Toys, banks, trains and boats await bidders in RSL’s Oct. 16 sale

TIMONIUM, Md. – RSL Auctions, a company whose acronym is formed from the first letters of its three owners first names (Ray Haradin, Steven Weiss, Leon Weiss), will present a 551-lot auction of fabulous American and European toys and banks on Oct. 16, 2010. The event will be held at the Crowne Plaza Baltimore North in Timonium, Md., with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com.

The sale will open with German painted spelter banks, a category that RSL has brought to prominence over the past few years. A top highlight is a circa-1905 Grandpa Cat bank, 7 inches tall and loaded with charm. It’s expected to make $5,000-$7,000. The group will be followed by unpainted spelter, silvered-lead and other still banks.

Some wonderful 19th-century American toys have been gathered together for the auction. Automatic Toy Works’ circa-1865 Maypole Dancers is one of only five known examples. In near-mint condition, the Connecticut-made toy is estimated at $7,000-$9,000.

A Pratt & Letchworth (Buffalo, N.Y.) 4-seat cast-iron brake, measuring 26 inches long, was made around 1890 and would have been a very expensive toy in its day. At auction it could make $12,000-$16,000.

With provenance from the distinguished Hegarty collection, a circa-1890 Ives Blakeslee cast-iron Three-Wheel Horse is one of possibly 15 known to exist. In pristine-plus condition, it is entered in the sale with a $3,000-$5,000 estimate.

The selection of European toys contains beautiful examples of early wind-ups. A coveted circa-1895 Ernst Paul Lehmann clockwork Pretzel Vendor is a prized example of German painted tin of that era. It carries an estimate of $3,500-$5,500.

Cast-iron mechanical banks continue their meteoric rise in the marketplace, and this sale features a number of exceptional examples at various price points. One of the key lots in this category is a Kyser & Rex (Philadelphia) Butting Buffalo, patented March 20, 1988. Estimate: $15,000-$22,000. A J. & E. Stevens circa-1901 Magician bank in pristine-plus condition might conjure a winning bid of $8,000-$12,000; while a Feed the Kitty bank, whose patent was issued around 1925 to Thomas Buel, could realize $4,500-$6,500.

There’s much more to bid on in this sale, including trains, boats, tin vending banks, American bell toys and automotive toys. For additional information, call 908-236-7474 or 412-343-8733 or 212-729-0011; or e-mail geminitoys@earthlink.net or raytoys@aol.com.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

#   #   #

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

---

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

---