1930s Chein Hercules Ferris Wheel

One of my favorite tin toys is this 1930s Hercules Ferris Wheel made by Chein. It's so bright and cheery, and features that great smiling face in the center spoke: it makes me happy just to look at it.

1940s Mechanical Coin Operated Horse Kiddie Ride

This past weekend I attended one of my favorite outdoor antique markets. As I pulled in the drive, I spotted this incredible kiddie ride at one of the first booths. It just looked like it was waiting for me...

Horse kiddie rides are, in my opinion, the ultimate toy collectible. Who doesn't have childhood memories of riding a mechanical horse outside their local grocery store or at a roadside amusement park, and wishing fervently that they could take it home? All you needed was a quarter (or earlier, just a penny or nickel) and the ride would begin, the horse "galloping" off, taking you far away from your everyday world.

I never thought I would be able to own one of these myself: most mechanical horses are quite large and incredibly heavy. But this one is smaller than commonly seen, about 40 inches tall by 40 inches wide, and thus just the right size for my little living room. The horse was made right around 1940 by the Allen Herschell Company of North Tonawanda, New York, a maker of carousel horses since 1915 (with an earlier incarnation of the company dating back to 1873). He still works after all these years, gently gliding up and down, taking us off to parts unknown.


(Click the arrow below to see him in motion.)

1920s Teddy Bear

A local antique dealer found this minty 1920s American teddy bear at an estate sale and saved it for me. The 10-inch tall teddy appears absolutely unplayed with, and the faint mothball odor that attends it suggests it was carefully packed away when originally received 80 years ago.
I always have mixed feelings when I find an old toy in such shape. While it's wonderful to see a toy in this beautiful, original condition, it's also a bit sad to realize no child ever got the chance to play with and love it. Often the wear on a toy gives it a unique charm all its own, along with a sense of its history. Still, I'm delighted to have this minty-fresh little guy, and he looks very happy to be out of his box at last!

Magnetic Spy Toy

Found at an antique market this past weekend was this great 1960s magnetic toy, similar to the classic "Wooly Willy", but with a spy theme! I have a bunch of Wooly Willy type toys, but I'd never seen this variation before, so it was a pretty thrilling find.

1860s China Dolls

Just got this family of little china dolls, all circa the 1860s. The 8 1/2 inch doll on top has such a sweet face, I thought. She just looks like she wants to bake you some cookies and hear all about your day. The two tiny dolls on the bottom are dollhouse sized, 6 and 4 inches, respectively. Although worn, they've got a lot of character, I felt. I wonder what they've seen in their 150 years...

Addams Family Card Game

Just found this vintage Addams Family game at my local antique mall. I was trying to save it to post around Halloween-time, but I just couldn't wait that long! I'm a big Addams aficionado, so there'll be more of their stuff coming later, including my favorite piece: an original Colorforms set...

1895 Cooke's Fairy Furniture

Just found this wonderful piece of miniature furniture made by Cooke's Indestructable Toys way back in the 1890s. It's held up quite well for such a fragile item, so the company was apparently well named! Cooke's called this dollhouse accessory line their "Fairy Furniture," as can be seen in the accompanying original ad. Printed on heavy cardboard, the ad actually forms the base of the sofa, and makes this set readily identifiable.

Peng Peng Buddha Bear

This tiny teddy bear, only about 5 inches tall, is one of my favorites from the Chicago artist Peng Peng. Peng Peng makes this bear in an incredible variety of materials and designs, all called "Buddha Bears" because of their short stature and portly proportions. (You can see more at her website: http://www.peng-peng.com/.) My little Buddha Bear likes to visit this vintage 1950s toy refrigerator, complete with some original items. Looks like he's got a little box of ice cream at the moment. (Maybe that's why he looks the way he does...)

1908 Teddy Bear Dolls

These are two of the most unique items in my antique teddy bear and doll collection. Called Teddy Girls or Teddy Dolls, they were made around 1908, the year that the teddy bear craze swept America. Doll sales temporarily plummeted, causing manufacturers to worry about their Christmas sales figures. Their solution was the creation of this hybrid half teddy bear, half doll. It was not well received: children wanting either teddy bears or dolls rejected it as being neither, and everyone else was just generally creeped out by it. Dismal sales led to a short shelf life, and Teddy Girls are now rather scarce. I was thrilled to find two very different examples. The large doll features a German-made painted metal head with glass sleep eyes, attached to an American-made bear body. The smaller doll is of a much simpler, more common type, with a celluloid face mask inserted into a teddy bear hood.

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...)

1800s Tin Kitchen

This tin kitchen playset dates from the mid to late 1800s. It was made in America, and represents a much simpler version of the fabulous German Nuremberg kitchens of the time. The kitchen measures about 12 inches wide by 8 inches tall, and most of the accessories are original to the set. One of its most interesting features is the water pump on the right side. It could actually be filled with water and then pumped into the sink fixed to the wall. These kitchens were not meant to be true to scale; rather, the idea was for little girls to learn cooking by playing with them, and for that they needed larger utensils. These tin kitchens were used for "cold cooking" (pretend), but there were also woodburning and alcohol stoves made for "hot cooking" (real). I'll list some of these 19th century versions of the Easy Bake Oven soon!

Gardening Gnome

It's spring, which means it's time for the gardening gnome to get busy. This wooden cutout gnome was used in holiday window displays at the downtown Detroit Hudson's store in the 1930s. He's about a yard tall, and likes to hang out next to the mushroom dollhouse.

Vintage Dexterity Puzzle Games

I'm somewhat obsessed with collecting old dexterity games. They're like fascinating little worlds behind their glass or plastic windows, they often feature beautiful lithography, and they're just fun to play, too. Here's a small portion of my collection.

Mr. Potato Head Picnic Pals

From the 1960s, the Mr. Potato Head Picnic Pals! Mr. Potato Head has led a very sociable lifestyle. Besides the Mrs. and the tots, he's had a lot of friends. These are some of the hardest to find. They were typically sold in sets of 3 consisting of Mr. Potato Head, a "main character" Picnic Pal, and a condiment or side. From left to right: Frankie Frank, Mr. Mustard Head, Mrs. Ketchup Head, Frenchy Fry, and Mr. Soda Pop Head. Sadly, I am still looking for the final Picnic Pal: Willy Burger.

To learn more about Mr. Potato Head's history, click here: http://www.mrpotatohead.net/

Mego Batmobile

I grew up in the 1970s, which means I grew up with Mego toys. I had Spiderman (who went everywhere with me and had to have his arms reattached on a weekly basis), the Planet of the Apes guys, Captain America, and a few Star Trek figures. But I never had this beauty: the Mego Batmobile with Batman and Robin. 30 years later: oh, what a happy day it was when I brought this home and installed it in a place of honor on my dining room table. (Visible in the background is a Mars Attacks theater banner and an original Ideal Robert the Robot from the 1950s.)

A great Mego information site can be found here:
www.megomuseum.com

Tiny Toy Assortment

, This antique printer's tray full of small old toys sits on my coffee table. Everyone who visits tends to gravitate toward it: its pull is seemingly irresistable. The tiny compartments are filled with vintage Cracker Jack and gumball machine prizes, antique china dolls, miniature figures, toy trains and playsets, miniscule books, and lots more.