A Very Old Omnibus

Saturday, January 27, 2018
Sun with Clouds
-7 C 19.4 F

A Very Old Omnibus

(A very old bus driven by horses)

Please click here to visit the page with the omnibus

Francis, Field & Francis Omnibus

"Unfortunately there really are no catalogs illustrating the many toys that this company manufactured over the years yet usually there is something unique about their toys that make them easy to identify. This particular toy, an omnibus, has such presence and although other companies also made omnibus`s none have the intricacy, delicateness, awe inspiring appeal as this toy! The painted decorations on the side panels are amazing but it does not stop there. The roof is highly & fancifully stenciled, the elaborate coachman’s seat supports, rear stair entry supports as well as the roof cresting all being over the top ornate. Only a handful of this very early toy still exist today. Overall in very good condition with slightly heavier paint loss to the white horses. Some minor paint touch up to the stair and seat supports. One does not need to have an abundance of toys, only a few such as this example will suffice to make an important & superb collection. Featured in Antique Toy World Article. November 1996 - Page 73" *

Length: 15 1/4" 387 mm

This toy certainly did not take much work on its' post.

The photos and the the above page say it all! 

This toy was sold on June 24, 2016.

Thanks for passing by,

and have a great day or night.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

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

Morphy Auctions Latest Auction

Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Overcast (Cloudy)
13 Celsius / 55 Fahrenheit

Morphy Auctions Latest Auction

Toy & Doll

September 23-24, 2015

   I've been privileged to be able to use Mr. Dan Morphy's website for several years now. Mr. Morphy was one my first commercial websites that I had permission to write about and use his fine photos.  Dan has been very successful in the auction business, and has expanded his business to include many divisions. Some of the numerous divisions include Automobiles, Automobilia &  Petroliana,Coins & Currency, and of course toys. The toys are divided into Dolls & Bears, Mechanical & Still Banks, and Toys & Pop Culture. Dan has been able to expand his business by buying other auction companies. He purchased the toy division of James D. Julia,several years ago.

Please click here to visit Morphy Auctions very interesting website

The cover photo of the auction book

Dolls are very popular and collectible. I only selected one page to present, but if you venture over to the Morphy Auctions website,  you will see many, many pages of very beautiful and very old dolls.

Steiff stuffed "characters", especially the bears (which they are most famous for)

have always been a favourite of those people interested in stuffed animals.

The Steiff company has been around for more than 100 years, and is world-renowned.

Cast iron toys are also very popular. For those who don't know, cast iron toys are most unique to the United States.There is on accompany  in Scandinavia, I believe in Sweden they also manufactured cast iron toys.  However, the true history of American toys always includes the cast iron toys.

Another mostly unique to the United States are the mechanical bank cast iron toys. 

All of these toys actually do something before the coin is deposited into a slot. 

When the wooden box that these toys used to come in, are included as part of the item's auction, the bid is usually higher than just with the toy itself.

THe cast iron toys above, are from the 1920's and 1930's, whereas the cast iron mechanical banks were from much earlier times (1890's-1920's). Farm cast iron toys acre especially popular, especially way back, when the USA had many farmers,and the USA was called "the breadbasket of the world". That term refers to the fact, that at one time , and perhaps still, the USA was the biggest producer of food in the world. 

Thanks for dropping by to visit,

and as always,

Have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

Psssssssst-Steam Engines!

Saturday, January, 16, 2016
                   Sunny, Cold & Windy

Psssssssst - Steam Engines

    The Industrial Revolution that took place towards the second half of the 19th century owed much to the steam engine that was invented by the British. Engines were able to now propel machines that could do the work of what before were hundreds of people. As such, the toys were soon following the "real" machines. 

    Toy steam engines could run on alcohol or other fuels, and the toys were modelled after real-life machines. These toys were of course important to be monitored by parents as they produced high-pressure steam to run the machine, as well as having a live fire to heat up the water inside the engine or  water chamber.

    One thing that's not described in the description is the weight. These "toys" could weigh as much as 50-60 pounds (20-28 kilos), and were made of metal components that did not rust.  The toys were more popular in Europe than in North America, but some toys did manage to make their way crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

     Also, the toys were quite attention-gettters because of all their moving parts and the nosies (psssssst) from the steam being released periodically through the pressure values.

Please click here to visit Dan Morphy's location for today's toys & models

The engine below is interesting because it contained a double-boiler. You don't see too many double-boilers from this genre of toy.

Many machines of this type could in fact produce energy.  Cords or chains could be attached to a rotating wheel called a flywheel, and entire mini-factories accompanied with toy men working their machines could be attached. Hammers and saws were just 2 of the movements that toy men would be doing attached to the steam engines.

The steam engine machine below is a latecomer, having been manufactured in the 1940's. 

