Old Antique Toys

This blog discusses old toys from the early 1920's to the end of the 1950's. All kinds of topics are discussed. The time span was the greatest period for "hands-on" toys, where a young child could actually go outside and play for hours at a time. You can see the elegance but simple design of these toys. It was a time when huge machines, and people made and finished toys by hand. The era has long passed, but many of the toys are still around, and that is what I would like to share.

Showing posts with label Morphy Auctions. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Old Happy Memories of Toy Motors for Boats

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Sunny with Clear Skies

27° C / 81° F

Old Happy Memories of

Toy Motor Boat Motors

Please click on this line to redirect to Dan Morphy on LiveAuctioneers

I'm very grateful to all of the people and companies who have helped me with writing my blog. Mr. Dan Morphy is one of those fine people

and I am alway s elated whenever I find one of his "treasures" going up to auction.

My name is Mr.Stacey Bindman and I was brought up with 2 fine parents Ida and Carl Bindman. There were 4 children including myself

back in the 1950's and early 1960's, and each summer we would would go to a place called Mississquoi Bay, Quebec.The closest city is Venise,

and it is on a bay, which is part of Lake Champlain. The small town was about 60 miles from Burlington Vermont (U.S.A.)

My parents were very hard-working people in Montreal

who catered for weddings and other events, and summer was a time, where they did not have to work. The time was very short, but to copy a term "it was the best of times" from Charles Dickens (A tale of Two Cities", it most truly was!

My father's hobby was fishing, and when he was young, he would

go to Mississquoi Bay , where he knew a family by the name of Roy.

There was Gordon, Margaret, and their two daughters Phyllis and Joyce. Mr Roy's father was a farmer, and Gordon inherited the land and business.Eventually, he changed professions, and became a

provider of bait, boats, and motors for fishermen.

So each summer, for about 6 weeks, we went there, where we rented one of Mr. Roy's summer cottages.My aunt Sylvia and Uncle Sam also returned a cottage with us.

Below:

The arrow is pointing to the small town of Venise, Quebec

It is on Baie Mississquoi (Mississquoi Bay) which is part of

Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain is a large lake that lies both in the Province of Quebec (Canada) and the state of Vermont (U.S.A.)

That is where we went in the summer.

Below:

An enlargement of the above map.

Being a fisherman was in my father's blood, and he loved to fish. This "hobby" was the best way that he knew in order to relax from his business, and for the 6 weeks, he relaxed and enjoyed the short time

of the summer, with my mother, his sister and brother-in-law, their children, and us.

Originally, he had purchased his own motor - a Johnson & Johnson

4 horsepower motor (circa 1950's). As the family business prospered, he eventually bought an outboard Scott Motor and a fiberglass boat.

Please click here to see the Boat Motors on the Morphy Auction listings

My father's small motor was a Johnson motor,

probably less that 5 horsepower.

Now getting back to small motorboat motors that you see above,

they are about 3" (7.62 cm) tall and were battery-operated. You don't see these collectibles very often, but I'm sure they are much in demand.

If you click on the above purple line, you will re-direct to the actual pasr auction of these exceptional small motorboat motors. There are many more listings that just the one that I've presented today.

So that's it for today.

If you are a fisherman (or fisher in today's language)

try getting out on the weekend to go fishing.

It's great for relaxing!

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

My name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman

and if you have any questions, or

would like me to wrote a blog post about

you and your toys,

please feel free to write to me.

My e-mail address is:

toysearcher@gmail.com

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Some of the Most-Visited Blog Posts

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Sunny and no wind

0° Celsius / 32° Fahrenheit

Some of the Most-Visited Blog Posts

I was browsing through my 1543 posts when I came across one post that has been viewed more than 1500 times. I wondered why that one would have been so popular. From there, I then searched through the entire number of posts, and found other posts that also were more-frequented that all of the others. And so, that's how I cam to write this blog post.

I am very grateful to all of the people and companies who have helped me with my blog.I placed the 7 toy sellers in alphabetical order, with no favouritism to anyone.

They all are my favourites!

If you look at the writing below each company's logo, you will

see the date that the post was published.

Please click here to visit this fine company

Please click here to visit his fine company

Please click here to visit this fine company

Please click here to visit Rick

Please click here to visit Toyclaus

All of the links above these toy sellers and buyers will redirect you to their websites.

You can also view view all of the posts that I have written about any of the above people and companies by entering their name in the white space (where the arrow is pointing).

