An Upcoming Excellent Marz Auction Coming Soon

Saturday, February, 2025

Clear Skies and Cold

-16° C / 3.2° F

An Upcoming Excellent

Marz Auctions Coming Soon

Please click on this sentence to redirect to the Marz Auctions on the LiveAuctioneers website 

I haven't been blogging lately as I was in Mexico over the holidays. 

My brother and sister, together with their spouses met my wife and 

I in Cancun, Mexico. My brother and sister moved from Quebec long ago, and

relocated to Alberta and Ontario respectively. We see each other every so often, 

sometimes each year,  and sometimes longer.

The weather was fine, the company was excellent, 

as was the food. Best of all, the Mexican People were nice and helpful. The hotel staff

was wonderful, and always worked hard to help us with whatever we asked.

Wherever we went, we were always greeted with smiles and a motivation to help us

with any needs that we might have.

I hadn't written a Marz Auction Post in a while, and so I wanted to write a post for them today. Their next upcoming auction is coming soon. 

It will be starting on February 22, 2025 on LiveAuctioneers.

What I've noticed over the years that I've blogged (14 years and counting) is the

excellent photography that Marz Auctions presents for their merchandise. 

Diffused lighting from electronic flash lighting heads creates a nice soft lighting, 

and reduced contrast. The photographer doesn't have to worry about losing detail 

(what you see) in the shadows, and the bright areas (called highlights) are not too

bright, so as to lose detail from over-exposure.

Description:

"Large  Dayton Toys Number 530 top-up touring car. Toy at 13.7 inches (34.798 cm)

in length with working friction driver at rear. The toy was made circa 1911.

Good used original condition with darkening and added varnish.

Description:

"Circa 1909 Dayton Toys Touring Car with red body and gold hand-painted

accents. The toy comes with replacement riders and an unusual wood shift knob.

Original paint with flaking and play wear.

11" long (27.94 cm)

So that's it for today, and thanks for dropping by to read this post.If you go to Marz Auctions' LiveAuctioneers website, you will see a wonderful collection of old toys going top auction. Better still, you will learn a lot about each and every toy. Marz Auctions' writers for the toy descriptions are experienced and knowledgeable about the toys going to auction. You can learn a lot about toys from them, and that's part and parcel of collecting toys and learning.

So that's it for today.

 It's amazing to return home, here in Montreal,Quebec,Canada 

to a temperature of

-16° C / 3.2° F, when yesterday, it was 28° C / 82.4° F.

At least it's the beginning of February, the days are getting longer in the

amount of daylight, and in a month, the weather will be even warmer.

Thanks for dropping by to visit my blog,

and as always, have a great part of the day or night,

wherever you may be.

My name is Mr. Stacey Bindman,

and I an always be reached at toysearher@gmail.com

Saturday, November 16, 2024

Sunny with Clear Skies

13° C / 56 ° F

A Short Revisit to 

Pook & Pook

I haven't been writing much lately. My brother visited us in October, and we were

 supposed to go to take photographs of the fall foliage. Unfortunately, the weather 

didn't cooperate, and the leaves did not change either here in Quebec (Canada) or in

Vermont (USA). We also went to St. Alban, Vermont, where my parents and us children

 and my aunt, uncle, and their children  used to go in the summer. 

Unfortunately, some 60 years later, everything had changed in St. Albans Bay, 

where we rented summer cottages. We couldn't find the 2 summer cottages,

and the large corn field behind us had disappeared, and was occupied by

many houses.  The only thing that didn't change was the Lake Champlain seashore,

that was across the road from us. 

As Bob Dylan sang in one of his songs: "and the times, they are a changing".

And so, I decided to write a post and cheer up. 

I enjoy writing about toys, as well as learning about them.

So today's post is from Pook & Pook, a fine auctioneer, that

usually has fine collections of toys up for auction.

