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 [...]
FAIRFIELD, MAINE, May 4-5, 2011. Who knows what treasures lurk in the hearts of homes? The auctioneer knows. When items and large collections have been stashed in homes for as long as one can remember, bidders sit up and take notice. That’s exactly what happened at Julia’s recent auction to bring the final tally beyond a pre-auction estimate of just [...]
VINELAND, NJ – It took weeks to catalog the enormous array of beautiful toys, banks and doorstops chosen for Bertoia Auctions’ June 10-11 Toys with Character sale, and gallery associate Rich Bertoia says it was worth every minute of the effort. “When collectors get this catalog, they’re going to want to take their time,” he said. “There’s literally a surprise [...]
THE LEGENDARY ENGLISH antiques dealer, Jack Donovan, used to refer to his collection of musical boxes and automata as “princely toys,” perhaps because mechanical toys have held a well-documented fascination for the royal families of Europe and Asia for at least three centuries. When Tsar Nicholas wanted to present Princesses Olga and Elizabeth of Greece with a gift, he chose [...]
This offering will include a wide variety of items including toys of all kinds, games, advertising, folk art, as well as a number of attic treasures from individual consignors that are absolutely fresh to the market. Also included is an amazing lifetime collection of Valentines along with other holiday treasures. The sale features items from the Philip & Ann Henderson [...]
BECAUSE THE EDITORS of ATW magazine believe that private toy collections would be of interest to readers, we present a collection in a Central Illinois town where an ATW reader shares his collection of mostly European, clockwork tin toys exhibited in his home as fine art objects. “I like living with these nearly 100 year-old relics that have survived the [...]
VINELAND, N.J. – Fully aware that Bertoia’s auction series featuring the late Donald Kaufman’s toy collection was nearing its conclusion, bidders were on point and eager to stake their claims at semiannual sale No. 4, held Sept. 24 and 25 at the company’s New Jersey gallery. “Everyone knew it was the last multiple-day Kaufman sale to be held, but for [...]
BY JACK HERBERT When considering Early American toys, we naturally tend to think of horse-drawn vehicles, train sets, or a small riverboat or two. And, indeed, those categories do make up a vast majority of subjects, as well they should. But play value was not entirely relegated to transportation, then as now. American toymakers may not have suggested robots, per [...]
BY CALIFORNIA CREATIONS This past summer, when the new generation of Z WindUps came off the assembly line, it began a new era in the evolution of windup toys. Never before has such precision been achieved from a small, spring driven toy. This is no small feat considering the long history of windup or spring driven toys. Spring driven machines [...]
