Tom Sage Sr. Antique Toys and Trains Collection – Part I

DENVER, PA. — If you had occasion to attend any major toy or train show over the past 40 years, cither here in the States or in Europe, at some point in time you probably crossed paths withthe late Tom Sage St. A pioncer in both antique toy-dealing and the toy-colleeting hobby, Tom never missed a buying opportunity. He was on the ‘move and omnipresent, even if toy shows were back-to-back in different countries.

He had an encyclopedic knowledge of toys and could spot a fake from across the room. “Tom would make calculated but low-key sweep around a saleroom that had just opened for business and leave with several choice pieces befor the rest of us had even finished our first coffe of the day. His eye could zero in on a toy or train like a laser beam, assessing ts condition while his mental calculator determined is resale value and what he should pay for it. He was sharp.

As a dealer, Tom had a reputation that was synonymous with quality merchandise and trustworthy transactions, but he did not view toys solely as commodities to be bought and sold at a profit, There was a much deeper connection. He appreciated both the aesthetics and the internal mechanisms that activated each toy. He viewed each piece from a historical perspective and regarded all toys, quite correctly, as scale-model reflections of the times in which they were create.

Subscribe!