Even today, there are companies that still make steam engines for both adults and children.

 The item below is actually a "model", rather than a toy. However, it could in fact be "played with".

Although the model below is a true antique (106 years), I am 100% sure that even today, with some cleaning, the machine could be made to work!

They certainly knew how to make things last back then!

Thanks for dropping by,

and was always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be,

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

T Reproductions- Some Recent New Discoveries

Saturday, January 9, 2016
Overcast and warm (6 degrees C / 41 degrees F)

T Reproductions

Some Recent New Discoveries

   I was searching for some new material to write about when I found a quartet of excellent-condition T-Reproduction toys. For those who don't know "T Reproductions" is or was a company that manufactured the older "Buddy L" toys (USA) that were originally manufacture red in the 1930's and later.  When a manufacturer closes down their business, a new manufacturer can ask for permission to reproduce the originals under license and payment. However, if the business closes down, and the name is not continued over the years through registration with the appropriate government agency, then the new manufacture may reproduce the toys without permission or licensing fee.

   What makes the T Reproductions toys so interesting is that they were price fairly high compared to the toys from the 1930's, yet collectors purchased them in good numbers to make them quite in demand. In the bidding, one of the toys was even listed to sell between $ 1000.00-$1500.00 US.

Please click here to redirect to this fine American auctioneer

You can see how well-made these toys are. Also, their reproduction was very faithful to the original toys. I believe these new reproductions came with name plates with the T Reproductions name.

Interestingly, the basic cab is identical in all 4 of the toys. What changes is the moving parts and pieces for each of the 4 different railroad toys.

So that's it for this rare warm January up here in Montreal.

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 Pair of Very Old Trains

Friday, November 20, 2015
Partly cloudy and cold

A Pair of Very Old Trains

I decided to choose Dan Morphy Auctions for today's post. Mr. Dan Morphy was one of the 

original people who had allowed me to use his images after I stopped buying and selling on ebay. Since then, Dan has been quite active and successful in expanding his business. He has now expand his original location in Maine with the successful purchases of another auction company and the antique toy division of Mr. James D. Julia of James D. Julia, Inc. 

Please click here to visit this fine American auction company

Carlisle & Finch No. 45 Loco, Tender, & Passenger.

Carlisle & Finch No. 45 Loco, Tender, & Passenger.
No. 45 locomotive nickel finish with black trim. Passenger car No. 111 Baggage Express with considerable wear. Trucks on car are new. Locomotive and tender are in excellent condition. NYC&HR black tender has yellow lettering together with two 8-wheel brass ten window passenger car and No. 51 orange body baggage car marked "No. 111". Roof on baggage car is quite rough and needs restored. Trucks on baggage car are replaced. On eight-wheel brass passenger cars, one roof is totally restored and both have new trucks. Second car's roof should be restored. Condition (Very Good - Excellent).*

* Description courtesy of Liveauctioneers & Morphy Auctions

I don;t have catalogues for the 2 articles presented today, but they are definitely very old! If you ever watched an old western movie from the 1930's or even today,these are the train engine and train cars thought you would see in the movie.

Voltamp Interurban

Excellent original condition with a few scratches on the roof. 

Condition (Excellent). Size 20'' L. (454 mm)*

* Description courtesy of Liveauctioneers & Morphy Auctions

Below is  another very old train. This one would be a "streetcar" that would have been used to transport people around a city. I remember the last year that such a streetcar was used here in Montreal. My memory is vague though since I was about 5-8 years old.  But I do remember the above the streetcar wires, and the nice wooden panelling (real wood, not your plywood!) that the cars were made of. Also, there were train rails all over the street.

The cord would have been used to raise and lower the mast to electrified wires above the train rails.

When the mast was raised and connected to the electrified wires, the train would have electric current, and the train could move.The "real trains" moved this way,and so did the toy.

It appears that the wire springs have lost their tension, but I'm sure new ones could be found. 

Of course, the big question would be whether or not to play with an antique toy that costs as much as a new Toyota Corolla (I drive a 7 year old Corolla). You'd have to find a compatible electric power source compatible with this train, since you wouldn't want to burn out the wiring inside.

Of course, if you "played" with the toy carefully who's to know?

It would't have an odometer attached to tell how much mileage was on it!

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

The Early Toy Cars from Europe

Friday, May 29, 2015
Sunny and warm

The Early Toy Cars From Europe

  

  One of my favourite genre of toys is the early European toy cars. These were mostly modelled  after the "ritzy" cars of the time. Elegant , big and long, the exemplified the cars that only the rich could possess at the time. I happened to revisit Morphy Auctions, another of the fine people who have helped me out with my writing. There are plenty of nice items for sale, but my eye caught these elegant toys.

