PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Last October Old Toy Soldier Auctions (OTSA) introduced its Investment Rarities Auction series with the revered James Cook collection. Led by early Britains military sets of extreme rarity, the 103-lot offering attracted enthusiasts from all over the world and grossed $305,000, a new house record for an OTSA boutique sale. On Saturday, Oct. 8, the Pittsburgh-based auction house will once again roll out the big guns with a single-owner, 168-lot Investment Rarities sale of the Bill Jackey Collection, Part I. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
“This Britains-only specialty sale will be short but very sweet,” said OTSA founder and owner Ray Haradin. “It’s a quality collection of early gems, many of them boxed and with prestigious prior provenance.”
The auction includes some of the rarest sets Britains ever produced, with a timeline from 1893 to 1966. There are numerous pre-World War I first-version soldiers, also known to collectors as “ancients.” A top pick in this category is a circa-1893 Set No. 9, the 16th Lancers in “Ulundi” Foreign Service Dress, est. $6,000-$8,000. The Lancers are unusual in that they are “plug-handed,” meaning the arms are fashioned as plugs that fit through the figure. This particular set comes with a letter of provenance indicating it was previously part of the distinguished James Opie collection.
Also worthy of note among the unboxed “ancients” are: Set No. 6, the Royal Scots Greys Cavalry, est. $3,500-$5,500; and Set No. 7, Royal Fusiliers Infantry, est. $6,000-$8,000. There are several similarities shared by the two sets. Both were produced in 1893, contain 60mm hollow-cast “Germanic” figures, and are of the type shown on the cover of Opie’s esteemed reference The Great Book of Britains.
Twenty-seven lots contain Britains “Paris Office” productions, including three sets housed in their extremely rare original boxes. Haradin explained that the allure of Paris Office soldiers has to do, in part, with their relatively short production run on non-British soil. “Britains soldiers became so popular after the turn of the 20th century that the company decided to set up a second manufacturing and distribution plant, located outside Paris. It operated from 1906 to 1916, and the soldiers and sets that came from that location are highly sought after by today’s collectors. We feel quite fortunate to have 27 Paris Office lots available to offer in a single sale. That’s simply unheard of, even for a specialist auction house like ours. The Paris lots are already creating quite a stir.”
An enviable array of Britains Salvation Army productions includes a circa-1906 Set No. 10, containing some of the best of all known unboxed examples. With color and rarity working in its favor, the set has been given a pre-sale estimate of $4,000-$6,000.
The finest known boxed first version of Set 39, the circa-1896 Royal Horse Artillery, boasts a long and illustrious pedigree. Prior to joining the top-notch Bill Jackey collection, it was a prized inclusion in the collections of both Bill Miele and Dimitri Ilyinsky. Its Oct. 8 auction estimate is $8,000-$12,000.
Another boxed highlight is Set 72, Life Guards Past and Present. Manufactured circa 1897 and presented in an exceptionally rare Queen’s Diamond Jubilee box, this set’s trail of provenance includes the Lenoir Josey and Dimitri Ilyinsky collections. Estimate: $8,000-$12,000.
A letter of provenance from former owner James Opie accompanies a boxed, circa-1938 “special paint” Royal Marine Color Party set made exclusively for the famed London toy store Hamleys. The finest known example of its type, the set could realize $6,000-$8,000 on auction day.
It is widely acknowledged that there is only one known example of Britains’ Set No. 1306, the U.S. Navy Landing Party. This very rare non-cataloged set was made in 1934 and has not seen the auction market since 2001. With provenance that includes the Ron Ruddell and Dimitri Ilyinsky collections, it will again become available to collectors on October 8th, with an auction estimate of $5,000-$7,000.
Several large display sets have been cataloged, including a St. John’s Medical Corps, which Britains created as a white-label commission for C.E. Turnbull. The set includes figures of various medical personnel, and tents. Formerly in the collections of Ed Ruby and Rob Wilson, it will cross the auction block with a $5,000-$7,000 estimate.
There are two boxed postwar sets deserving of special attention. The first is the only known Set No. 2016 of the Japanese Imperial Guard. “It was made in 1948, but no one knows why there’s only one,” Haradin said. Its estimate is $4,000-$6,000.
The second of the two is a boxed Set 2020, made in 1948, depicting the Portuguese Native Infantry. One of an estimated four such sets believed to exist, it is also estimated at $4,000-$6,000.
Old Toy Soldier’s Saturday, Oct. 8 auction of the Bill Jackey collection, Part I, will commence at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers. Note: all absentee bids must be placed no later than 24 hours prior to the sale in order to be accepted.
For additional information on any item in the sale, call Ray Haradin at 412-343-8733 (tollfree: 800-349-8009) or e-mail raytoys@aol.com.