TIMONIUM, Md. - Interest was keener than ever, and the bidding action was relentless in RSL Auction's sale of antique toys and banks held May 22nd at Richard Opfer's suburban Baltimore gallery. "We started at noon and finished at 20 till three - it was about two hours and 40 minutes of very serious bidding," said RSL co-owner Ray Haradin. Internet live bidding was provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.

In all, the auction took in $1.8 million (all prices quoted include 21.5% buyer's  premium). "They came to buy; they didn't want to sit there with an auctioneer trying to milk a few extra dollars out of them," said Haradin. "When Rick [Opfer] is at the podium, you put your hand up or you don't get the toy."

The featured attraction of the 360-lot sale was the Richard C. Stevens collection, a 24-year assemblage of cast-iron mechanical banks boasting superb conditions and with provenance reflecting several of the most prestigious collections of the past half-century.

DENVER, PA. - At the heart of Dan Morphy Auctions' 1,300-lot July 16-17 Premier Auction is a collection of mostly mint/boxed toys that has flown under the radar for nearly three decades. Running the gamut from European, early American and Japanese toys to pressed steel, pedal cars and even two actual hot rods, the collection was amassed by retired California architect and Victorian home restorer Michael O'Hearn. It will be offered at auction "unpicked and in its entirety," said auction company CEO Dan Morphy.

Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.

"Very few people have even heard of this truly exceptional collection," said Morphy. "Mr. O'Hearn never sold a toy; he only bought, and in each of the 46 categories of his collection, he kept the emphasis on condition. All of the O'Hearn toys are a strong 9 out of 10 or better."

TIMONIUM, Md. – Few categories of antique toys have been as consistently “bankable” over the past few decades as banks themselves, especially cast-iron mechanicals. And nothing brings out the collectors faster than news of a great collection coming onto the market, says mechanical bank specialist and RSL Auction co-owner Ray Haradin, who speaks from long experience. Together with his business partners Steven and Leon Weiss – the “S” and “L” of “RSL” – Haradin has handled some headline-grabbing collections in the past. On May 22, they’ll do it once again as they auction the Richard C. Stevens collection of mechanical banks in a 360-lot auction at Richard Opfer’s gallery in Timonium, Maryland.

Richard Stevens began collecting banks in 1984, but his most active period of buying was in the early 1990s. “Mr. Stevens has always sought out the very finest examples, and his collection contains probably 30 banks that qualify as ‘world class,’” said Haradin. “These banks have exquisite pedigrees and rival or surpass the conditions seen in many major collections. The quality is simply spectacular – it tops anything we’ve ever had in our past sales.”

Rich with provenance, the Stevens collection carries on the tradition of many legendary collections of the past. An Atlas Bank formerly in the collections of Leon Cameto and Larry Feld is estimated at $25,000-$35,000 and is “as close to mint as you can get,” said Haradin. A Boy Scout Camp bank, made by J. & E. Stevens and in near-mint condition, was once part of the fabled Perelman Museum collection and is expected to earn $20,000-$30,000.

LITITZ, Pa. - Toy Collector Magazine has learned that Donal Markey, an influential dealer and collector of antique mechanical and still banks, and cast-iron toys, died this morning, March 22, 2010, after a brief illness.

A widely acknowledged expert on mechanical banks, Donal's long list of illustrious clients over the past 25 years included Mosler Safe Co. president/CEO Edwin H. Mosler Jr., renowned collector Stan Sax, and Leon Perelman, founder of the Perelman Museum in Philadelphia.

Donal  was a contributing consultant to Bill Norman's ground-breaking reference The Bank Book: The Encyclopedia of Mechanical Bank Collecting, published in 1984. At the time of his death, he served as an expert consultant to Bertoia Auctions. Donal was a member of the Mechanical Bank Collectors of America, the Antique Toy Collectors of America, and the Still Bank Collectors Club of America.

 

DENVER, Pa. - Dan Morphy Auctions will pack 2,100 quality lots into a big two-day sale, Feb. 26 and 27, 2010, at the company's state of the art gallery on the Adamstown antique strip. The main categories in the auction are historical antiques, firearms and militaria, jewelry, toys and antique advertising. All forms of bidding will be available, including live via the Internet. 