Also, if you enter the title of the words of the blog posts above,

that will get you to the original blog post.

But don't forget to click on the photo or screen-capture of the company

or person that you are interested in reading their original post.

Clicking on any photo in a blog post will enlarge the image for a

nicely-enlarged photo, as well as easily seeing and reading any writing.

I hope that you'll enjoy these posts that were written a while back.

If you ever want to have a post written about your toy collection,

please feel free to write to me.

I'm (Mr.) Stacey Bindman

and I can always be reached at:

toysearcher@gmail.com

Sunday, February 5, 2023

Pratt & Letchworth or Hubley 4 Seater Brake Coach

Sunday February 5, 2023

2° Celcius 35.6° Fahrenheit

Cloudy with Snow

Pratt & Letchworth or Hubley 4-Seater Brake Coach

I can't believe the extreme differences of temperature in the last 2 days. Yesterday, it was -30° C / -22° F and today is "warmer at -16° C / -3.2° F. Needless to say, that's the type of weather that kept me indoors writing a few blog entries! The weather today is going to go up to to 0° C / 32° F . Finally, I'll be able to take my dog for a walk!

Now back to being serious!

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from a reader asking me if I could help him identify a beautiful family heirloom toy that had been in the family over a few generations. Naturally, I was very eager to help the reader out, and of course, I said yes.

The reader wrote that the item was a Pratt & Letchworth 4-Seat Brake that his grandfather had as a child in the 1900's, about 1915. That was a great bit of information, as I never, ever, heard of the word "brake" to describe a horse-driven passenger transport.

After some searching on the Internet, I wrote the collector to say that also I thought that the item was a Pratt & Letchworth 4-Seat Brake. Of course, I'm far from an "authority" or "expert" on toys.

Interestingly, the collector did some research on my blog, and found a website by the name of Antique Toys. The website is an excellent resource for finding information about old and antique toy manufacturers. The photos are excellently photographed, and the narrative is well done and very educational. And of course, there are always a fine selection of toys for sale.

The collector contacted Mr. Ed Sanford, the owner of this excellent website, as well as a seller of toys and the owner of his store -Antique Toys. Mr. Sanford looked at the owner's toy, and identified it as a Hubley.

Please click the address below to visit this fantastic website
https://www.antiquetoys.com/

I wrote Ed Sanford back, and asked for some detailed contrasting details between the Hubley and Pratt and Letchford, in order to contrast the 2 different companies. Ed replied and I was very much amazed at the information and detail that he provided.

Here's what Ed had to say

"The Pratt and Letchworth toy uses metal on the double trees for the horses, and the overall tree design is different. I have a photo of the P&L.

*Double/single/quad trees are the pieces that connect to horse harness

From LiveAuctioneers."

"The color palette is different on the P&L. P and l also pinstriped their wheels and tend to use Carmel color horses.

P & L horses always have detailed reins and usually white with red and black colors.

I am still looking for some good photos for you from a catalog, but possibly it is the odd toy that is not well cataloged. -in surviving catalogs

P & L did not use as many tabbed in floorboards and benches. Hubley cut tongue and groove slots into the side of the carriage cast-iron for assembly.

As I review photos, I wonder if the toy trust allowed Hubley to use some of the castings patterns that were improved upon."

I was glad that the reader had found out the manufacturer of his toy heirloom, that he had inherited from his father.

Living in Canada, I don't get to see any old or antique American toys. My knowledge is mostly from finding information on the Web, and writing about toys from what I learn on the Web.

The first place that I went to was liveauctioneers. For those who don't know, that company is a major auctioneer for many different categories. However, it's a superb resource for finding information about modern, old, and antique toys.

I found excellently-photographed images from Morphy Auctions, as well DAKOTApaul. Morphy Auctions had photos of the Hubley coach, while DAKOTApaul had photos of a Pratt & Letchworth Coach.

I've spent a lot of time trying to compare the 2 different manufacturers of the

4-seater brake coach with a team of 4 horses. However, not ever having seem these 2 wonderful and historical toys, it was hard for me to compare and contrast. the Hubley and the Pratt & Letchworth. I'm very glad that the reader was able to find Ed Sanford, and get the answer to what he was searching for.

Above: Hubley 4-Seater Brake Coach

Below: Pratt & Letchworth 4-Seater Brake Coach

If anyone out there either has the Hubley or the Pratt and Letchworth 4-horse team with 4 seats Brake Coach, I would very much be elated if you would like to have a blog post written about you and your toy.

