Wonderful Tin Toys from Milestone Auctions

Sunday, May 17, 2020
Sunny with Clouds
19 C 66 F

Wonderful Tin Toys

from

Milestone Auctions

Milestone Auctions is located in Willoughby, Ohio, USA. The company offers multiple services such as organization, photography, and descriptions and information about many different of categories of merchandise that they auction. They are also affiliated with Liveauctioneers.

"Tinplate was used in the manufacture of toys beginning in the mid-19th century. The invention of sheet metal stamping machines in 1815 allowed for the mass production of inexpensive toys. Tin toys were made from thin sheets of steel plated with tin, hence the name tinplate.  Tin toys were a cheap and durable substitute for wooden toys. The toys were originally assembled and painted by hand. Spring activated tin toys originated in Germany in the 1850s.  In the late 1880s offset lithography was used to print designs on tinplate. After the colorful designs were printed on the metal, they were formed by dies and assembled with small tabs. The lightweight nature of the toys allowed them to be shipped less expensively and easier than the heavier cast iron toys.

Germany was the major producer of tin toys in the world in the early 20th century. The most famous German manufacturer of tin toys was Ernst Paul Lehmann who is said to have exported 90% of his toys. France and England joined the fray and it wasn't long before hundreds of thousands of these penny toys were being manufactured."*

Please click here to read more about tin toys in the early 20th century

Hans Eberl

Tin Windup Roll Over Car

Length:  10" 254 mm

Hand painted tin windup Birds on Swing

Birds are weighted and swing around when the toy is operated.

Height:  15" 381 mm

Tin windup Lila Hansome Cab with driver, 2 passengers, 

and a small dog

Height:  6"  152 mm

Lehmann Tin Flywheel "Going to the Fair"

Made in Germany

Length:  6 1/2" 165 mm

Tin Windup that works and plays music

Height:  6 1/2" 165 mm

Lehmann Tin Windup Amphibious Car

Windup Mechanism

Length:  9 1/2"  242 mm

Before today, I hadn't realized that tin toys 

could be so large or in some case so "complicated. 

There's still more learning to be done.

Have a great day or evening.

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

Antique Runabout Toys

Sunday, April 20, 2014
    (Partly Cloudy and Warmer)

Antique Runabout Toys

   Bertoia Auctions  upcoming "Spring Break Toy Auction"  (May 9-10, 2014) is a true cornucopia of a variety of interesting and rare toys. I've written about their Trollies earlier, and today decided to return and add the antique toy runabouts. For those who don't know a "runabout" was the precursor to the automobile at the turn of the 20th century. Instead of a steering wheel it had a metal and wood handle to turn the vehicle. Also,  the "car" was more dedicated for short trips.

Please click here to go directly to Bertoia Auctions

The mechanical movements on all of these runabouts were made very well. What's of interest is the fact that there are 3 different ways of moving. One is windup, another is electric, and the third is steam.  

As you can plainly see, these early "cars" were not meant to travel very far, especially with no roof.

Of course, at the time of their invention, there weren't exactly too many good roads to travel on either!

Thanks for dropping by,

and as always, 

haver a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

Stacey

My email address is toysearcher@gmail.com

A Kingsbury 1934 Ford Coupe

Friday, May 11, 2012

A Kingsbury Ford Coup

Circa 1930's

     I had seen the Kingsbury cars on E-Bay, but as usual, there were priced more than what I was willing to spend. So, I waited, and had my eyes on this one. It didn't sell twice, so I made an offer to the seller, and lo and behold, I was able to purchase it.

     The toy measures 11" (L) x 4 3/4" (W) x 4" H) or 280mm x 115mm x100mm. Now this is a toy one can put both your hands on. Surprisingly, it seemed very light for its size, but when I weighted it, it weighted in at 1 pound and 3 ounces or 537 grams.

     Unfortunately, like all of the other great American toy manufacturers, the Kingsbury toy company stopped production. However, the good news is that the company is still exists and in still in New Hampshire.

     The toy has a wind-up mechanism, but the "brake" to hold the tension in place has long ago broken off. The reason I know this is that there currently is another one on E-Bay with the brake in place. Thankfully, T-BO33, an E-Bayer's ID, allowed me to use his/her photos.

    So for today, here is a beautiful Kingsbury Ford 1934 Coupe made of pressed steel.

   The back of the car appeared to be missing a bumper.

However, this turned out to not be so.

I had contacted an E-Bayer who said that this particular Kingsbury had no rear bumpber, but had a small hole for a trailer.

T-BO33, an E-Bayer's ID again allowed me to use his/her photos to verify that.

(Please see below)

 The Wind-up Mechanism (the brake is missing)

The 3-position front wheels position adjuster

The 2 photos below were created with the "Painting with Light" technique.

I used 2 lights to light the car and the background. Then in complete darkness, I took a small Maglite flashlight with a fiber-optic attachment, and moved the light all over the car.

I've you're interested about this technique, please visit my other blog:

prophotolearning.blogspot.com

I personally like this technique, as  you can create more of a 3D (3 dimension) effect.

However, this technique is not as popular as it once was.

Currently the lighting "de riguer" (In fashion) is flat, washed-out highlights, and blah!

So thanks for dropping by, 

and have a pleasant weekend wherever you may be.