BY JIM ENGELAGE, PhD CAPTIVATING AND ingenious windup automation toy in which a uniformed musician actually plays up to nine different classic standards on a xylophone is the Zilotone. This truly unique toy enjoys a crossover interest among mechanical music collectors as well. As with the Clown Artist (see September, 2011 issue) the clockwork mechanism is driven by cams, but [...]
FAIRFIELD, MAINE, November 30, 2011. Over the past 40 years, James D. Julia Auctioneers have established themselves as one of the leading auction houses the world over. During that time, their company has evolved into four separate divisions, each of which has established their prowess. Their firearms division is unquestionably by far the leader in the world today for rare [...]
BY JACK HERBERT WHILE THE TOP-OF-THE-LINE, expensive toy boats come close to being actual ship models, our smallest antique toys possess a charm and elegance denied the brutes. Most of our toys that will fit into one hand will also fit onto a shelf, along with others of the same size, making for a handsome display all in a row. [...]
When ever I came across Bill Powell’s booth at an antique show I knew I was going to see some of the most exciting things in the show – Bill has one of the great “eyes” in the business – whether it is a great trade or tin sign, a fabulous store fixture, or a lithographed paper-on-wood toy – it [...]
COLUMBIA, PA – Look around you – on your desk, in your office, your grandchild’s playroom, perhaps even in the parking meter you placed a quarter in this morning—and you will find a device with a clockwork mechanism. The National Watch & Clock Museum recently opened an exhibit of the clockwork mechanism, a device that has greatly influenced the operation [...]
VINELAND, N.J. – A pressed-steel collection with deep provenance and an eclectic West Coast collection whose owner lives by the motto “preserve and protect” have merged to form the heart of Bertoia’s big Sept. 23-24 antique toy auction. “This sale represents the journey of two great collectors – the late Fred Castan of Nebraska and Ralph Tomlinson, who lives in [...]
BY JIM ENGELAGE, PhD THE CLOWN ARTIST, also known as the Drawing Clown, is one of the centerpieces of rare and ingenious lithographed tin toys and is now well over 100 years old. A black silhouette of the Clown Artist appeared on the mailing address insert card of all Antique Toy World magazines near the return address until a few [...]
THE SECOND VECTIS MILITARY, Civilian Figures, Equipment and Accessories Sale of 2011 including Part 2 of the Nils Fischer Britains Collection was held on Tuesday, June 28, 2011. The sale was another overwhelming success with just short of 95% of the 960 lots on offer being sold and the sale grossing just short of £175K. For the fourth consecutive sale [...]
FOLLOWING ON THE SUCCESS of their sale on 28th May 2011, Auction Team Breker in Cologne, Germany, will be offering a fine selection of toys and vintage technology on November 19, 2011. Four early consignments deserve a particular mention. The first is a remarkable trade catalogue from the German retailer Rau & Co. of Nuremberg, dated 1 June 1850! The [...]
NEW HOPE, Pa. – Prior to Noel Barrett’s richly varied May 21, 2011 “Something for Everyone” sale, some collectors speculated that the whimsical clockwork veggie man on the catalog cover might take the blue ribbon on auction day. While the cheeky, 16-inch papier-mache Halloween figure did surpass expectations to sell for $16,520 (all prices inclusive of 18% buyer’s premium); it [...]
