Milestone Auctions Gallery Fall Spectacular” Antique Toy Auction
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2nd • 10:00 AM
Auction Preview Available
Week Of Auction & 8:00 Am Auction Day
38198 Willoughby Parkway • Willoughby, Ohio 44094

www.milestoneauctions.com | Liveauctioneers | Invaluable

WILLOUGHBY, OHIO — Collectors of rare antique and vintage toys — whether manufactured in Europe, Japan or the United States — are in for a treat on Saturday, October 2. That’s when Milestone Auctions will present its Fall Antique Toy Spectacular starring one of the most diverse collections of fine toys ever amassed. With the exception of a few select additions from other consignors, the 704-lot auction is devoted exclusively to the marquee collection, whose superlative holdings are a testament to decades of searching and networking within the toy hobby.
“A month before the sale date, our phones were already ringing. The word had gotten out and collectors were eager to learn more about the toys and leave bids,” said Chris Sammet, co-owner of Milestone Auctions. “It’s very unusual to see a single-owner collection with this much variety. There are 138 German, Spanish and Japanese motorcycles; early American toys by George Brown and Ives; Marx prototypes; and hundreds of great European toys, many in their original boxes.”

A parade of 86 Lehmann windup and flywheel tin toys is poised to cross the auction block, including several uncommon examples. Sometimes based on characters that toymaker Ernst Paul Lehmann observed in his own village and during his travels, German-made Lehmann toys are just as amusing today as they were when they first left the company’s Nuremberg factory over a century ago. Top entries include a Chinese-themed “Boxer Rebellion,” considered the rarest of all Lehmann toys ($12/15,000); a”Ski Rolf” with pictorial box ($6/8,000); and an early flywheel-driven “Going to the Fair” with pictorial box ($4/6,000).

Designs from other revered European manufacturers bear witness to the continent’s century-old toymaking tradition of crossing technology with artistry. A prime example would be the rare 1885 Vielmetter Clown Artist, a hand-crank tin toy that draws a real picture when operated ($3/4,000).
Coveted Gunthermann toys in this sale run the production gamut from the earliest hand painted musicians to vehicles from the first quarter of the Twentieth Century. Primitive windups — so desired by collectors — include Clown Musicians on a Bench ($3/4,000); a large and impressive Clown and Black Xylophone Players ($2/3,000); a Clown Barber with Customer, $2/3,000; cloth-dressed Black Musicians on Platform, $2/3,000; a Cat Musician Trio ($2/2,500); and many more.
Toys made by INGAP — an acronym for Industria Nationale Gicattoli Automatici Padova (Italy) — have their own avid following among collectors, and it’s always exciting when an example turns up at auction. Milestone will offer nine INGAP toys, including an amusing tin windup Topolino race car with hell-bent mouse driver ($3/4,000); and a Grandi Magazzini vending scooter with composition driver ($2/2,500).

Along with INGAP, another exotic name known to ignite bidding action is Paya, the Spanish company whose tin motorcycles are great favorites with ‘cycle aficionados. Within the selection of 138 motorcycles are three Paya bikes, including an 11-inch sidecar model with a driver and smartly dressed Black passenger blowing a horn with still-functioning bellows ($3/5,000).
The motorcycle category boasts additional rarities from Germany (Lehmann, Fischer, Tipp, Distler, Georg Levy, G&K and more), Italy (Matarazzo), France (JML), Spain (RAS), Russia and Japan. A boxed Marusan battery-operated Sunbeam is estimated at $1,5/2,000, while another Japanese beauty, is a “Romance” tin friction bike with male driver and female passenger ($1/1,500).

Among the early American toy highlights are ten rare Ives clockwork designs from the 1880s. The category’s headliner is a George Brown masterpiece — a boxed “Equestrian Acrobat” tin clockwork toy with all original paint, its original figure and working mechanism ($10/15,000).
Milestone’s Fall Antique Toy Spectacular auction will begin at 10 am ET, at 38198 Willoughby Parkway. All forms of bidding will be available, including live via the internet through Milestone Auctions’ bidding platform or LiveAuctioneers. For additional information, 440-527-8060 or info@milestoneauctions.com or www.milestoneauctions.com.Full Catalog & Live Bidding Available
Phone Bids & Absentee Bids Call 440-527-8060
(440) 527-8060 | milestoneauctions@yahoo.com | Auctioneer: Miles King
Buyers Premium: 20% Online | 17% In-House | 3% Added for Credit Card Payments
MILESTONE AUCTIONS IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR QUALITY CONSIGNMENTS! ONE PIECE OR ENTIRE COLLECTIONS!! CALL 440-527-8060 FOR DETAILS
Milestone Auctions is proud to present this important event. Rare and Wonderful Toys will be offered in this 1-day sale!
Collectors from around the World will have the opportunity to add some of the Rarest & Finest Examples of many different categories of Antique Toys!!
Collection includes one of the largest collections of European and Japanese Motorcycle & Scooters ever offered for sale!!!
Wonder collection of Lehamann and other European Toys many with Original Boxes!!
Large collection of German Hand Painted Toys!! Large collection of Rare Character Toys spanning 1920s-50s!!
Collection of some of the best Marx Prototype Toys ever offered at Auction!! Many Japanese & American Tin Windups and Friction Toys!!
Plus Pressed Steel Trucks!! Many with Boxes!!