The J&E Stevens Factory Sale At Lloyd Ralston Toy Auction

Shelton, Conn.

:What may have very well been the mother lode for mechanical bank and cast iron toy collectors revealed itself at Lloyd Ralston Toys on Saturday, April 4, as roughly one-third of the remaining unused inventory, parts, patterns and molds from the J&E Stevens manufacturing company crossed the auction block. More than 80 patterns, 40 banks, 20 molds, parts, tools, jigs and boxes were offered in the sale — and all were enthusiastically received by a core group of historically minded toy collectors.

"The entire collection came from a single collector, an ex-Stevens employee," stated auctioneer Glenn Ralston. The consignor lived in a town next to Cromwell where the Stevens factory was located and "When the factory closed down," the consignor's grandfather "took home one-third of what was left behind," said Ralston.

To the average person assessing the material in 1959, the accumulation probably had every appearance of being worthless; however, to someone that had been working at the factory for decades, there was an appreciation and it was apparently deemed priceless. Hand carved wooden models of tools; the actual cast-metal tools that were used to assemble the banks on a daily basis at the factory; the bronze master bank and toy patterns; and the sand molds themselves, these were the tools of the trade, its lifeblood, its history.

Surely thanking the foresight of a historically right-minded worker, customers flocked to Ralston's to battle it out for the rusty accumulation. And almost as if his grandfather had foretold in 1959, those boxes were blessed at some point during the ensuing five decades later with Midas's touch. The accumulation had been divided up into more than 400 lots by Ralston, with at least one selling in excess of $20,000, and the auction posting a sales total of more than $313,000.

"It went from the wood master to cast lead, from lead to the finished bronze pattern, from bronze into sand and finally cast in iron," explained Ralston of the process. The collection had a little bit of everything, and some of the things filled boxes, such as the box lots of original factory-used springs and screws, held special sway with collectors and those that repair old mechanical banks and toys.

Other boxes contained lead molds, others bronze parts, others were filled with cast iron parts that had never been assembled at the factory. "The lots that contained enough pieces to make a bank brought the most money," stated Ralston, especially those in bronze. Many of the bronze pieces, such as the North Pole bank, were still on the original casting tree, a small rod that ran between the different pieces connecting several different parts of the bank and allowing it to be cast as a single piece instead of numerous individual parts.

"The consignor was delighted," stated Ralston in regard to the final sales tally. "It went over our expectations." Still, there were surprises throughout the day — at both ends of the spectrum. "Some of the things we thought had value just didn't excite anybody, such as the sand molds and other esoteric things," he said. "The banks, however, made up for that" as they soared past presale expectations.

Ralston reported several of the molds, some used to cast popular mechanical banks such as the Boy Scout bank, were passed throughout the day when he could not even elicit a $10 opening bid. Although buyer's remorse set in by Monday morning, and the auctioneer reported numerous calls from people attempting to purchase the passed lots, which had sold to buyers earlier that day.

One absentee bidder from California bought several of the molds for $10 apiece and Ralston was busy shipping them in the following week, chuckling that it was costing more than twice the winning bid just to cover postage.

Ralston was more than likely second guessing himself as the first few lots crossed the auction block. The first lot offered contained several Bill E Grin bank parts, including a bronze pattern part, but it met with tepid bidding and hammered down at $33. A sand mold for the Lion Hunter mechanical bank followed at $11.

It did not take long for Ralston to realize what people were interested in, and the first indication of what was to come was revealed when 14 bronze pattern parts for a Hen and Chick mechanical bank, enough pieces to assemble a bank, crossed the block. A sudden spurt of bids came from all around the room as the lot was offered, as well as from some of the ten phone bidders, and action from the Internet as well. The auctioneer smiled as the lot hammered down at $4,256. A Swan Chariot pull toy lot that contained enough bronze pieces to assemble a complete toy followed at $3,248.

The top lot of the auction came as a lot of 71 bronze pattern parts, some still attached to the trees, for the Clown and Harlequin bank was offered. The lot contained enough pieces to assemble a bank, and was bid by several in the room, numerous Internet bids and a full bank of telephone bidders. Bids bounced back and forth between collectors as they tried to secure the bronze pattern for this highly desirable bank, with it selling at $22,400, finally going to a telephone bidder.

Other bronze pattern banks that contained enough pieces to assemble a bank included a lot containing 14 pieces for the Calamity bank. Also subjected to a flurry of bidding, an absentee bidder claimed the lot at $17,360. A Shoot the Chute bronze pattern lot was also hotly competed for, with it hammering down at $12,880. A lot of Lion Hunter bank parts brought $9,184, a North Pole lot of pattern parts $8,136, a Boy Robbing Bird's Nest bank parts lot $7,616, and a Boy Scout bank lot of bronze pattern parts realized $6,384.

Bronze pattern parts that had been previously assembled into whole appearing but nonfunctional banks included a Speaking Dog bank that sold for $6,832, a rare version of the Creedmore bank brought $5,824, and a goat bank sold at $3,360.

A couple of original cast iron banks were offered during the sale, with a Shell Out bank in painted cast iron selling at $2,352.

Bronze pattern toys that contained enough parts to assemble a toy also did well, with a Monkey on Tricycle leaving the auction block at $2,464, while a nice bronze Big 6 train set consisting of a locomotive, tender and three gondola cars brought $2,128.

Bronze patterns for parts also elicited some strong bids, although it was not known if the pieces were purchased for their intrinsic value as a historical item or as wall art. Striking in appearance, a bronze pattern for 12 traps (the coin access door on the base of a bank) still attached to the casting tree went out at $3,696.

Although touted as a single-owner sale, a second consignor waltzed into Ralston's a few days prior to the auction with a shoebox under his arm. Relating to the auctioneer that he had read the article of the upcoming auction in the most recent issue of Antiques and The Arts Weekly , he was curious as to whether Ralston might add another couple of lots to the sale. Initial trepidation on Ralston's part soon melted away into a smile and a signed contract as the consignor had brought in bronze bank patterns from the Judd Toy Company, including a Bear and Tree Stump bank. The shoebox filled with parts was divided up into a few lots, and realized a tidy sum of close to $6,000.

The next auction at Lloyd Ralston Gallery, 549 Howe Avenue, May 9, will feature toys and trains. For further information 203-924-5804 or www.lloydralstontoys.com .