DENVER, Pa. - Dan Morphy Auctions' popular new series of Discovery Auctions continues with a Tuesday, July 27, 2010 event starting at 10 a.m. Eastern Time and featuring 605 assorted lots. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide the Internet live bidding for the sale.

The inventory encompasses many categories of antique and vintage items and includes the category for which Morphy's is so well known: toys. Bidders can choose from 50 pressed steel toys (including Buddy 'L'), 20 mechanical and still banks; 20 trains and 100 other toys of various types.

Additionally, a beautiful selection of jewelry will be offered, highlighted by more than 200 pieces of colorful, early Bakelite in novelty shapes, and 50 pieces of Native-American jewelry featuring turquoise, coral and onyx in sterling silver settings.

SHELTON, Conn. - Lloyd Ralston Gallery Inc. will deliver a fun-filled toy auction of nearly 500 lots on Saturday, June 12, beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern. Up for bids is a diverse selection of vintage toys and trains. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

There are many tin toys and cap guns along with die-cast, slush, rubber, cast-iron and pressed steel vehicles. Trains include Lionel in prewar and postwar and Marklin in HO & O gauge and modern 1 gauge.

Three 1 gauge Rheingold cars make up one of the most coveted lots in the auction. The original cars have been independently verified as originals. Each is 22 inches long and in excellent condition. The estimate for the set is $10,000-$15,000.

NEW HOPE, Pa. - Whether the object of their fascination is Old Master paintings or baseball cards, collectors agree on one point: knowledge is king. And it was knowledge that led to a very sweet return for the consignor of a Marklin gauge 1 train set in Noel Barrett's $955,000 Spring Auction held on May 1-2 in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

The top-selling lot - comprised of a Marklin American steam profile 0-4-0 clockwork locomotive with tender, boxcar and two passenger cars with hinged lids - was hand painted in a scarce maroon and red color scheme. "The consignor bought it cheaply on eBay, where it sat for two or three days before the seller accepted a ‘buy it now' price - the seller wasn't sure the paint was original, but the buyer suspected it was both correct and unusual. He was right," said auction house owner and Antiques Roadshow appraiser Noel Barrett.

Barrett is an antique train expert who is known for having auctioned one of the most famous train collections of all time, that of the late Disney animator Ward Kimball. There are few examples of trains he has not either brokered through his auctions or viewed in private collections. Barrett said that even from looking at photographs of the potential consignment, he immediately knew the Marklin train was not a repaint. Once the consignment was actually in his hands, Barrett was able to positively confirm its authenticity.

NEW HOPE, Pa. – Noel Barrett has spent the last several months preparing a spring treat to boost the spirits of winter-weary collectors. His May 1-2 auction, comprised of 1,200 choice lots of early toys and other compatible categories of antiques, is led by the renowned Americana and advertising collection of the late Gordon Stark of Kansas City. Other important highlights include the Japanese boat and car collection of the late William F.“Bill” Weart, selected toys from the Kathy and Athel Spilhaus collection, and a diverse array of other select consignments from various individuals. LiveAuctioneers will provide the Internet live bidding.

“What I like so much about this sale is that it includes an extremely wide variety of material. There isn’t an overwhelming amount of anyone thing,” said auction house owner and Antiques Roadshow appraiser Noel Barrett. “Originally this was going to be a mixed toy sale till the Stark collection came along. Also, because I didn’t have a fall sale in 2009, I was able to be a little more selective about what to include in this sale. The result is a visually exciting mix that will appeal to a diverse cross-section of collectors.”

The keynote Gordon Stark collection encompasses many forms of early advertising – colorfully lithographed tin signs and trays,three-dimensional figures, fixtures and trade signs. “Gordon Stark was a revered, old-time collector of Americana and advertising, and it is his lifetime collection that we are selling,” Barrett noted. “It is quite obvious that he viewed each of the objects in his collection as art.”

 

DENVER, Pa. – A show of force from European steam toy buyers, several of whom flew in to bid in person, drove Morphy Auctions’ Wintersale beyond the $2 million mark (inclusive of 15% buyer’s premium) over theweekend of Dec. 10-12, 2009. Part I of the extensive Pat and Lowell Wagner lifetime collection of antique steam engines and toys – abundantly stocked with examples by Marklin, Weeden, Doll et Cie., and Bing – proved an alluring drawcard, especially to German enthusiasts. 

“There were at least 100 people specifically pursuing the steam toys, including three or four Germans who were very active bidders,” said Dan Morphy, owner and chief operating officer of Dan Morphy Auctions. “One thing I found surprising was that Europeans who collect steam toys also buy the full-size steam engines – they appreciate both categories. That’s not typically the case with American steam toy collectors.” 

SHELTON, Conn. - Lloyd Ralson Gallery's next auction, the sale of the Robert Willey train collection on Jan. 16, is taking on the buzz of a Broadway premiere. Willey, who died last year at age 88, was a director, actor and theatrical producer. He was married 54 years to actress Helen Wagner, who has played the role of matriarch Nancy Hughes on the daytime TV drama As the World Turns since it debuted in 1956.

Live Auctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

Over 40 years Willey assembled an outstanding collection of mostly European trains with an emphasis on Marklin and Bing in HO, O and 1 gauges. The collection also features terrific Bassett-Lowke, Hornby, Elettren and Lionel in O gauge along with Aster and Fine Arts Models.

COLOGNE, Germany - Toy specialists Antico Mondo's auction no. 43 on Dec. 12 will contain more than 1,500 lots of mostly 20th-century toys of all kinds. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding. The auction will begin Saturday at 9 a.m. Central European Time, 3 a.m. Eastern.

The auctioneers will warm up by starting with approximately 115 lots of boxed Matchbox vehicles. More than 50 of those lots will have multiple items. About 180 boxed Corgi toys will follow.

Car collectors will have their pick of several rare tin windups. One Tipp Co. model has become known as the Eva Braun Sedan Car. In its plain original box, the car is expected to sell for between $20,000 and $33,000. Antico Mondo claims that it is one of only two known examples.

Another prize is a Marklin's prewar Central Station with Side-Hall and Bell (2651) for 0 gauge. The beautifully detailed tin structure carries a $19,400-$31,800 estimate.

COLOGNE, GERMANY - Four times a year – in March, June, September and December – Germany’s fourth-largest city, Cologne, is the meeting point for toy collectors from all over the world. That’s when Antico Mondo holds its sales of toys of all types, with a particular emphasis on tin toys, model cars, trains and toy railroad accessories.

Antico Mondo’s next auction, featuring 890 lots of antique and quality vintage toys will take place on Sept. 5, with Internet live bidding provided by LiveAuctioneers.com

Antico Mondo concentrates on toys 
produced from the beginning of the 20th century through the late 1960s. While its headquarters are located in a Sürth, at the southern end of Cologne, they have a global reach.

STRASBURG, Pa. - For more than 40 years, the mechanical department of the Strasburg Rail Road, located in Strasburg, Pa., has been producing world-class work in the steam railroading industry. Now, the Strasburg Rail Road mechanical team is offering an opportunity for rail fans to get a behind-the-scenes look at the Iron Horse.