TELFORD, Pa. - A dazzling assortment of exceptional finds and well-known classics – including top-shelf Japanese cars, space toys, seldom seen Popeye pieces and other comic character figures – will highlight the fall sale of Smith House Toy & Auction Co. Quality and condition will be the key words when the phone and online auction opens Nov. 5 and ends Nov. 21.

Toy car collectors will have a crack at a boxed, 1960 Chrysler Imperial, the elegant “Queen of the Imperials” and one of the most desirable Japanese tin cars. The 15-inch beauty is expected to reach $15,000 to $18,000.

A 1960 Chrysler Imperial, among the most desirable Japanese tin cars, will be on the block in the auction. Photo courtesy of Smith House Toy & Auction Co.

The two dozen other vehicles will include a ’57 Ford Standard Coffee Wagon made by Bandai, with its extremely scarce box, estimated in the $3,000 to $4,000 range. And to accompany that model will be 1960 and 1956 versions of the same toy, known for the two-piece gate that opens in the rear. A sleek Volvo P1800, with its box, will be offered as well.

The great American manufacturer Smith-Miller will be represented by an MIC Lift-o-matic Truck in its box and still wearing an original price tag. The current value is estimated at $2,000.

Marx Pinocchio and Figaro windups will be offered with their extremely rare box. Photo courtesy of Smith House Toy & Auction Co.

Out-of-this-world vehicles will also take center stage in the autumn auction. Sci-fi fans will be amazed by a Robby Space Patrol, with box, that looks like it’s right off the factory floor. Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Tom Corbett collectors can take off on the armada of Marx rockets, all in excellent shape, in addition to the space character badges, books, graphics, accessories – including the Ingersoll Bucks Rogers pocket watch with box – and great guns. In the arsenal will be a Hiller Atomic Ray Gun, a BCM Space Outlaw Atomic Pistol with box, X Ray Gun with box, and the Irwin Plastic Rocket Ship Space Pistol on its card.

One of the few known examples of the Hoge Popeye Speedboat will be offered in the Smith House auction. Photo courtesy of Smith House Toy & Auction Co.

Speaking of firearms, James Bond’s Thunderball Repeater Ricochet Machine Gun, with box, will be among the hard-to-find stars of the Smith House sale.

In the more peaceful categories is a grouping of Fisher Price wood pull toys featuring Donald Duck. The 1930s-era selection includes Donald and Donna Duck in Mexican garb, the Donald Doughboy, Donald Xylophone Player and long-billed Donald.

Other Disney characters will makes appearances in the fall sale. The Mickey Mouse Express will be sold in its box, and the set of Pinnochio and Figaro windups include the extremely scarce box.

Snow White and the dwarfs are carved into a magnificent Emerson wood radio, and Mickey Mouse adorns another Emerson. A boxed Hopalong Cassidy radio will be up for bid, too.

Some unusual items will draw the attention of Popeye collectors. One of the few known examples of the Hoge Popeye Speedboat, a luxury toy in the 1930s when it sold for an extravagant $2.50, will make a rare appearance on the auction block with an estimated value of $10,000 to $12,000. In addition, a boxed fleet of multicolored wood boats with celluloid sails featuring the Sailor Man and a set of white porcelain figures of Popeye and his Thimble Theatre pals will be offered. Another extraordinary piece in pristine condition is a Marx Bubble Blowing Popeye in a box that still contains its original straw packing.

Louis Marx Co. will be represented by a variety of other pieces: the Motorcycle Delivery with box, Charlie McCarthy Benzene Buggy in the red-wheel and black-wheel variations, the rare Spic and Span, Lone Ranger with box, and five play sets including the Savings Bank and Meat Market in their boxes.

Also flying through the sale will be a selection of biplanes and jets, including two versions of the 1920s Whiz Sky Fighter, Cragstan Jet Transport with its two planes attached, and majestic Lockheed Electra with box.

In a class by itself is a Bramwell Stokes American steam-powered paddlewheel boat with 1873 patent mark and a $3,000 to $4,000 estimate.

Rounding out the sale will be a stack of prewar Japanese bisque comic character sets in their boxes, a row of hard-to-find Chein trucks, boxed battery-operated toys and candy containers.

Smith House Auction 73 will open for bidding on Nov. 5 and close on Nov. 21. Catalogs for the phone and online sale will be available in early November. To order a catalog, send a check or money order for $25 U.S./$35 foreign to Smith House Toy & Auction Co., P.O. Box 129, Telford, Pa., 18969. For a preview of Auction 73, go to www.smithousetoys.com.

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