An Exceptional Bertoia Auction of European Dolls, Steiff Bears, and Wonderful Gottschalt Houses and more

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Overcast 

1° C / 33° F

An Exceptional Bertoia Auction of European Dolls, 

Steiff Bears, Wonderful Gottschalt Houses and More

One of the first companies that gave me their permission to write about them 

and the wonderful auctions that they had was Bertoia Auctions. I was ecstatic,

because I would now be able to write about wonderful toys that I had not seen before.

The auction that I'm writing about today immediately caught my attention.

The auction will have a myriad of many different toys. However, it's the amazing doll houses that caught my eye. Each of the doll houses that will be presented at the auction has many photographs. Whomever took the photographs, as well as the Bertoia family working alongside, really outdid themselves with the excellent photography. 

For today's post, I decided to select just one dollhouse and let the photographs 

show the  very fine photography, both technically with lighting and focus, but 

mores o in the specific close-ups and details.

Please click on this sentence to redirect to the Bertoia Auction on Liveauctioneers

Please click on this sentence to redirect specifically to the Large Gottschalt House

Item Details

Description:
Auction Number: 148
LARGE GOTTSCHALK HOUSE l No. 3594/4  (referenced on page 64
Moritz Gottschalk 1892-1931? Verlag Marianne Cieslik. One of the largest models
offered by the infamous company. This impressive house has a front opening section to
the center hall with painted walls and closet under the staircase. The two sides open to two large rooms in each, one on the left with a closet in the upper room. The room retain original floor and wall papers with period silk and lace curtains.The exterior is covered with lithographed paper with faux brick, stone and lattice with painted wood detailing including wood window and door trim,porch columns and eaves and of course the trademark blue roof.  |  40" wide, 21.5" deep to base of bay wind  |   The exterior has had some meticulous conservation including some touch up papers, replaced painted arch top glass panels and the addition of some metal flourishes to the front and gilt metal weather vanes to roof as well as a feline | $5,000- $10,000

My favourite photo was the one above of the cat. Whomever

had decided to place a cat on the banister must have been an excellent 

designer of  these fine toy houses. The cat added that "extra" that made 

the house all the more real and enjoyable, even after all those years.

So that's it for today,

Thanks. for visiting my blog.

As always have a great part of the morning, afternoon, or evening,

wherever you may be.

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

at 

toysearcher@gmail.com

The Henry Ford (Museum) Revisited

Monday, December 2, 2024

29° F / -2° C

Sunny with some clouds

Revisiting The Henry Ford (Museum)

Please click on this sentence to visit The Henry Ford Museum

I decided to write another post post about The Henry Ford (Museum),

 so I wrote them for their permission.  Within a short time, I received 

permission one of the reference librarians to post again.  

Months ago, I "discovered"  this marvellous website that Mr.Henry Ford created, along with all of the people working for this exceptional resource and museum. 

If I ever go to Detroit Michigan (U.S.A.), the place that I would want to visit is

this fantastic museum, with all of its' different areas for seeing so many different things. I would have to visit the toy museum section, before everything else.

My second choice would be the car section of the museum.

The toy section on the web is very carefully catalogued. I've only used 

the photos and  their descriptions, but  like a library, this museum's

contents have been  carefully sorted and catalogued for reference purposes.

Once again, each and every toy has a vast amount of

detailed information.The Henry Ford (Museum) website would be 

an excellent resource and reference site to research toys.

For this PlaySchool toy, you can see  all of the detail and work that goes into 

classifying each and every toy item in this special toy area of the Museum.

The magnified beetle below is described as follows:

Summary

"Small tin toys were first made during the 1860's, especially in and 

around Nuremburg, Germany. This beetle was made by the 

Lehmann Company, a German manufacturer known for its colorful 

and detailed mechanized tin toys.Winding the clockwork mechanism 

makes this beetle walk and flap its' wings".

The beetle below was made in 1895.

Below

Toy Soldier, 1840-1860

Creator Unknown

Material

Wood (plantMaterial)

Paint (Coating)

Dimensions

Length:  5.625 in  (14.2875 cm)

Width:  2.375  in (6.0325 cm)

Height:   6 in  (15.24 cm)

Below

Toy Airplane 

Date Made: 1948-1950

Manufacturer

Made by All Metal Products (Wyandotte Toys) 

in Wyandotte, Michigan (U.S.A.)

Material

Steel (Alloy)

Cardboard

Color

Blue

Red

Dimensions

Height:  2.5 in. (6.35 cm)

        Width:  10.25 in. (26.035 cm)

Length: 10" (25.4 cm)

So that's it for today.

Thanks for visiting my website, and please visit the 

The Henry Ford Museum. It's a fascinating resource for 

not just toys, but for all kinds of other things (especially cars).

As always, thanks for visiting,

and have a great part of the day or evening,

wherever you may be.

