like the way children are so formally dressed on boxes and boxtops for toys from the 1920's-1930's. I'd be willing to wager that most children who were fortunate enough to be able to receive a Tootsietoy from their parents did not dress like this. well, on second though maybe those who received the kits! The kits were relatively expensive compared to single Tootsietoys.

What was great about the kit, in this case the "Bild-A-Car",  was that the children could assemble and dissemble the toys. The 5 lower chassis parts are different colours, and thus could be changed with the 5 different upper car parts.

The set above is called the "Tootsietoy Deluxe Motors" set.

These particular cars look like Grahams, which by themselves are always in high demand. This kit came with a wrecker or tow truck (white), and a brown-themed delivery truck (lower left) corner.

Marvin certainly spent a lot of time and careful positioning to present all of these items. These competed toys that came pre-assembles, are in excellent condition. However, there are immunerable places on the Net and on  ebay where you can find replacement parts.

 This kit must be very rare.  The set are characters modelled after famous newspaper comic characters of the time.  What I especially like, is how the toys fit into  specially-designed  spaces of the inside box.

This is another photo that is closer to the toys. Not only are these toys rare, but their condition is excellent!

And hee is yet another photo to show you the different cars and boat that came with this kit.

I'm not sure if Marvin sold this set or still has it, but either person certainly must be very happy!

 Marvinn sent me the Taxi set photos a day after I had posted . He asked me to take a look at the words "Taxi" that I assume a child had written on the sides of the cars. Now why wouldn't Tootsietoy have done that?

I haven't been posting in the last couple of days. I came down with what I assume is a head sinus infection or something like that, and haven't been feeling that well. I think the worst is over, and I'l be back to normal by this Friday at the latest. Of course, tonight we're getting another snow storm!

Thanks for visiting,

and as always,

and have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey

Please feel free to write to me anytime at:

toysearcher@gmail.com

Continuing with Tootsietoy

Monday, March 10, 2014
              Cloudy and milder

Continuing with Tootsietoy

   I've been  fortunate to have found Mr. Marvin Kraut on ebay.I already wrote the initial post about Tootsietoy, but only knew Marvin from his  ebay name of Marvo4. As it turns out, MArvin sells many of these fine American small toys, as well as the British Corgys.  What's even better is that he knows all about these toys. Bu the best of all is that he has allowed me to present them against white, and I even decided to add a horizontal line below each toy. Marvin had presented his ebay offerings on a countertop against a wall. So the horizontal line was already there. I simply decided to include a line by drawing in in a photo-editing software.

   Tootsietoys date back to 1911, and continued into the beginning g of the 1960's The descendent of one of the original owners (Mr. Nathan Shure) purchased the Strombeck-Becker company, who had last owned the rights to the Tootsietoy brand. Who knows? Maybe one day these fine small toys will return to their popularity.

Please click here to visit Marvin Kraut's listings on ebay

The Graham cars are quite popular among collectors.  They were made  with between 6-8 different styles (coupe, sedan, convertible, and limousine), and the car parts were interchangeable.Their more expensive cousins , the Lasalles are even more in demand, rarer, and yield high bids whenever they become available.

The side view of the Graham illustrate the 2 piece design of these cars. The axles go through the upper part of the car, which projects into the lower frame or chassis. The wheels then go on the axles, and the axle ends are carefully hammered to hold the wheels in place.

The Grahams were initially introduced in the early 1930's.

The above transporter is a later model. Prior to the 1940's there were 2 earlier transporters made.

This armoured car was reissued after the War (WWII). The detail is extraordinary 

for such a small die cast toy.

The articulated ladder, and the bold colours made this toy quite popular. Of course, many people fare attracted to fire trucks,and this beauty was no different.

The year 1933 has the Tootsietoy company introduce many new toys.But for 1934, all there was, was the most-interesting airplay called the Autogyro. The  name was spelled differently from "Autogiro", as that mis-spelling variation had been used as as trade name, and thus the Tootsietoy company perhaps didm;t want to get involved over copyright infringement. The plane is 3 7/8" (99mm) in length (fuselage), has a 5-cyclinder engine on the front. The propeller is cast metal, the wings ( 4 1/4" / 108mm) are made from tin, and the wheels are rubber.

The final presentation of that airplane certainly is interesting, but I have to give Marvin Kraut accolades for the excellent photography and different camera angles. These toys are truly vine collectibles, but having an excellent photographer makes them all the more fascinating.

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always, 

have a great part of the day or night, 

wherever you may be.

Stacey

Please feel free to write to me anytime at:

toysearcher@gmail.com