Please click on this sentence to redirect to this Pook & Pook Auction

The auction was on December 03, 2021

Below:

Scarce McLoughlin Bros. Bulls and Bears Great Wall Street Game

patented 1883

" with a vibrant lithograph box lid of a dressed bull and bear standing on Wall Street,

the original folding board with comic portrait vignettes of Gilded Age stock market

characters Jay Gould, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Horace Greely, includes 

a spinning board, play money, and contracts, 

as well as the original instruction booklet - 

12" (30.48 cm) height, 15 1/4" (38.735 cm)width"

Below:

Marklin Painted Tin Clockwork Musical Carousel, circa 191

With three embossed tin vis-a-vis chariots and three galloping horses, around

a central floral painted column with internal mechanism and hinged box

enclosing the musical comb, retaining the original canopy with fringed

tassel border, the base with a hand crank border is grooved to attach as a steam toy.

Below:

Massive live steam traction engine modelof a 36 horsepower 1912 Case tractor

with wooden bunkers and wood framed tin canopy, 

with brass and steel components.

Length 43" (109.22 cm)

So that's it for today, and thank you for visiting.

My name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman, and I can always be reached at

toysearher@gmail.com

 

An Exceptional Seller on LiveAuctioneers

Tuesday January 16, 2024

-6°  Celsius / 21.2° Fahrenheit

Overcast

An Exceptional Toy Seller on

Please click here to visit Marz Auctions on liveauctioneers

Please click here to visit Marz Auctions website

After a long time, I've been trying to get back into writing again. So, a few days ago, I went to visit the Liveauctioneers websites to see if I might be inspired by a new toy seller. A good amount of companies that had their own websites have now moved to to Liveauctioneers to sell their toys, but still maintain their own websites. 

Sure enough, as I was perusing through the many toy sellers, one vendor attracted my attention. 

Their description was very well written, but the last sentence caught my attention.

**We don't just shoot for the Moon, we overachieve and shoot for Marz**

The play on words of their company name "Marz" was comical and brilliant!

Of course, I had to see what toys they had, and again, another great surprise! Their photography is exceptional. It reminds me when after about a year of blogging, and using people's photographs "as is", I decided to remove any different colours that toys were placed on, and simply place the toy on a white background. I found that placing a toy on a white background focussed all the attention on the toys. I did this in the photo-editing software Photoshop. Aside from their placing their toys on a white background, their photography is excellent in terms of lighting, focus, and angling the toys to the camera, which makes the toy more 3-dimensional.

Naturally, I wrote to the company, and I got a reply allowing me to use their fine photos, as well as their descriptions.

 I've made the written descriptions very brief. However, when you visit either LiveAuctioneers or the Marz Auction website, you will see very well-written descriptions of their toys that are up for auction.

Item details:

"Iconic Althof Bergmann Key Wind Fire Pumper with deluxe key wind mechanism.

Toy circa 1885 from New York, NY form Bergmann top features of the day for toys.

The fire engine is drawn by two horses.

16" long x 7" high.

Extra large J.E.P. Seaplane F260 with pontoons and windup key.

Nice original plane with strong windup motor and pilot.

Large wingspan 18" x 12.5" length.

(45.72 cm x 31.75 cm)

Giant Buddy L Wrecker toy truck.

Circa 1928 with a working winch.

28" long x 10" tall (71.12 cm x 25.4 cm)

"Tin Windup Delahane Open Touring sedan in Largest Size.

Likely by Pinard of France, as it is the largest in a flight of 3 cars offered circa 1918.

Attributed to Pinard, but we have seen it also J.E.P. of France.

Hand wrought in tin. 

Approximately 19" (48.26 cm) in length"

"Althof Bergmann Key Wind Fire Pumper with deluxe clockwork key wind mechanism". 

Toy circa 1885 from New York, NY firm Bergmann.

16" long x 7" high (40.64 cm  x 17.78 cm)"

"Deluxe" service airplane

22" ( 55.88 cm) wingspan" 

" Large Fleishmann / Carette Battleship of this series at 21" (53.34 cm)

Eight single barrel guns. Twin smoke stacks with twin towers and pennant flags."

Original tin battleship with German navy flag and anchor. Windup with original key."

You might want to visit the Marz Auctions website either at their website or on 

In either case, both sites are excellent in terms of either bidding on toys that you might like or researching a toy that you would like to know more about.

