Bertoia Auctions April 17-19 Open House sale features blue-ribbon array of private collections
VINELAND, N.J. – Bertoia’s 2,000-lot auction on April 17-19 will feature exquisite American and European toys, dollhouses, trains, mechanical and still banks, and automotive toys from long-held collections. Headliners include the dollhouse and miniatures collection of the recently closed Delaware Toy & Miniature Museum, early European tin cars from the late Bob Smith’s collection, and part II of the remarkable Fred Cannon collection of Christmas antiques.
“This is going to be a beautiful event with a warm and friendly atmosphere,” said Jeanne Bertoia, co-founder of Bertoia Auctions. “Collectors love to socialize with others who share their own particular interests, and nothing brings them together quite like a famous collection. This sale includes several outstanding collections as its cornerstones, so we’re looking forward to welcoming a large gathering of bidders with many diverse collecting interests.”
The April 17 session opens with 300 mechanical and still banks from a private collection, followed by automotive, horse-drawn and firefighting toys, many of them superior cast-iron examples. Early American toys include an amazing 16-inch-long Ives clockwork locomotive known as “The Giant,” the largest-size dog Fallows ever made, and a very nice hand-painted Goodwin Walker automatic doll pushing a carriage.
Within the cast-iron automotive toys is a series of variously colored taxicabs: a Red Top Cab, Yellow Cab with advertising, and a Green Cab. “That’s literally what they’re called, based on their colors” said Bertoia Auctions associate Rich Bertoia, “and we have both a regular toy version and a bank version of each.” Similarly, bidders will be able to choose from regular or bank versions of an Arcade touring car.
Day one will conclude with a colorful assortment of approximately 80 doorstops from a small but select collection. A very rare King Tut, a near-mint Anne Hathaway Cottage, a rare and pristine black Accordion Player and a fabulous Hubley Popeye in near-mint condition are among the top-estimated entries. Another desirable doorstop is the New York Times Crossword Puzzle Clown with “Crossed Out” written on it.
The April 18 session will open with pressed-steel vehicles from the Bob Smith collection, including trucks by Buddy ‘L’ and early pressed-steel friction toys, such as Dayton Hill-climbers. Next up will be pedals cars and more than 100 lots of European and American trains, including some very good German trains from a private collection. There are several boxed Marklin sets from the early 1900s and a few boxed Bing sets.
One of the second session’s star lots, a very rare near-mint Marklin gazebo estimated at $12,000-$15,000, dates to 1905-1910. In superb condition, it features a striped canopy, flowerboxes and a little girl doll in a swing.
A Rock & Graner horse-drawn sleigh leads the European tin section, which includes some 75 German toys, many of them clockwork. Makers include Gunthermann, Stock, and Martin, with a special selection of outstanding boxed Lehmann windups.
Other German tin highlights include a rare 15-inch scull with three rowers and a coxswain, attributed to Issmayer; German-made boats by Marklin, Fleishmann, Bing and Radiguet; and more than 50 early German autos from the Bob Smith collection. Manufacturers include Distler, Fischer, Gunthermann, Carette, Karl Bub and Bing. Day two also includes early comic character windups, clowns, celluloid toys and an exceptional grouping of prewar Japanese clockwork toys.
On Saturday, April 19, the Schoenhut circus will arrive at Bertoia’s gallery, with a Humpty Dumpty Circus Tent and very rare Humpty Dumpty Circus Wagon among the highlights. The latter vehicle is part of the Schoenhut Parade series. Featuring an embossed marquee that says “Humpty Dumpty Circus,” it is the largest of the cage wagons and is very desirable to collectors. Also on hand will be a full crew of performers and a menagerie of animals, many of them glass eyed and rare, such as the cat, zebu, bulldog and a few early examples with cloth manes. Other rarely seen Schoenhut pieces to be auctioned are a Circus Ring, which is even rarer than the Circus Tent, and a pair of wonderful parade show horses. “Ironically, these show horses were made by Schoenhut specifically to accompany their Humpty Dumpty Circus Wagon,” said Rich Bertoia, “but the horses in our sale came from a different consignor. So it’s a nice coincidence. If a bidder wishes to do so, they can buy the Circus Wagon and bid later on the show horses.”
Saturday’s session also features the contents of a distinguished American institution, the Delaware Toy and Miniature Museum. The spectacular European and American dollhouses, room boxes and shops, dolls, miniature furnishings and accessories represent more than 30 years of discriminating collecting. Jeanne Bertoia said collectors will be spoiled for choice when they see the marvelous array of miniatures. “There are lots of key names of miniatures manufacturers,” she said. “There are literally hundreds of Biedermeier, Schneegas, Tynietoy, and original Arcade room furnishings.”
In the forefront of the Saturday session are a 1916 dollhouse replicating an actual 18th-century Georgian mansion in Philadelphia called Mount Pleasant, and a 28-inch-long German-made Noah’s ark with the largest selection of animal pairs ever seen by Bertoia’s specialists.
More than 200 dolls of various materials, including wax and composition, will follow, with a highlight being an antique cloth doll by Izannah Walker (Rhode Island). The sale’s festive finale will be part II of the Fred Cannon Christmas collection, containing extremely rare and beautiful Dresdens, belsnickles, blown-glass and pressed-cotton ornaments, candy containers and nodding-Santa store displays.
Bertoia’s Open House Sale will start at 12 noon on Thursday, April 17; 11 a.m. on Friday, April 18; and 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 19. All items may be previewed during the month prior to the sale; please call to arrange a preview time during this period. The preview will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the week preceding the opening session. On auction days the ongoing preview will start on Thursday and Friday at 9 a.m., and Saturday at 8 a.m.
All forms of bidding will be available at this sale, including live via the Internet through eBay Live Auctions. The entire fully illustrated catalog may also be viewed online approximately one month prior to the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com. For information, to order catalogs or to arrange a phone line during the sale, call 856-692-1881 or e-mail toys@BertoiaAuctions.com. Visit Bertoia’s Web site at www.BertoiaAuctions.com.
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