UPDATE: If you'd like to see the auction prices of this time capsule, click the button below.
It's rare even in this business, that you find a true time capsule, but that's exactly what we did.
Early in 2024 my partner Robin and I stumbled onto an attic horde of antique toys from the turn of the 20th century.
Packed and stowed away in an attic on Cape Ann since the 1930s, this literal treasure trove sat silently dormant, waiting to light up the lives of two auction house owners (and very active pickers) Walt & Robin (myself and my wife).
We quickly became giddy with excitement, as it was easily one of the best "surprise" hordes we've ever found, which, to my chagrin, we almost missed. Robin spotted the hidden door to the attic, and when I opened it, the only thing I saw as old pipes and debris covering the entrance. It looked so uninviting, that it was the last place I wanted to crawl into! She kept up the cajoling until it was easier just to take a look than deny her logic!
Wow, was I shocked! Almost immediately I found boxes of antique toys,
The toys were wrapped in newspaper from 1937 and it appears most, if not all of them have not been seen since then!
Click here to see an unboxing video of some of this loot!
Since auctions are what we do, we quickly began to catalog them for an absolute auction. By the way, like most of our auctions, this one is an Absolute Auction, meaning that all bids start at $1.00 and all lots sell to the highest bidder, NO MATTER what the bid is!
If you've found this post BEFORE the auction takes place, lucky you! You are in time, and able to bid on what we hope will be 200+ lots. Just click on the red button below.
If you've found this post after the auction, click on the button anyway, it may be fun and/or educational to see what the bid amounts are for each tin treasure.
In-house SHIPPING at reasonable rates, is available throughout the US.
Brand Names Toys:
Marx, Louis Marx, Hubley, Harley Davidson, Kenton, Strauss, Ferdinand Strauss, Gerard, Mobil Gas, Shell Oil, Tyrol, Wyandotte, Tin Toy, Die Cast Toy, Tootsie Toys, Warren Paper Products, Hee Haw, Manoil, Barclay, Alemite, Kenilworth, American Flyer, American Flyer Lines, Ives, Rosebud Art Co, Kingsbury, Kilgore, AC Williams, Dorfan, Fandor, Metalcraft, Keystone, Jaeger, Bing Werke, Allen Ruff Company, Cracker-Jack Tin Toys & more!
Auction Lot Titles
Marx Gas Pump Toy Early Light Up Toy, Ferdinand Strauss Tin Lithograph Toy Jenny The Balking Mule, 1930s Cast Iron Hubley Harley Davidson, Antique Kenton Toys Police Patrol Car With Original Box, 7 Marx Newlyweds Tin Lithograph Toys, 1930s Strauss Red Cap Porter Litho Tin Toy, Pennant Plymouth Rock Felt Flag Covered In Pins, Marx Leaping Lena Tin Toy Old Jalopy, 1930s Girard Stake Red Truck, Marx Toylands Farm Products Milk & Cream Delivery Truck, Metalcraft 1930s Shell Oil Delivery Truck, Rare 1930s Tin Litho Sand Loader Toy Works, Mobil Gas Pegasus Pressed Metal License Plate Toppers, 1930s Tin Litho Wind Up Ship, Hubley Cast Iron Speedboat Baby, Early 1900s Antique Three Horse Cast Iron Fire Brigade Toy, Pressed Steel Cor-cor Toys Transit Bus Ride On Toy, Rare Tydol Engineer Oil Sign Double Sided, 1930s Marx Tin Wind Up Toy Truck, Antique Keystone Hydraulic Dump Truck 28 Long, 1930s Wyandotte Pressed Steel Toy Propellor Airplane Wood Wheels, 1930s Metalcraft Corp Toy Truck Shell Motor Oil (second Example), Antique Kenton Iron Horse Drawn Fire Wagon Carriage Toy In Original Paint, Antique Zeppelin Tin Toy, 1930s Kenton Cast Iron Toy Jaeger Cement Mixer In Original Paint, J. Chein & Co Tin Litho Toy Gasoline Filling Station, 1930s Marx Glendale Depot Train Station Toy, 1920s Bing Werke Deep Sea Diver Toy, 1930s Hubley Cast Iron Toy Giro Plane In Original Yellow Paint, 1930s Marx Litho Metal Royal Van Co Toy Truck, Antique 1920s Or 1930s Peg Baseball Board Game By Parker Brothers, Pair Of 1930s Girard Litho Tin Toys, 1920s Tin Toy Lithograph Easter Bunny Pulling Cart, Two Antique Iron Horse Form Banks And An Iron Toy Dog Figure Maker Unknown, Mickey Mouse Sails For Treasure Island Big Little Book Disney, Vintage 1930s Hand Made Wooden Toy Train Set Maker Unknown Locomotive Etc, 1930s Wyandotte Toys Pressed Steel Stake Truck In Good Paint, Three Incomplete Litho Toys Marx Hee Haw Tricycle Etc, Antique Or 1930s Iron Toy Airplane In Original Red Paint Maker Unknown, Two Hubley Cast Iron Toys 1930s, Large Lot Of 1930s Tootsie Toys Automobiles Trucks Fire Engine Etc, 1930s German Double Horse Team Wooden Pull Toy, Marx Toy Every Job Tractor Set In Original Box From The 