Bertoia Annual Fall Sale
November 18-19, at 9 am each day
 Toys, Trains, Banks, Holiday, Boats
LOCATION:
2141 Demarco Dr. Vineland, NJ 08360

VINELAND, N.J. — On November 18-19, Bertoia Auctions will conclude a record-setting year with the 2021 edition of every toy collector’s favorite event: the annual fall sale. This sale is reserved for exceptional toys and holiday antiques sourced from many collections. The selection includes more than 200 European tin toys, 50 Lehmann and Martin windup toys, American tin and clockwork toys, more than 75 Schoenhuts and roly polys; figural cast iron, including banks; cast iron automotive and horse-drawn toys; and pressed-steel trains. Also, the auction boasts a lineup of pressed-steel trucks from the collection of the late Buddy George.

A special highlight of the November auction is the American antique boat collection of Dick Claus, whose Marklin and other European nautical toys took in $3.1 million in Bertoia’s two-part auction series conducted in 2012.
Claus’ European armada may have set sail for distant shores a decade ago, but now collectors can embark on a new adventure as they navigate their way through his fleet of 50 American boats. All are Nineteenth Century productions, mostly clockwork types but with some steam-propelled and pull toys as well. The most revered manufacturers of the period are represented: George Brown, Althof Bergmann, Fallows, Ives and Ives Blakeslee.

Among the most highly prized boats are two examples of the Monitor — a 14-inch pull toy depicted in the Bergmann catalog and a 14-inch clockwork version made by George Brown. Both are rare. Additionally, there are two paddle wheelers attributed to George Brown. The smaller of the two, at 20 inches, is finished in the same dark red with black gunwell color scheme as is shown in The George Brown Sketchbook. The larger one, at 33 inches, has a dark red gunwell. Both have yellow decks.

The collection contains a set of whimsical Tillicum wood boats produced by Milton Bradley. Each boat comes with a specific slotted box to act as its support. Dick Claus explained, “Since the boats were sold at the seashore to children who immediately put them in the ocean water, not many survived. It’s unusual to find an intact set.”
Other nautical highlights include a 6¼-inch George Brown steamboat Victory that comes in a box marked simply “Small Boat,” a series of five Union Manufacturing Co., steam-propeller boats with their original boxes — each to be sold as a separate lot; and a Bliss boxed set called “Uncle Sam’s Navy.” To Claus’ knowledge, the latter is the only complete set with all six original boats intact known to exist.
A special cast iron and tin toy collection comes from Ed and Norma Lotz, who started collecting in 1988. The couple focused on toys with a horse theme since Norma was an accomplished English equestrienne, a dressage instructor and a passionate horse lover.
The Schoenhuts to be auctioned are from the collection of Chicagoan Norm Bower. Among the many pieces in Norm’s collection are roly polys, horse-drawn wagons (e.g., Bond Bread, Abbotts “A” Milk, Hood’s Dairy), circus tents with accessories, boxed comic strip characters (e.g., Felix the Cat, Happy Hooligan, etc.), a rare Teddy Roosevelt and other “people” figures, and scores of circus and barnyard animal figures. Of special note is a gorilla with its original circular cage ($1/1,500).

A Halloween collection comes from Kelly Verhelle, an active member of both the ATCA and the Golden Glow of Christmas Past club, and host of an Ashfield, N.C., holiday convention a few years ago. Verhelle tarted collecting jointly with her late father, toy collector Hal Mathers, more than 30 years ago. She remembers searching the shows and shops every weekend with her dad for any sightings of the “orange and black.” Her collection is a visual treat with its witches, black cats, veggie people and pumpkin-head candy containers.
Also active members of both the ATCA and Golden Glow of Christmas Past, Ed and Brenda De Garbolewski have consigned select holiday items to the November sale, including a German belsnickle, a rare Santa with white robe on platform and a clockwork pumpkin man, just to name a few.

The array of holiday items continues with antique Christmas ornaments, including a boutique collection of Dresdens in a variety of forms, such as a polo player on horseback with mallet, a champagne bottle in an ice bucket, a jewel-eyed owl and a rare and early bulldog. Wearing a sturdy collar, the canine is chained to a gilt-papered, faux-brick doghouse whose roof lifts off so candy can be accessed.
Bertoia Auctions is at 2141 Demarco Drive. For information, www.bertoiaauctions.com or 856-692-1881.

856-692-1881 Email: Toys@bertoiaauctions.com
Additional information at www.BertoiaAuctions.com
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