The sale’s acme lot at $15,375 was this rare Disney celluloid windup Mickey Mouse Riding Horse toy. Its $2/4,000 estimate was left in the dust, thanks to colors that were still strong and a working windup mechanism.
Review by W.A. Demers
WILLOUGHBY, OHIO — Milestone Auctions’ Fall Antique Toys Extravaganza on September 14 presented shelves and shelves of rare and desirable toys from around the world, featuring the single-owner collection of Buddy Forman. Vintage toys lined up for sale in the live webcast included windups, battery ops, cast iron, pressed steel and more, with names like Buddy L, Keystone, Marx, American National, Sturditoy, Smith Miller, Kingsbury, Lehmann and others.
The sale totaled $418,000, a white glove event celebrating Forman’s California collection. Auctioneer Miles King said there were about 1,500 registered bidders vying for the collector’s toy treasures.
King elicited the auction’s highest price — $15,375 — for a rare Disney celluloid windup Mickey Mouse Riding Horse toy, measuring 7½ inches long. Leaping over its $2/4,000 estimate, the toy was all original with colors that were still strong and its windup mechanism still sent horse and rider on their merry way. King said it was staying in the United States, adding, “Great condition, very rare. I don’t think it’s the only known example, but it’s just a really rare one.”
Close on Mickey’s slipstream was an Alps tin friction 1953 Packard Patrician sedan, which, at 15 inches long, was cataloged as “a large, impressive car. All original and in great condition with working friction.” The toy drove off for $12,300 against a $2/4,000 presale estimate. “When I asked the guy who bought it why he paid so much, he said it was an upgrade,” King said. “And there was a guy on the phone bidding against him. It was in killer condition, that’s why it brought so much.”
“Killer condition” helped drive the price of this 15-inch 1953 Alps tin friction Packard Patrician sedan. The buyer, who paid $12,300 for it against a $2/4,000 presale estimate, told auctioneer Miles King that he was upgrading his collection.
Pedal car collectors chased an original Gendron Hupmobile pedal car to $9,533; perhaps they were drawn to its unique purple and white paint scheme with green accents that King identified as a rare color combination.
With the exception of a missing rubber tire on the side mount — which, according to the catalog, could be easily replaced — the car was complete. This collectors item is also staying in the United States. Hupmobiles got their name from Robert C. Hupp, who, according to the Hupmobile Club’s website put in time with Olds Motor Works (1902-03), Ford Motor Co. (1906-07) and Regal Motor Car Co. (1907-08), before striking out on his own in 1908. He founded the Hupp Motor Car Co., on November 8, 1908, in a rented factory at 345 Bellevue Avenue, Detroit, Mich.
Just as there was a real-life counterpart to the Hupmobile pedal car, there was an actual USS Los Angeles rigid airship that inspired the manufacturing of the large version of the Dent cast iron zeppelin. At 12½ inches in length, it presented as “very good-excellent” and was lofted to $4,920 from a $600/800 estimate. “Rarity took it over the top,” said King. According to Airships.net, its real-life version, designated ZR-3, was built in 1923-24 by the Zeppelin Company in Friedrichshafen, Germany; ultimately, the airship retired to a Lakehurst hangar where she remained until being dismantled in 1932.
Inspired by its real-life counterpart was Dent’s cast-iron zeppelin, the USS Los Angeles rigid airship, measuring 12½ inches in length. It rose to $4,920 from a $600/800 estimate. “Rarity took it over the top,” said King.
A winning bid of $4,320 took home a Cameo wood jointed Betty Boop with the original box; a 12-inch high likeness of the animated cartoon character produced by Fleischer Studios in the 1930s. The sale catalog enthused, “The nicest example we have ever seen of this desirable toy . . .You won’t find a better example.”
An all-original Gund Felix The Cowboy with accessories, such as a holstered six-shooter, outdrew its $300/500 estimate and hit $2,952.
With what were characterized as “great Santa Claus graphics,” a World War II-era Buddy L wooden Railway Express Milk Truck lumbered across the block and sold for $2,460. It was made of wood because all the metal in the United States was being used for the war effort.
An 11-inch long prewar tin windup Packard sedan from Japan handily more than doubled its high estimate, leaving the gallery at $2,706. It was all original and complete, including a working windup.
This Walt Disney Enterprises Mickey Mouse shooting game featured six topple over Mickey and Minnie figures. A toy gun and corks for ammo completed the gallery, and the toy made $2,276.
A probable ancestor to today’s shooter videogames, a Walt Disney Enterprises Mickey Mouse shooting game with six topple over figures (three Mickeys and three Minnies), complete with a gun and corks, made $2,276.
Quenching bidders’ thirst for toy delivery trucks in never-played-with condition was a Smith Miller Coca-Cola truck with its original box. Going out at $2,030, the toy came with miniature cases of Coca-Cola.
While a “mechanical ghost” may sound like an oxymoron, Linemar’s windup Casper the Friendly Ghost toy with its original box scared up a bid of $1,784, and a German tin clockwork Mercedes Benz with passengers Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring and two SS soldier figures took $3,567.
“It’s good to see a lot of new buyers out there,” King concluded, “and people are still collecting.”
All prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. Milestone’s next sale on October 5 will again focus on toys. For information, www.milestoneauctions.com or 440-527-8060.