So that's it!

Thanks for dropping by,

And as always,

Have a great day,

wherever you may be.

My name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman

and I can be reached at

toysearcher@gmail.com

Monday, February 12, 2018

The J. & E. Stevens Company (Mechanical Banks)

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Sunny with clouds

-7 C 19.4 F

The J. & E. Stevens Company

(Mechanical Banks)

Please click here to visit this Dan Morphy Auction on Liveauctioneers

John and Elisha Stevens created their company in Cromwell, Connecticut (USA) in 1843.

Like most cast iron companies of the time, the company cast-iron hardware such as hinges and locks, hammers and some cast iron toys. The cast iron toys became so successful,that the company

decided to manufacture toys and mechanical banks. Eventually the J. & E. Stevens Company became the largest manufacturer of cast-iron toys in the U.S.A. *

* Courtesy of Connecticuthistory.org/cromwells-iron-made-made-toys-for-boys-and-girls/

J. & E. Stevens Germania Exchange Cast Iron and Lead

Mechanical Bank

Circa 1880's

Place a coin on the goat's tail. Turn the faucet and the goat deposits

the coin in the bank and presents the depositor a glass of beer.

Height x Width: 7 3/4" x 5 3/4" (198 mm x 145 mm)

J. & E. Stevens Boy Robbing Bird's Nest

Cast Iron Mechanical Bank

Raise the tree limb and place a coin in the slot.

Press the lever and as the limb falls, the coin disappears

Width x Height: 6" x 8" 152 mm x 203 mm

J. & E. Stevens Lion Hunter

Cast Iron Mechanical Bank

Ptented 1911

Cock the rifle, and place a coin in position.

Press the lever and the hunter shoots the coin at the lion

as the lion rears up and the coin deflects into the bank.

Height x Length: 7 3/4" x 10 1/2" 197 mm x 267 mm

J. & E. Stevens Cat & Mouse

cast Iron Mechanical Bank

Patented 1891

Place a coin in front of the mouse and press the lever.

The coin falls into the bank as the cat appears to hold the mouse.

Width x Height: 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" 140 mm x 215 mm

J & E. Stevens Novelty

Mechanical Bank

Open the door and place a coin on the tray of the teller.

Release and close the door to deposit the coin.

J. & E. Stevens Boy Scout Camp

Cast Iron Mechanical Bank

Circa: 1917

Insert a coin at the top of the tent.

Press the lever, and the Scout raises the flag as the coin drops in the bank.

Height x Length: 153 mm x 242 mm

Many of these banks often do not have the lock or the metal trap

to open the hole, at the bottom of the base of the bank.

This bank has one.

J. & E. Stevens Eagle & Eaglets

Cast Iron Mechanical Bank with Original Wood Box

Circa 1883

Place a coin in the mother eagle's beak and press the lever.

The mother eagle leans forward as the eaglets rise from the nest crying for food.

Length x Height: 6 1/2" x 8" 165 mm x 203 mm

This bank has the original wood box that the bank came in.

Many mechanical banks that are found do not have their original boxes.

You might want to visit Dan Morphy on Liveauctioneers, because there are

a lot more mechanical banks that were sold in this particular auction.

Thanks for dropping by,

and have a great day or evening.

Stacey Bindman

Toysearcher@gmail.com

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Smith-Miller Toys Revisited

Monday, February 5, 2018
Partly sunny with clouds
-7 C 19.4 F

Smith-Miller Toys Revisited

Please click here to visit Dan Morphy on Live Auctioneers

Smith-Miller is a modern-day company that has produced large-sized models or toys, depending whether or not a child plays with them, or an adult collects them. They've been around since 1979, however, the original company was formed in 1954. Originally, the company was producing toys under the names "Smitty Toys" and "M.I.C.". These fine toys are 1/16 in scale or from 16" - 25" (402 mm - 605 mm) depending upon the type of toy. The current owner (1979) is Mr. Fred Thompson who had bought these toys when he was a young boy. Originally, the original company produced only 2 trucks, but today, there are 48 different toys (models). The newer trucks all have serial numbers and are produced in limited editions. The trucks are hand-assembled, and one can even order parts for trucks should the toy or part of the toy break. THe cost of the new toys can range

$ 995.00 - 1395.00 US dollars, and that includes shipping. For the budget-conscious person, the older versions of toys can be found on ebay or at toy auctions on Liveauctioneers. Prices for the "used" toys can range from $ 500.00 - $ 1200.00 US dollars.