So that's it for today, on a cloudy, cold, and snowy day 

here in Montreal,Quebec (canada).

As always, 

Thanks for dropping by, 

and have a great part of the day or night, wherever you may be.

I can always be reached at:

toysearcher@gmail.com

and my name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman

The Steelcraft Company Revisited

Sunday, February 4, 2018
Overcast with snow
-1 C  30.2 F

The Steelcraft Company Revisited

Please click here to visit this outstanding toy auctioneer

Everone usually associated the Steelcraft Company with small pressed steel toy vehicles such as cars and trucks. However, the company was also famous for large-sized pedal cars, which you can see below.  The company existed from the 1920's - 1940's. 

"Toys were made by Murray Ohio Manufacturing Co., a Cleveland firm that opened in 1919 to make parts for that recent invention, the automobile. By 1923, Murray also was making toy cars using the steel and production methods it used to manufacture full-size car parts. The toys were marketed as Steelcraft Wheel Goods. This diversity helped Murray survive the Depression. The company’s pedal cars, airplanes, coaster wagons, bicycles and smaller wheeled toys were marked “Steelcraft,” the identification seen by today’s collector." *

* Citation: http://www.heraldnet.com/life/the-story-behind-the-steelcraft-mark-on-antique-toys/

All of the pedal-cars below are from the late Mr. Donald Kaufmann's exceptional collection of fine toys. The link above is for Bertoiaauctions on Liveauctioneers. However, you can also visit the Bertoia Auctions directly at their own website (www.bertoiaauctions.com)

Steelcraft Dugan Bros. Delivery truck

Very rare, and best known example

Electric lights and rubber tires.

Provenance:  Donald Kaufmann

Circa: 1934

Length:  18 1/2"  470 mm

Steelcraft "Auburn" Super Charger Pedal Car

Pressed steel with rubber pneumatic wheels (tires)

Circa: 1930's

Length:  48"  1.22 M

Steelcraft Hupmobile Pedal Car

3-colour scheme model, pressed steel, headlights,

with windshield an ornaments.

Circa: 1932

Length:  45"  1.14 M

Steelcraft "Spirit of America" Pedal Airplane

Nickeled  steering wheel with decals on wings and sides,

reading "Spirit of America", rubber tires.

Length:  52"  1.32 M 

Steelcraft Chrysler Pedal Car

Painted yellow and black, well appointed with nickeled lights,

horn and fender mounted lights, simulated fold-down top, dashboard decals,

Equipped with every imaginable accessory such as handbrake, searchlight, and horn.

Circa: 1933

Length:  50"  1.27 M

Have a great day or night

wherever you may be.

Stacey Bindman

toysearcher@gmail.com

The American Antique Auctions Company

Monday, November 27, 2017
Sunny with Cloudy Periods
-2 C 28 F

The American Antique Auctions Company

Please click here to visit this fine American Auction Company

    A few days ago, I was on the Liveauctioneers website, when I came across a very nice and eclectic grouping of toys up for auction. The auction is scheduled for December 2, 2017, and promptly begins at 07:00 A.M. As with several of the auctions companies that I have written about in the past,  American Antique Auctions is conducting their listings and auction on Liveauctioneers.

Below:

3 separate listings from the auction.

The listings are for Tootsietoy toys.

Below:

2 sides (left and right) of a reproduction page 

of a 1933 Tootsietoy catalogue. 

Tootsietoy in the 1930's and later on was "the" small toy company that was very prominent in the USA at the time. It even surpassed Dinky Toys from Great Britain. These small toys (about 4" or 100 mm in length) are still very prized and are very collectible even today.

The 3 toys below are part of a diverse and eclectic group of toys from this auction. These toys also are quite collectible, and there a lot of them in the auction.

You might want to venture over to Liveauctioneers and the American Antique Auctions site. Their toys exemplify a broad array of collectible toys from a while back, and the photography from this auctioneers is excellent in terms of showing the toys and their condition. Even if you might not be interested in buying, the  bidding on this collection of toys will give you a sense as to how the bidding goes (fast or slow, in high demand or not), as well as giving you an idea as to what the prices are.

