Big bucks made at Bertoia
There was no shortage of interest in the first part of a remarkable collection of antique toys and banks which had been amassed over half a century by the late Curtis Smith and his wife, Linda Smith.
We’re talking proper, old–fashioned toys here, not the more usual diecast and railway items that dominate European auctions. However, such is the American interest in these antiques that there is plenty of competition amongst bidders when they come to market.
Bertoia’s auction opened with a circa1890s George Brown clockwork hoop toy with a suffragette theme. It consisted of a clothdressed William Goodwin girl figure with a handpainted composition head, pushing a wheeled vehicle with a suffragette figure carrying an American flag. The toy was the actual example pictured in the reference book American Clockwork Toys, and its line of ownership prior to joining the Smith collection included both the Max Berry and Blair Whitton collections. It doubled its high estimate to finish at US$30,000.
A Carpenter cast-iron Tally Ho horse-drawn coach really fired the punters, though. All original, including its removable, oft-missing figures, the vibrant 26 inch long vehicle was described by Bertoia as “the finest of all known examples.” Prior to joining the Smith collection, it held pride of place in the Bob and Jackie Stewart collection, and the Bernard Barenholtz collection. It sold at Bertoia’s for a cool US$120,000.
The 1880 Uncle Sam clockwork velocipede had been researched by Bertoia and it was catalogued as one of only two surviving examples. Its bidding run ended at US$90,000.
Finally, an Althof Bergmann (Americanmade) clockwork Circus Roundabout with an array of animal and human performers was simply delightful. Measuring 17 inches in diameter and in pristine condition, it had been discovered in Pennsylvania at some point during the last couple of decades. Believed to be the only known example of its type, it was contested to US$84,000. ■