Please click here to visit this fine American auctioneer

  Mr. Dan Morphy has expanded his company through hard work and through the acquisition of another auction company.  He now auctions off old cars, and I'm going to write to ask if I might use some of the car photos. If I can find old cars, it would be great to match them up with old toys.

I always like the free-standing headlights on these cars.m Also, notice that the sun visor is on the outside of the car, rather than on the inside. If you look to the front of the driver, you can also see a searchlight.

There are no headlights on this car! Also, have a look at the large number of air vents on the side of the hood. What also amazes me is that for the European toys of the time (1920's-1930's), the Europeans had established a quality process of lithography.  If you compare many of the American toys of the time, most are cast iron.

I like the driver and those "balloon tires. And notice how the driver in the above 2 cars is on the right hand side of the car, unlike American cars which were on the left.

I once purchases a Kingsbury car solely for it's battery -operated headlights. I had to do minor repairs to get the lights to work. Having a toy with headlights must have been extra fun for kids of the time.

What I noticed discovered yesterday after 60 years (I'm, 66), is that a car trunk as we know it today was based on a real steamer trunk. A steamer trunk was used for people who travelled on ships. It was large and people would take a month's worth of clothing, portable vanity  mirrors that would stand on a table, personal ink pens and stationary for writing, and all kinds of toiletries and sundries.

Not only were these cars long, but the engine compartment and the engine block were also.Just look at the photos, and you'll see just how large the engine compared with the car and passenger compartment was.

The first and last cars were also wind-up cars.

That's it for today. However, please venture over to the Morphy Auctions website. There are lots more of these early European toy cars to enjoy looking at.  I've been busy with taking car of my lawn, planting herbs and vegetables in my leased municipal "mini" garden plot, and  walking our dog Buddy more. He's turning 14  in June, and I'm trying to keep him in good shape. He's a poodle, and that's him when you visit my opening page of my blog. 

He's starting to show signs of old age (just like me). He's wary of walking dow the stairs to the den, and yelps four his "personal carrier" when he wants to join me. Also, he recently had to have teeth removed since they were loose - a sign of age and not enough toothbrushing on our part.

My wife Heidi feels that since Buddy's dental operation, Buddy is more spunky and has a lot more energy. Of course, the miserable long winter didn't help. Most of the time, both Buddy and myself were not in the mood to go for walks outside in the minus zero record breaking cold February.

Buddy still has some carryover symptoms of the operation, and we're going back to the vet to see what can be done. He seems to be in anguish (feeling pain), and constantly paws his face. I'm thinking there might be some residual nerve pain from the operation.

Thanks for dropping by,

and always,

have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com 

Railway Handcars

Saturday, February 7, 2015
Cloudy and cold

Railway Hand Cars

   I saw today's interesting grouping of railway handcars earlier in the week. when I was looking at toys on Liveauctioneers. I narrowed the search for several of the people who have helped me out, and I came up with Morphy Auctions.  Dan Morphy has been one of the earliest people and auctioneer who helped me out when I stopped buying and selling toys on ebay. The company has expanded over the recent years, and purchased an auction company in Las Vegas. As well, they now sell old and rare cars.

Please click here to visit this fine American auction company

Most of these toys are probably from the 1930's-1940's. At the time, cartoons were an important feature in most newspapers, leading to their being designed into toys. I always wanted to try a handcar. I've never seen one up close, but I think they're quite heavy looking at photos. Now these would be great if you wanted a good outdoor exercise to keep fit. The original "real" handcar could be operated by one or two people, but I'm sure most of the time two people propelled it.

Since the original handcar was designed in a limited production, there were probably few companies that actually manufactured them.  Consequently, there were few differences among them. Eventually, someone figured that if you added an engine you could save people from having to work hard to get from point A to point B.

 With limited differences in the real handcar, the toys  are correspondingly quite similar to each other. Most have 2 characters, except for the "bunny" rabbit, and most are hand wound with a key.

What is very usual with any key wind-up toy is the fact that the key often gets lost. The good news though is that there are plenty of toy parts companies to be able to find a replacement key. 

Walt Disney was extremely;y popular in the 1930's and 1940's and created a lot of interesting characters. As a result, many of his characters were made into toys and dolls. 

Most everyone knows Micky Mouse, and Donald Duck. Below you can see Minnie Mouse, another Disney character.  It's interesting that in several of today's toys, there are slight difference sin the colour scheme. Below you have two versions - the green handcar and the orange one. T I always wonder why a toy manufacture would have the same toy, but change the colour scheme. It would have cost a bit more, and why have extra inventory and costs?

  Here we have the two most famous Walt Disney Characters -  Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse.

What just came to mind is which cartoon or fictional character was made into the most numerous amount of toys ever? Sometimes, I think that I think too much, especially being 66 years "young" and coming up with these questions!

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