The Friday session opens with more than 150 lots of fine jewelry and Bakelite from a single estate. All types of jewelry will be offered, including rings, necklaces, earrings, watches and brooches. Among the highlights are an 18K gold bracelet with turquoise stones, a 14K gold bracelet with diamonds, and many other gold Victorian-era fine jewelry designs. 

 VINELAND, N.J. – To many, the holiday season officially launches on Thanksgiving Day with the legion of colorful parades held in major American cities. But ask antique toy collectors where and when the party started this season and they’re likely to say Nov. 13-15 at Bertoia’s auction gallery in southern New Jersey. Over that weekend, Bertoia’s held its $1.5 million Holiday Toy Trimmings sale, which featured, alongside several other showcased collections, the final installment of Christmas antiques from boththe Fred Cannon and Mary Lou Holt collections. Bidders from around the world took part online through LiveAuctioneers.com. 

“We were inspired by the two holiday collections to create an atmosphere reflecting an old-fashioned Christmas,” said Bertoia Auctions’owner, Jeanne Bertoia. “We knew many members of the Golden Glow of Christmas Past collector club would be attending, so we put up a 10-foot-tall tree decorated with antique ornaments, played Christmas music and served cookies,eggnog, hot apple cider and coffee. Jim Morrison, a Golden Glow member who operates a Christmas museum in Pennsylvania, came dressed as Father Christmas, and with his own long beard, was very convincing. Even Tim Luke, one of our two auctioneers, showed his Christmas spirit by wearing a Santa hat at the podium.Everyone had a good time.”  

Toys go hand-in-hand with Christmas, and the three-day auction featured a bountiful array that included the Dick Ford Airflow toy auto collection and part II of the Dick Sheppard still bank collection.  

 

DENVER, Pa. - A 25-year private collection of steam toys amassed by New Mexico couple Pat and Lowell Wagner headlines a 3,100-lot holiday-themed Winter Sale to be held Dec. 10-12 at Dan Morphy Auctions' gallery in Denver, Pa.

The acclaimed 545-lot steam toy collection includes many great rarities, said Morphy's CEO and owner, Dan Morphy. "The Wagners bought only the best pieces - like the steam-driven motorcycle with sidecar, and extremely desirable steam-driven boats," Morphy said. "By anyone's assessment, it's a premier collection."

TIMONIUM, Md. – Record prices were achieved at RSL Auction’s 477-lot Bountiful Harvest sale held Oct. 17, 2009 in the Baltimore suburb of Timonium, Maryland. The multiple-consignor offering anchored by top-tier pieces from long-held collections ended up being the company’s most successful auction to date, according to Ray Haradin, who owns RSL Auction in partnership with brothers Steven and Leon Weiss. The sale total, inclusive of 17.5% buyer’s premium, exceeded one million dollars.

“Prices were very strong, and there were a number of world auction records set,” said Haradin, “but what amazed us most was the number of executives from the financial sector who were bidding in the sale, mostly by phone and absentee. They were very competitive and accounted for the bulk of the sales.”

The record books were rewritten from the very first lot of the sale – a boxed circa-1915 Hubley cast-iron Royal Circus Calliope that reached $22,325. Following closely behind, another toy from the Royal Circus series, a Tiger Cage pulled by plumed horses, mint and accompanied by its original box, earned $12,925. A circa-1890 Kyser & Rex cast-iron circus wagon with revolving bear and kangaroo figures also proved to be a crowd-pleaser, finishing at $8,812.50.

DENVER, Pa. – The most convincing proof that quality Americana finds its buyers in any market condition came on Oct. 8-10 at Dan Morphy Auctions’ Fall Sale, which featured the revered Joseph and Lilian Shapiro Americana and folk art collection.

“The sale did over $1.5 million (inclusive of 15 percent buyer's premium), and the usual factors came into play – rarity and condition,” said Morphy's owner and CEO, Dan Morphy. “We specialize in genuinely fresh to the market collections that have been held for many years. When the quality is there and the antiques legitimately have not been available to the public for several decades, the collectors don't hold back. They buy.”

Antique advertising signs, salesman's samples and an extraordinary collection of decorative 19th-century folk art “bride sticks” (implements once used to push down laundry into washing water) generated tremendous presale interest. A beautiful 1890s paper sign advertising Soapine Soap, which previously had been displayed in the president's office at Kendall Manufacturing in Providence, Rhode Island, hit the midpoint of its estimate at $17,250. “It was a rare and spectacular example,” Morphy noted.