1930s, Tin Toy Bank Liberty Penny Bank By Girard Model WKS Inc., Antique 1920s Toy Wooden Bear With Harness, German?, 1930s Toy Built Rite Fort Made By Warren Paper Products Co. Set No. 16, 1930s Kilgore Roadster Iron Toy Car And AC Williams Moving And Storage Van, Vintage 1930s Assorted Cast Iron Toy Lot Royal Stove Hand Truck Ladder Etc., 1915 Ephemera J.F. Kilham Dealer In Automobiles Motor Cycles And Bicycles, Two 1930s Toy Gas Pumps Pressed Steel And Iron One, Antique And Vintage Bicycle Playing Cards Card Game Lot Rook 7s And 8s Double Pinochle Old Maid Etc, 1930s Tin Litho Toy Scales, Tiny Antique 1920s German Muster Train Litho Tin Toy, Pre-war American Flyer 3195 Model Train Toy, The Chucklers Game 1931 Board Game Made By Rosebud Art Co. NY, Japanese Tin Toy Wind Up Bear Mechanical Reading Bear Cubby, 1950s Charleston Chew Promotional Grab Bag, Three 1930s Litho Toys German Wind Up Duck Little Wonder Telephone Teeter Totter, 1930s Hubley Iron Toy Bell Telephone In Original Paint, Hubley Iron Toy Grader And AC Williams Gasoline Tanker Truck Toy, Batch Of Pull Toys And Target Practice Birds, Antique 1920s Arcade Tow Truck In Original Red Paint, Vintage 1930s Marx M-10000 Tin Litho Union Pacific 4 Piece Wind Up Train Set Toy, Vintage And Antique Board Games Including Peg Baseball Bingo Captain Kidd Junior Etc, Rare Ferdinand Strauss Hooligans Hack Tin Toy, Vintage 1930s J. Chein Tin Litho Toy Wind-up Walking Indian Child, Three Antique Little Orphan Annie Big Little Books, Trio Of Antique Childerns Books, 1930s Antique Gibbs Toy Gas Station, Antique Cast Iron Arcade Stake Truck Toy In Red Paint, Barclay Cast Iron Toy Parcel Delivery Motorcycle 1930s In Blue Paint, Cast Metal Antique Zeppelin Toy, Manoil Barclay And Hubley Lot Cast Metal Toys, Two Antique Tydol Engineers Gas License Plate Toppers, 1930s Marx Tin Litho Wind Up Toy Army Truck D-105, Lead Britains Farm And Worker Figurines Toys 15 Plus Pieces, Rare Boxed Monkey Shines Card Game Made By Whitman Pub. Co. 1930s, Antique Or Vintage German Pressed Paper Toy Figures On Stands Santa Cats Black Americana Etc, 1930s Wyandotte Marx 6 Coupe Pressed Metal, Mickey Mouse In Blaggard Castle Big Little Book Disney, 1933 Mickey Mouse The Big Little Book, J. Chein And Co Artillery Truck Dazzle Camouflage, Antique Toy Glass Model T With Paint, Antique American Flyer 236 Vintage Illuminated Crossing, Rare 1920s Kingsbury Plane Tri-motor Tin Litho Windup Airplane, Four 1930s Cast Iron Toys Arcade Wagon Unknown Maker Steam Roller Tricycle And Railroad Car, Rare Vintage Alemite Brigadiers Club License Plate Topper Oil Sign Advertising, Big Lot Of Manoil Barclay Soldier Toys 30 Plus Figures, 1930s Iron Toys Re-painted Arcade Kenton Etc, 1920s/1930s The Ives Railway Lines 550 Train Car, 1930s Cribbage Boards Royal Checkers Set Double 12 Eagle Dominoes Parker Brothers Etc, 20 Plus Antique Cast Metal Farm Animals, Buck Rogers 25th Century AD Big Little Book 1933 Planetoid Plot And Moons Of Saturn, Dayton Friction Sedan Toy Original Paint, Kilgore Cast Iron And Tin Dump Truck Toy From The 1930s, 1930s Wyandotte Metal Toy Truck, 1930s Tin Toy Friction Tow Truck, Lindstrom Tool & Toy Co. Tin Litho American Railway Express Truck In Original Paint With Trailer, 1930s Tin Litho Toys Assorted Lot Parts And Pieces Including Sandy Andy Type Loader, Early Lindstrom Tin Litho Toy Stake Truck 1920s Or 1930s, Dayton Iron Toy Scale Weeden Toy Steam Engine And A Tin Toy Microscope, 1930s Celluloid Animal Toys Lot Of 12, 1920s 1930s Celluloid Toy Animals And Ship Bonzo The Dog, Two 1930s Kenton Toy Iron Driver Figures, 1930s American Flyer Automobile Car 1112, 1920s American Flyer 3011 Electric Train Car Set, 1920s Or 1930s American Flyer Lines Electric Train Coal Car, 1920s American Flyer 1117 Electric Train Car, American Flyer Accessories No. 90 Passenger Station Original Box, Early Fandor Dorfan Metal Trains Made In Germany, Three Tin Litho Toys And Game Pieces Lucky Lindy Flicker Top Unknown Automobile Game Spinner, Vintage 1930s Wyandotte Steel Toy Cork Gun Crank Operated, 1930s Louis Marx & Co Electric Search Light With Original Box, 1930s Marx Number 404 Block Signal With Box, American Flyer Lines Electric Toy Train Accessories, American Flyer Lines 104 Kenilworth Station, Vintage 1930 Metalcraft Toy Train Construction Set No. 981 Incomplete, Tootsie Toy Dairy Car Original Paint, Tootsie Toy Ko Ice Truck, Tootsie Toy Uncle Walt, Tootsie Toy Long Distance Hauling, Tootsie Toy Milk Truck, Tootsie Toy Domaco, Tootsie Toy Mamie, antique mechanical valentines cards,