My name is (Mr.) Stacey Bindman

and I  can always be reached atA:

toysearcher@gmail.com

 

 

the Henry Ford (Museum)

Sunday, October 14, 2024

Cloudy

10° C / 50° F

the Henry Ford (Museum)

Part I

"From the Collections of Henry Ford"

Toy Blocks

There are often times when I find an unexpected website that simply astonishes me. And so it was, when I discovered "the Henry Ford" museum. Finding the museum was great, but finding the toy section was even greater. I had initially done a search for toys, and one the search results on my search engine (Google) was "the Henry Ford" (Museum). 

I had written to the Henry Ford Museum, and had received a fantastic letter from one of the archivists of the Archives and Library Staff (Benson Ford Research Center of The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan, USA. She also gave me permission to use photos and to write about this great resource.

There is a lot of information when you go to the main website. So what I have done is provide the link directly to the toy section below:

Please click here to redirect to the Henry Ford Museum on toys

The link below will take you directly to today's specific blog post about toy blocks

Please click here to visit the specific location of today's post

Below:

The Picture Alphabet For Good Children, 1835-1855

I've written short paragraphs on all of the toys below. However, I would highly recommend to visit the website directly.  The professional staff at The Henry Ford museum are very eloquent and  learned in writing descriptions of the numerous toys that the museum has.

Below

The Picture Alphabet for Good Children

1835-1855

The items below are cards that were kept in a portable wooden cylinder. Most of the cards had large letters on one side, and a printed image that had the same letter in its' identity.

The set was meant for children to learn their alphabet from the pictures.

Below

Picture Puzzle Blocks

1858-1863

The set of blocks below was more advanced. Because the blocks were 6-sided,  this offered young children different learning skills.Not only would the children be able to assemble a small picture of  of a scene, but it also helped them to learn the English alphabet as well. 

Below:

Alphabet Blocks 

1865-1875

The S.L. Hill Company patented the toy set below in 1858, which was described

as " a new and Improved Spelling-Block", with images attached to the blocks.

These toys were very ingenious for the time.  These toys great for having children 

improve their dexterity (Skill in using your hands to perform different tasks).

But even better, was that these toys could be played with in an educational manner.

Below

Hill's Spelling Blocks, 1867-1880

This is another educational toy set from the The S.L. Hill company became very successful for manufacturing these toys for the fast-growing population

 of the United States.

Below:

Hill's Kindergarten Building and Spelling Blocks

1880-1890

Here, once again is a great set of learning tiles and cubes.

However, in this case, the blocks have upper case (Capitals) 

and lower-case (small letters) in cursive (curved and styled) 

and not in  block lettering. From this,children could learn how to read.

But the Hill's company went even further. 

Their blocks also had Roman and Arabic numerals (numbers)

for children to learn how to count. 

Below:

Alphabet Blocks, Used by Edsel Ford, 1895-1900

For those who don't know, Mr. Edsel Ford  

was the son of Mr. Henry Ford and  his wife Clara Jane Bryant Ford. 

Mr. Henry  Ford created the Ford Motor Company.

Below:

Alphies Alphabet

These blocks not only appealed to children, but adults as well.

The toys stood up, and came with a rubber ball. Children would arrange the aninals standing up, and would roll the ball to knock the pins down, just like bowling.

 Not only could children play with the pins and ball, but they learned the alphabet as well.

I learned a lot writing this blog post. However, there is so much to learn from the museums that Mr. Henry Ford created. This is the first post, and I plan to write another post about this library, for readers to research more information about toys of the museum.

Sometimes, when you research for a blog post, you never know what you'll find.

And so to finish this blog post, I have to quote you that famous sentence from a movie.

"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get".

The movie is Forrest Gump (1994) starring Tom Hanks, and directed by Robert Zemeckis.

The book that the movie was created from was written by Winston Groom, and was released in  the 1986.

 

Hobby db - An Exceptional Toy Database

 Wednesday, October 27, 2021                                                                                                         Sunny & Clear Skies                                                                                                                       12 C  54 F

Please click on this sentence to redirect to this great resource

  Several years ago,  Sept. 5, 2016, to be exact, while I was building up my blog, I received a letter from Mr. Christian Braun. Usually, I would search the web for interesting website, collectors, and toy manufacturers In this case, the reverse happened. He wrote to ask me if I might write a blog post about his recent company hobbyDB. Of course I agreed right away, and wrote back.

  As it turned out, Christian's company and website was exactly what I needed to help me learn about toys, and to find them as well. From that position, not only would I be able to write about different people and companies, but I would be able to have a very good resource and knowledge base to provide information to my readership.

  His website is available to readers, who can sign up and be able to use this marvelous resource without any fees. There are now 2,000 volunteers that add the information and photos to hobbyDB.  And further, Christian and his team made it possible for these volunteers and others that like toys to own part of the site (they use a crowdfunding platform called Wefunder to manage the sale of shares to their users, more here https://wefunder.com/hobbyDB).  hobbyDB is thus now owned by 1,100 of its users. hobbyDB, to quote Christian, is  "Built by collectors for collectors and owned by collectors  -  hobbyDB is the world's fasting growing collectibles database." 

