Morphy Auctions chooses LiveAuctioneers for Internet bidding in April 9-10 debut sale featuring George Wausnock Automotive Toy Collection
March 3, 2004
1,000+ lots of premium-quality toys, trains, banks, holiday and antique advertising items to be sold without reserve
DENVER, Pa. - Dan Morphy and Tom Sage Jr., will launch their new joint venture – Morphy Auctions – with a blockbuster 1,000-lot sale on April 9-10, featuring fine-quality American and European toys, trains, mechanical and still banks, vintage holiday items, figural cast iron doorstops and antique advertising. Bidders worldwide will be able to participate live online through LiveAuctioneers.com.
The no-reserve, absolute auction – to be held at the Adamstown Antique Gallery, on the Adamstown ( Pa. ) antiques trail in adjacent Denver Pa. – is a prestige offering that includes 175 pieces from the highly acclaimed automotive toy collection of longtime collector George Wausnock. The pristine grouping is well known within the toy-collecting community and has been featured in several international publications.
The great majority of the auction's inventory is unshopped and fresh off the shelves from collectors' homes. “Tommy and I have put our reputations on the line and spent many months gathering the merchandise for this sale,” said Morphy. “We're so sure collectors will respond to the outstanding quality and condition, every lot will be sold without reserve to the highest bidder – no exceptions.”
Topping the 500 lots of automotive toys are 75 lots of early pressed steel trucks (15 of them boxed) by Buddy ‘L,' Metalcraft, Smith-Miller, etc., cast iron cars, trucks, motorcycles and airplanes – highlighted by an impeccable, boxed Hubley Chrysler Air-Flo in unusual “rose” color – antique European tinplate vehicles, including a superb boxed Bing limousine with original composition driver in near-mint condition; two very rare Carette wind-up cars, multiple examples by Karl Bub, an early, handpainted, French-made touring car with rubber tires and original box; and a large Toschi Ferrari.
Very seldom-seen mechanical and still banks, large European boats, rare comic character toys, an exception collection of early marbles, and a superb array of American and European trains and accessories, including a Marklin onion dome Central Railway station with canopy are just a few of the other categories to be offered.
Other specialty sections of the sale include a selection of more than 50 cast-iron figural doorstops and the exceptional Dennis and Margaret Haire Holiday Collection, comprised of more than 200 lots of German, Japanese and American Christmas, Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving and Easter items dating from the 1880s through World War II. Like the aforementioned Wausnock collection, the Haires' holiday grouping has been featured in numerous publications and in museum displays.
All lots may be previewed from now through auction weekend (Wednesdays or after hours by appointment only), as well as on the LiveAuctioneers website: http://www.liveauctioneers.com/houses/morphyauctions.html
Hard copies of the full-color catalog are now available for $30 postpaid ($35 to non-U.S. addresses). Sale location: 2000 N. Reading Road , Denver , PA 17517 . Tel. 1-717-335-3435, Fax 1-717-336-7115, E-mail: info@morphyauctions.com .
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