BY STEVE BUTLER ON RARE OCCASIONS a toy collector may encounter an opportunity to acquire one or more vintage toys in never before opened boxes – some factory sealed. Taking advantage of such opportunities poses quandaries for collectors, resellers and writers alike. Most of these quandaries relate to the future enjoyment of the unseen item or to the uncertainty of [...]
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 [...]
NEW MARKET, TN – John W. Coker is a Tennessee auctioneer better known for his sales of fine and decorative art, but when the opportunity arose to handle two outstanding toy and lunchbox collections – each from a collector of 40+ years – he jumped at the chance. More than 100 cardboard boxes later, Coker knew he had the makings [...]
THE SUMMER HEAT MAY VERY WELL carry into November with equally heated bidding at the Rich Penn Auction Event. Held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, IA on November 4, 5 & 6, the three day auction event will include 1,500 lots, all without reserve. According to Penn, “This is one of the strongest and most diverse auctions [...]
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 [...]
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, 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, [...]
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 [...]
