Birthday Bears

While decorating for my birthday party last weekend, I made this arrangement of vintage toys on an antique cake stand. The big bear wearing the straw hat is a funny English teddy from the 1930s; next to him is an old mechanical bear who "drinks" from his red wooden cup; down in front are a 1920s Steiff duck on wheels and a miniature Steiff lion; to the left is an original set of Bill Ding Clowns; perched just below the mechanical bear is a tin-faced Shuco monkey; and riding the duck is Ting-Ting, a fabulous bear made by teddy artist Peng Peng from Chicago.

1930s Hoosier Cabinet with Vintage Kitchen Toys

Just got this 1930s Art Deco style Hoosier cabinet made by the Sellers Company. I'm using it to store my vintage board game collection and to display some of my old kitchen toys. (Just visible at the top right are some 1930s Woolworth's lunch counter signs, too.)

1914 Cass Grocery Toy

A recent find was this fragile toy grocery, made by the Cass Company in 1914. The little counter in the front folds up into the base for storage. The whole thing is about 9 inches tall.










I was also able to find an original ad for this item, which gives precise dating and also shows the products that came with the grocery. It's always an added thrill to find ads like these: they add a lot to a toy collection!

Marx Electric Robot and Son

The Marx Company made this fantastic robot in the 1950s. Called the Electric Robot and Son, he stands over a foot tall, and has some really cool features, like a pull-out tool box in his tummy (the red rectangle just above his "belt"), a metal radar antenna on his head, and light-up eyes. If you're wondering what the "Son" in his name refers to, well, originally he came with an adorable little robot who dangled from his pincer hand. Sadly, my robot's son has gone missing. We all hope he'll turn up someday...

Ideal Robert the Robot

This is one of my favorite robots: Ideal's Robert the Robot from the 1950s. He's big: over a foot tall, and comes attached to a cabled, ray gun styled control box that makes him move backwards and forwards. (For some reason, mine will only go backwards now. I just consider it an interesting personality quirk.) He also has a tiny record inside which is played by turning a crank on his back. When he feels like working properly, the message he plays is: "I am Robert the Robot, the Mechanical Man. Drive me, steer me wherever you can." (As long as it's in a backwards direction, that is...)