What Did Santa Bring?

This year, Santa brought an assortment of toys from the 1890s-1900s, including:


-an unusual, beautifully lithographed, folding dollhouse room box with its original furniture, made in Germany

-two early American tin pull toys

-Bradley's Toy Town Post Office playset

-two miniature tin toy kitchens

-two lithographed tabletop games


Also under the tree were a miniature tin toy grocery shop, the Corner Grocer, made by Wolverine in the 1930s, and a bunch of old Halloween decorations from the 1920s - 40s.


Pics coming soon (except the Halloween, which I'll save until next October, of course!)


What did Santa bring you? Tell us in the comments!

1950s Tin Toy Space Port by T. Cohn/Superior/Pyro

Found at a toy show recently in a booth full of vintage space stuff, this tin litho space port was made in the 1950s by T. Cohn (who also made tin litho dollhouses) and released by Pyro, who manufactured the spaceship housed inside.

Toy Show space toy finds.

The space port measures 10 inches long, and features wonderful imagery of helmeted spacemen, rocket ships, flying saucers, fantastic machinery, and futuristic cityscapes:

The spaceship can be launched via a lever at the back of the port. Unfortunately, launching tended to damage the fragile plastic craft, often snapping off its fins, which makes finding the port complete with an intact ship quite a stellar feat. This one is in remarkable shape, and the whole playset is just an out-of-this-world-gorgeous toy.

The Pyro X-300 Space Cruiser

Children's Antique Sleigh

This year's most extravagant Christmas present was something that turned up in a local antique shop, a picker's rescue from an old, old house. It took my breath away when I saw it, and so after some budgetary soul-searching, it lived in layaway for a few months, making it out just in time to go under the tree (and just before our big snowfall came.)

This children's sleigh dates circa the 1870s. 30 inches long, the little sleigh is all-original, with much of its beautiful stenciling still intact. What makes it really special is its shape. Nineteenth century children's sleighs sometimes came in novelty shapes, most frequently a swan; this, however, is the only one I've ever seen in the shape of a lady's shoe.

See the shoe? It forms the side of the sleigh, white with yellow and red outlining:

The sleigh has seen heavy use and was coated in coal dust from decades of cellar storage, but many beautiful details remain:

I've loaded the sleigh up with antique doll and teddy bear passengers, all ready for a ride:

Michigan's Antique Yard Sale Trail Report: August 13, 14, & 15 2010

Last weekend, we followed the Antique Yard Sale Trail, an annual 200 mile secondhand shopping adventure along Michigan's Lake Huron, St. Clair River, and Lake St. Clair shoreline that stretches from Algonac in the south all the way around the tip of Michigan's "thumb" to Sebewaing in the north. Besides enjoying the beautiful scenery from the bluffs along the lakeshore, we saw lots and lots of amazing things for sale, including old gasoline pumps, vintage televisions, and a taxidermied alligator (the highlight of the sale, in my opinion.) And I found several treasures, of course (although I didn't buy the alligator.)

"Fumes," a taxidermied alligator smoking a pipe 

in a relaxing, and utterly unnatural position, was priced at $325.

Can't you just imagine all the decor possibilities?

 

A 1949 "Suitcase" Sentinel, the first portable television, 

was available for $199.

One table held a beautiful display of vintage hatboxes, shoes, and ladies' accessories, including this swanky faux leopard print head wrap and scarf. I was mightily tempted...

At the other end of the collecting spectrum, a dealer had a yard full of rusty treasures, including vintage sleds and this old Gulf gas pump:

If, for some reason, you needed a Greyhound bus sign, 

this dealer could hook you up:

And what did I buy? Something I've always wanted (who wouldn't?!): a vintage cast aluminum kiddie spring-rider animal from a playground. 

We mounted it on a piece of plywood cleverly embellished with fake grass for an authentic outdoor look. It now serves as an additional seating option in the living room.

What Did We Do With Our Tax Refund?

Bought:      * an original 1963 Easy Bake Oven
                       in stunning turquoise plastic,
                       with its box & accessories

                   * a huge set of 1930s Strombecker dollhouse furniture

                   * a rare 1960s troll doll

                   * a bunch of 1930s - 40s radio premiums
                      (toy rings and badges from shows like  
                       The Lone Ranger and Captain Midnight)

                   * a prize badge for the winner of the 1914
                      Galveston, Texas, annual Oyster-Eating Contest
                      (it was Bob Frey, and he ate 928!)

                   * a bag full of vintage celluloid dice

                   * a new book about the history of garden gnomes

I've done my part to stimulate the economy... 
           

You Know You Have Too Many Toys When...

You know you have too many toys when...you buy something you already have, because you didn't realize you already had it.

I recently was thrilled to win this vintage 1960s Batman Viewmaster reel set, complete with original package and story booklet, on ebay:

When it arrived, I gleefully headed to my "toy storage room", aka, my second bedroom, in search of my Viewmaster, where I discovered this:

a box FULL of vintage Viewmaster reels I didn't even remember I owned, with, resting prominently on the top, the 1960s Batman set.

So, if anyone needs a 1960s Batman Viewmaster reel set, complete with original package and booklet, drop me a line, and I can hook you up...