Toys

Generations of young boys were brought up on Meccano sets and it's been sad that many men's careers were influenced by what they made with their Meccano. W & H Peacock in Bedford have a Memories of Childhood sale on 25 November at 10.30 a.m. and it includes this trunk. It contains  various trays of Meccano including strips, cogs, wheels, plates, selection of instruction booklets. It is one of a number of Meccano lots that ae up for grabs.

Check out the history of the company HERE.

With the news of Lewis Hamilton's win in the Formula 1 drivers championship it reminded me that motor racing collectables are harder to find than for many sports. It also appears to be a very specialised group of collectors who go in for it; I found this interesting site with an article about what can be collected.

Of course there's always toy racing cars that can be collected. This late 1950s Vanwall is worth between £70 and £100.

This Sunday, 26 October, the 35th annual Antique-Collectible Toy and Doll World Show will take place at Kane County Fairgrounds at 25 S. Randall Road, St. Charles. This is the largest doll and toy show in the world, attracting around 500 dealers. Exhibits include everything from action figures, banks, cast iron and lunch boxes, to lithographed toys, windups and more. You’ll find Barbies, bisque dolls, and character dolls, along with dollhouses and doll furniture. Entry will cost you $7 for adults, 12 and younger get in for free.

Many of us had a Teddy bear when we were younger, but very few of us had a Steiff bear. The Teddy bear is a little over one hundred years old and the craze was al started by American President Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt back in 1902 as a result of his refusal to shoot a bear when he was out hunting. A newspaper cartoon of the event gave Morris Michtom the idea of producing 'Teddy Bear' toys for kids and the whole craze took off from there. Steiff, a German manufacturer, took up the idea and it is their bears that have become the most collectable and the most faked. A genuine Steiff bear has the following characteristics.

• A small button in one of other of the bear's ears

• Sometimes the button is missing but a hole will remain.

• Their bears have long curved limbs with felt pads and out-turned paws and ankles

• They have a seam from ear to ear across the top of the head

• A pronounced hump in their back

Most fakes don't smell old and this is a key test of originality along with the fact that modern materials feel very different. Look out for a lack of wear from years of being cuddled by their young owners.

The enduring appeal of model trains is clearly on display at a sale in Yorkshire on 20 August. Tennants have a toys, models and comics sale on that date at their Auction Cebtre at Leyburn in Nortn Yorkshire and included in the sale are over twenty lots of model trains, mostly Hornby, inclding one lot of 'A Large Collection of Hornby Dublo Trains and Accessories' - this includes twenty five locomotives, forty eight coaches, eighty four wagons, buildings, power units and a large quantity of track, plus a railwayman’s cap and certificate, in eight boxes; the estimate is £400 - £600