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Pook & Pook

Pook & Pook and Noel Barrett set Dec. 2-3 auction of antique toys, trains, banks & advertising

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
Marklin hand-painted Central Bahnhof train station #2651 with extensive detailing, furnishings and accessories, inside and out, est. $15,000-$18,000
Marklin hand-painted Central Bahnhof train station #2651 with extensive detailing, furnishings and accessories, inside and out, est. $15,000-$18,000

 

DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. – Pook & Pook in association with Noel Barrett Antiques and Auctions will conduct their first jointly produced toy auction on December 2-3, 2016. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available on both days through LiveAuctioneers.com.

The Friday session, which starts at 6 p.m. Eastern Time, includes an array of Schoenhut wood toys, dolls, china dish sets, dollhouses, and beautifully outfitted antique European shops. The bulk of the sale will be offered during the Saturday session, starting at 10 a.m. The widely varied selection includes trains, high-quality mechanical and still banks; automotive toys, European and American clockwork toys; vintage advertising, carousel art; Swiss Bucherer figures, motion picture theater memorabilia, and a few special surprises.

One of the top highlights of the sale is a hand-painted Marklin Central Bahnhof train station #2651, shown at the top of this page. This handsome station has etched and stained-glass windows and a ticket window with queue rail on one side, while the other side features outdoor seating and a café table – with composition figures – under an arched canopy. The building’s candlelit interior is nicely outfitted with a table, chairs and benches. Boasting the impeccable detail and fine touches for which Marklin is so well known, the station is expected to reach $15,000-$18,000 on auction day.

For the many aficionados of American-made Lionel trains, the auction offers a desirable Blue Comet standard gauge passenger train set with correct, individually numbered boxes. The ensemble includes a No. 400E electric steam profile 2-2-2 engine, No. 400W oil tender, No. 421 Westphal car, No. 420 Faye cars, and No. 422 Tempel observation car. Measuring 19 inches long, the train could command a winning bid of $6,000-$9,000.

 

Lionel standard gauge Blue Comet nickel-trim passenger train set with correct individually numbered boxes, est. $6,000-$9,000
Lionel standard gauge Blue Comet nickel-trim passenger train set with correct individually numbered boxes, est. $6,000-$9,000

 

An elaborate, craftsman-made model of a circa-1900 horse-drawn fire pumper is live-steam-powered and extremely well detailed. The 30-inch-long firefighting toy has two supply hoses with proper threading, various nozzles, and steel-rimmed wood wheels with turned spokes. There are two steam gauges on the boiler, with an eagle mascot finial and a maker’s plate that reads “F.W. Balcom 1955.” This fine representation of an early pumper is estimated at $12,000-$18,000.

 

Elaborate craftsman-made model of a circa-1900 horse-drawn fire pumper with hoses, steam gauges on boiler, steel-rimmed wood wheels, and maker’s plate reading ‘F.W. Balcom, 1955,’ est. $12,000-$18,000
Elaborate craftsman-made model of a circa-1900 horse-drawn fire pumper with hoses, steam gauges on boiler, steel-rimmed wood wheels, and maker’s plate reading ‘F.W. Balcom, 1955,’ est. $12,000-$18,000

 

From time to time during his 20-year tenure as an expert appraiser on PBS Television’s Antiques Roadshow, Noel Barrett has provided fascinating information on antique miniature shops and room boxes. The Dec. 2-3 auction includes a prized example: an English butcher shop diorama window display. Made in the mid-19th century of painted wood, the shop is generously accessorized with 75 various cuts of meat overseen by two sturdy butchers and a delivery boy. The façade has glazed windows, potted plants and a lion-and-unicorn crest. An exceptional representation of a Victorian-era butcher shop, it is catalogued with a $4,000-$6,000 estimate.

 

Elaborate English butcher shop diorama window display, mid-19th century, painted wood with numerous accessories including 75 cuts of meat and figures of two butchers and delivery boy, est. $4,000-$6,000
Elaborate English butcher shop diorama window display, mid-19th century, painted wood with numerous accessories including 75 cuts of meat and figures of two butchers and delivery boy, est. $4,000-$6,000

 

Made by Cincinnati Stove Works around 1903, an exceptional cast-iron advertising plaque depicts a woman riding sidesaddle on a horse galloping in full stride. Visually striking and in superior condition, the piece measures 41½ inches wide and 27¾ inches high. It is estimated at $6,000-$8,000.

 

Exceptional circa-1903 cast-iron Cincinnati Stove Works figural advertising plaque depicting a woman riding sidesaddle on a galloping horse, est. $6,000-$8,000
Exceptional circa-1903 cast-iron Cincinnati Stove Works figural advertising plaque depicting a woman riding sidesaddle on a galloping horse, est. $6,000-$8,000

 

Continuing in an equine theme, a rare 21-inch-high by 26-inch-long hand-painted Schoenhut Pony Blitz riding horse has dapple markings, glass eyes and a horsehair mane and tail. A charming example that is one of many dozens of Schoenhut animals, roly polys, circus wagons and figures in the sale, it could trot off to a new owner for $3,000-$6,000.

 

Rare, large Schoenhut painted-wood Pony Blitz riding horse, est. $3,000-$6,000
Rare, large Schoenhut painted-wood Pony Blitz riding horse, est. $3,000-$6,000

 

 

A fine representation of wood toys made by legendary Philadelphia toymaker Schoenhut includes animals, human figures, circus wagons, roly polys and more.
A fine representation of wood toys made by legendary Philadelphia toymaker Schoenhut includes animals, human figures, circus wagons, roly polys and more.

 

A whole host of cast-iron mechanical banks includes such collector favorites as Punch & Judy, William Tell, Milking Cow, Trick Pony, Darktown Battery, Magic Bank, Owl Turning Head, and many more.

 

Examples from a large selection of antique cast-iron mechanical and still banks entered in the auction
Examples from a large selection of antique cast-iron mechanical and still banks entered in the auction

 

Additionally, the auction features dozens of early Disney soft toys, including a wide variety of Mickey and Minnie Mouse dolls.

 

Pook & Pook’s gallery is overrun with mice, but the type everyone likes to have around – namely, early soft dolls of Mickey and Minnie, along with their duck pals Donald, Huey, Dewey and Louie.
Pook & Pook’s gallery is overrun with mice, but the type everyone likes to have around – namely, early soft dolls of Mickey and Minnie, along with their duck pals Donald, Huey, Dewey and Louie.

 

There are scores of figural advertising signs, store displays and carousel pieces.
There are scores of figural advertising signs, store displays and carousel pieces.

 

The auction will be a landmark occasion for both Pook & Pook and Noel Barrett. While Pook & Pook has held several successful toy auctions in the past, including the $2 million sale of contents from Merritt’s Museum of Childhood, toys have traditionally been a subcategory of the company’s decorative arts specialty. Pook & Pook co-owner Ron Pook had been hoping to expand the company’s scope to include more auctions of toys and related material, so earlier this year he turned to Noel Barrett, whose decades of experience and reputation in the toy world are largely unmatched. Barrett was immediately open to the idea of joining forces with Pook & Pook. He felt his smaller auction house could benefit from Pook & Pook’s infrastructure and strong online and media presences. Pook and Barrett’s long friendship and mutual respect formed the ideal foundation for their new association, which comes to fruition with their inaugural toy auction, Dec. 2-3.

View the fully illustrated catalog online and bid absentee or live online as the sale is taking place through LiveAuctioneers. For questions about any item in the auction, call 610-269-4040 or email info@pookandpook.com.

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