Thanks for dropping by,

And as always,

Have a great part of the day or night,

Wherever you may be.

toysearcher@gmail.com

Stacey Bindman

Cast Iron Kenton Toys

Sunday, November 13, 2017
Cloudy with some sunny periods
9 Celsius 48 Fahrenheit

Cast Iron Kenton Toys

 I just finished writing a post about Turner Auctions & Appraisals in which they are having an auction this weekend. Interestingly, Bertoia Auctions is also having an auction as well.

There are lots of Kenton cast iron toys up for auction, so that's what I decided I'd write about. I also decided to match up the auction items with their catalogue listings.

Most of the toys presented today are from approximately the 1927 & 1930 catalogues. 

Like other cast iron toy companies, Kenton started out as a home hardware company making  refrigerator locks.  The company was founded in 1890 by F.M. Perkins in Kenton, Ohio. The company start red manufacturing toys in 1894. The company became part of the National Novelty Corporation and continued to make toys. 

Only 10% of their toys were marked with the Kenton name, while early toys simply were not marked.

In 1927, many iof the toys were still horse-drawn, but some car toys first appeared in 1923.  Most automotive cars were produced from 1933-1940*

Reference: Lynne Belluscio / Le Roy Pennysaver 

March 13, 2011

Please click hereto read the entire article by Lynne Belluscio

Please click here to visit this fine American toy auctioneer

KENTON SEDAN

Scarce example, cast iron, painted in red body, black roof and running boards,

 disc wheels, done in silver and red centers. 

Length: 10"  254 mm 

KENTON WILLYS KNIGHT SEDAN

Kenton, green body and black chassis, features spare on rear, painted wheels. 

Appears to be varnished, but original.

Length: 8" 203 mm

Like all of the cast iron toy manufacturers of the day, the same model 

car or truck or bus was produced in  assorted varying sizes

KENTON PICKWICK NITE COACH

Kenton, a scarce large size example, painted in green with orange body style, 

solid cast iron silver wheels with orange centers, a stellar conditioned example. 

Length: 11"  280 mm

Notice that the Pickwick Nite coach came in a total of 5 different sizes.

KENTON DUMP TRUCK

Cast iron, scarce size, enclosed Ford cab painted in red with 

open blue dump body able to tilt for unloading, yellow painted disc wheels. 

Length: 9" 228 mm

KENTON ICE TRUCK

Cast iron, red painted open seat cab with railed Ice bed body, 

embossed sides, rear platform, disc wheels painted yellow. 

Length: 7 1/2" 191 mm

Since the automobile and truck were relatively new, there weren't that many manufacturers at the time, and most of the models appeared similar to other companies. As such, the same thing could be said of the toy reproductions. In order to identify a specific manufacturer, you have to be an experienced toy seller or auctioneer. Also, old toy catalogues help to also identify the manufacturer, and the approximate time period that the toy would have been made.

Kenton Oil and Gas Truck

Cast iron, painted in green overall with embossed 

lettering and water tanks on sides, gold spoke wheels. 

Length: 10"  254 mm

KENTON OIL & GAS TRUCK

Cast iron, painted in yellow overall w/embossed lettering and 

water tanks on sides, disc wheels have red centers. 7" l. (VG Cond.)

KENTON SPRINKLER TRUCK

Circa early 1930's, scarce example, cast work vehicle is done in green overall, gold highlights, well detailed mold, tanker truck has disc wheels with red painted centers, embossed sides. 

Length:  7"  178 mm

KENTON AUTO WRECKER

Circa 1927, cast iron, an interesting auto design with rear compartment used as housing for yellow boom with working winch, auto done in red, silver and yellow disc wheels, seated driver. 

Length: 9 1/2"  242 mm 

Another piece of useful information for identifying a particular company might be the actual weight of the toy.  Most manufacturers' catalogues were made for "the trade" (e.g. buyers of toys in bulk0. As such, the weights were given, as well as the total number of toys in a box. From that information, you could "approximately" figure out the weight of the toy.

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