  Below is a screen-capture of a member of hobbyDB, whom I selected to illustrate how the website functions. The detail is blurry, because the screen-capture is a low-resolution that I can't capture with any larger resolution. The immediate screen-capture below illustrates a search that I did for a member who goes by the name "Stroget". Actually, his name is Karl.

  The screen-capture presents to the viewer the listings that Karl Schnelle has added to the database of toys

Copyright © 2021 hobbyDB

Please do not copy without their written permission

  The screen-capture below provides the reader with all kinds of information about  toys that members of hobbyDB have added to the data-base. Not only is the information very informative, but notice the choice of different searches that a reader can select in order to either find information about a toy, or to learn about a toy.

Copyright © 2021 hobbyDB

Please do not copy without their written permission

The image below illustrates some of the information that Karl has added for the

toy that was added to the database.

Copyright © 2021 Hobbydb & Karl Schnelle

Please do not copy without their written permission

Once again, the image below shows you just how many items Karl

has added to the database. 3,155 entries most certainly is a huge

number of entires that certainly took Karl a long time to add!

Copyright © 2021 HobbyDB & Karl

Please do not copy without their written permission

Lloyd Ralston Toys Revisited

Thursday, May 14, 2020
Sunny with clouds
12 C 54 F

Lloyd Ralston Gallery Toys Revisited

I've been visiting people and their stores to see how they are doing in 2020.
This fine store was founded by Mr. Lloyd Ralston, 
who sadly passed away some years ago. The company  ( Shelton, Connecticut, USA)
is now run superbly by his two sons.

Like many auctioneers, the Lloyd Ralston Gallery has signed up with Liveauctioneers.
Liveauctioneers is a unique website that signs up antique dealers of all kinds, including the special area of antique and modern toys. It has a vast linkage all over the world.

A great asset of this company is the fact that it has the resource of seeing toys from previous auctions, as well as their corresponding final prices of the toys. However they lack the capability of entering the  brand name or descriptive words of their merchandise. Nevertheless,
it still is a fantastic source of information about toys.

The auction occurred on May 2, 2020, and consisted
mostly of railroad train, cars, and accessories.

I've added the final prices of the these toys that went to auction. These are
the higher-priced toys, but there were lots of other toys that buyers selected at lower prices.


Please click here to visit their website

Please click here to arrive at their link on Liveauctioneers


Lionel 400E Locomotive and Tender
400T Tender 
Final Price: $ 750.00 US + Fees + Taxes




Bing 7116 Post Car
0 Gauge
Hand-painted tin with Interior
Both 4-wheel trucks articulate
Final Price: $ 1100.00 US + Fees + Taxes



Ives 800 Trolley
O Gauge
Lithographed Tin, Windup  Mechanism
With Trolly, Pole & Cowcatchers
Circa 1910
Final Price: $ 4200.00 US & Fees & Taxes




Lionel 1928 Store Display
Lithographed Press-boards
60" x 22" (558 mm x 154 mm)
Final Price: $ 16, 000.00 + Fees + Taxes


Lionel Train Set
0 Gauge
Twin Motor Engine and Assorted Cars
Final Price: $ 1300.00 US + Fees + Taxes



Lionel 2624M
Manhattan Pullman
0 Gauge
With Original Box
Final Price: $ 1500.00 & Fees & Taxes



Buddy L Trench Digger
Painted Pressed Steel
L x W x H  24" x 14" x 20"  610 mm x 355 mm x 509 mm
Weight:  28 pounds  /  12.72 Kilograms
Circa 1928
$ 2500.00 US + Fees + Taxes (Unless out-of-state)
© 2020
Lloyd Ralston Toys


I'd seen these Buddy L trench diggers before, but hadn't 
realized just how heavy and big they were. Also, I  thought
that they were manufactured much later in the 20th century.
This one was produced about thye 1930's!



MarklinDT800 Rail Car
HO Gauge, First Version
  Final Price:  $ 800.00 US + Fee + Taxes
Lloyd Ralston Toys



Ives 490R Universal Fast Freight Jr. Set
0 Gauge
Assorted Cars
Original Boxes
Circa: 1930
Final Price:  $ 2700.00 & Fees & Taxes


Ives 117 Suburban Station
0 Gauge
Lithographed Tin
Circa  1906
Final Price:  $ 1000.00 plus Fees & Taxes



Wow!
The time sure is moving fast.
In 5 weeks it will be summer, 
but with this pandemic it most certainly doesn't have the elation
of looking forward to  the nice weather, and having a vacation.
Nevertheless, it's what it is, and we all have to make the 
best with what we have.

Take care, and be safe.

Thanks for dropping by

Stacey Bindman
toysearcher@gmail.com