BY RANDY PRASSE “STRUCTO TOYS MAKES MEN OF BOYS!” proclaimed the 1916 Popular Mechanics advertisement. Now, 95 years later, those same Structo Toys have the reverse-effect: making boys of men! Structo Manufacturing was founded in Freeport, Illinois in 1908, originally as the “Thompson Manufacturing Company” — and later changed to “Structo Manufacturing” in 1911 — a play on the “inde-structo-ble [...]
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 [...]
ANN ARBOR, MICH.– The lifetime country store, advertising and toy collection of Mike and Colleen Empey will headline a major auction slated for the weekend of Sept. 30-Oct. 2 by Showtime Auctions. The event will be held at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds in Ann Arbor. Hundreds of additional, fresh-to-the-market items from other consignors will also be sold. The list [...]
DONALD KAUFMAN (1930-2009) didn’t collect toys with a finish line as the objective. He relished every moment of the nearly six-decade journey he embarked upon in 1950 with the $4 purchase of an Arcade Red Baby truck. The same passion for automotive forms that had been ignited in him as a young man selling automobiles “off the curbstone” seemed to [...]
VICTORIAN CASINO ANTIQUES Spring Auction was held on March 11th to 13th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both the crowd and prices were surprisingly strong according to Peter Sidlow, president of Victorian Casino Antiques. As usual rare items commanded premium prices. Some of the highlights were: • Lot 210 Mills Futurity slot machine $3,420 • Lot 306 Seeburg KT Nickelodeon $12,100 [...]
ANN ARBOR, MICH. – A magnificent Rock Island Railroad reverse glass sign, made in 1890 by an employee of the firm who fashioned reverse glass lamp shades for the Pullman cars, sold for $165,000 at an auction held April 1-3 by Showtime Auctions, at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds. The 54 inch by 43 inch piece was beautifully housed in [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
VINELAND, NJ – In an auction odyssey that began in March of 2009 with an offering of rare events featuring the antique toy collection of the late Donald Kaufman, cofounder of KB Toys. The four auctions to date have realized $10.9 million in all. The series’ grand total will be known when the checkered flag waves over the weekend of [...]
DENVER, Pa. – The Merle Levitt collection of pre- and postwar Lionel, American Flyer and Ives trains will step into the spotlight on March 11-12 when it is auctioned at Morphy’s. A retired CPA, Levitt began collecting trains the old-school way, back in the 1970s. He networked with other collectors and gleaned information from whatever source possible so he could [...]
