VINELAND, N.J. – Bertoia’s March 23-24 ‘Made to Be Played’ auction, a 1,400-lot offering highlighted by the Grover Van Dexter European tin toy collection, closed the books at an impressive $1.3 million (inclusive of 15% buyer’s premium). An extensive variety of early toys crossed the auction block. A Hubley cast-iron Popeye Patrol depicting the popular cartoon sailor on a motorcycle [...]
VINELAND, NJ – If all the nautical toys in the world were lined up in a single fleet, their captain would surely be Dick Claus, whose magnificent collection of antique boats is being offered in two parts this year by Bertoia Auctions of Vineland, NJ. Park 1 of the Claus collection, a 220-lot array of ships and related toys, will [...]
VINELAND, N.J. – You never know what will come through the doors of Bertoia Auctions’ spacious, fully showcased New Jersey gallery. Sometimes a toy is brought in that can be slotted into the next appropriate sale without delay. Other times, a consignor is better served by letting the toy wait to be included in a future sale with other toys [...]
VINELAND, N.J. – There’s a Grand Tour planned for Nov. 11-12, but no passports are required. This particular excursion will bring together from points afar 1,400 lots of rare and beautiful European and American toys, all to be auctioned at Bertoia’s comfortable, always hospitable New Jersey gallery. Bertoia’s “Toys on Tour” auction promises an exciting mix of cast-iron automotive, early [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
After the last of the Donald Kaufman auction sessions had concluded, we asked Don’s wife Sally if she would mind sharing memories of her late husband and observations of the five semiannual sales that concluded in April of this year. With her typical grace and honesty, she provided a wealth of information about Don and revealed how they both felt [...]
VINELAND, N.J. – It’s doubtful that even a crystal ball could have been more accurate than Bertoia Auctions’ experts who predicted the Donald Kaufman auction series would finish at around $12 million. As the record now shows, with the hammering of the last lot in the fifth and final auction to disperse the fabled collection, held on April 15-16, 2011, [...]
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 [...]
VINELAND, NJ — When Donal Markey passed away last year, the toy hobby lost one of its most knowledgeable and influential leaders, not to mention one of the true “good guys.” Mentored early on by mechanical bank-collecting pioneer Ed Mosler, Markey went on to stake his own claim int he burgeoning business of antique banks and toys, eventually forming a [...]
