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Michael Litvack's
Toy Cars and Trucks
| Little boys collect.
Little boys grow up to be big boys... And they still collect. Ask a thousand
people, and a thousand answers will spew out. In my case, collecting toys
was simply an off shoot of collecting, period. In the late 50's, I inherited
about 20 Big Band 78's from a soldier uncle of mine, who felt his youth
had been lost overseas. I loved what I heard, and started buying used record
at 10 cents a piece, then by the pound, cutting out the need to count each
record... and I was on my way. No Buddy Holly, no Beatles, no rock and
roll...just swing, and the history that went with it! In University, my
degrees were in history, and I found that music reflected the changing
attitudes and mores of the decades. With my first house, came space, and
how to fill it. The cheapest way was with used/junk/pseudo antique furniture.
Room after room was filled up with Victorian, Jacobean, deco...whatever
I could buy, refinish, and sometimes sell. This lead to touring antique
shops and welfare stores, always learning as I went. Records lead to Gramophones
and Victrolas, and into radios; wood, bakelite, Tombstones, waterfalls.
Somewhere along the way, toy trucks caught my eye in the antique shops.
Prices were sky high, and the demand far exceeded the supply. These were
used as "décor" pieces to highlight a hutch, a golden oak bookcase,
or just as a conversation piece. I had to have one, too. A Lincoln sand
truck from the late forties was my first. The type that I didn't have as
a little boy, but now could. A second came along, and 2 looked great on
a shelf...but three would look even better! As a child, toys were scarce.
but big cars were everywhere. The late 40's saw the explosion in design,
and a rebirth in car and truck numbers. I fell in love with cars then,
knowing every model and style. Toys just filled in the gap in the wanting
and having. When I began to paint, my wife suggested that I put a car into
every painting: to make it easy to recognize one of my works...a car or
a bicycle, and so I've done it. Toy collecting allows a person to dream
and imagine the history of each piece: my cars are not perfect, no 10's,
just the culmination of many children's hands pushing them across a hardwood
floor. Many of my buys have separate stories attached, but...that’s another
story.
Michael Litvack |
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When I saw a few pictures of Michael's collection
I just had to write this page.
The toys shown are just a small sample of the total
collection. I hope you enjoy looking at these as much as I did before writing
the page.
John |
Not only does Michael
collect toy cars and trucks, he collects almost anything that he can.
This picture is a 1905
Dining room with all the decorative pieces to match the time frame... |
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| For
those interested in TOY CARS, let me explain how and why I divided the
vehicles into 4 separate categories. Everyone knows of Tonka, Hot Wheels,
Matchbox, Corgi, Majorette, amongst others. For example brand names such
as Coca Cola,( the leader in historical toys), the various oil companies,
such as Shell, Esso, Fina, know how important it is to introduce
brand loyalty at a young consumer. Toys are a big business: only recently
it was revealed that Mattel produced more "vehicles" than General Motors,
and made a lot more money in the process. In collecting, brand identification
with logos result in the toy being more valuable than a plain steel façade.
This name recognition multiplies the value if 2 key features are combined...eg.
Coca Cola Trucks and the Olympics, as there are collectors for both
categories. All this now brings me to my 4 categories. Other collectors
may adhere to just one of the four groups, or to just one advertised company...but
that is what makes life interesting, and opens up the world of trading
and exchanging.
Diecast
The
process of pouring hot metal into a die to make a casting will result
in a simple shape without great detail. Dinky was one of the first commercial
companies that featured Miniatures in 1933. These cars and trucks were
to be accessories for the model railroad displays, The body was riveted
on to a chassis which also held the bumpers. Tires and wheels were separate
components. Lights, chrome trim were painted on to the one-piece body.
Matchbox, Corgi, amongst others joined the parade, with Hot Wheels taking
over leadership gradually in the late 1960's. Most of the present Diecast
are plastic , with the detailing mostly done with decals and stickers.
The scale can vary depending upon the manufacturer, with the size ranging
from 3/4 inch to 6 inches.
Tootsie
toys of Chicago,one of United States' first companies, produced tiny vehicles
about one inch. In the picture section, look for 2 very small steel cast
cars
produced in the 1940’s as a gift surprise for Cracker Jack popcorn.
Pressed
Steel
These
are the giants of the toy world. Strips of metal are bent into various
shapes, just like the real, full size cars. They are then welded, screwed,
or riveted to form the body. Of the car or truck. The metal parts, once
assembled,are either dip painted or spray painted, bringing reality to
the piece. On the giant tractors and trailors, advertising for various
companies are silk screened or applied with vinyl signage. The older cars
and trucks of this sort also had people and windows stamped on the
appropriate locations. Germany and Japan were leaders in this field, with
the earliest examples demanding a high price.The Minnitoy Company of Canada
produced oil tankers that were strong enough to hold a child, measuring
up to 30 inches long. The best known examples of this category are Lincoln,
Tonka, Buddy L, and Structo. Tonka derived its name from a town in Minnesota
called Lake Minnetonka: beginning as a toy garden producer, production
was shifted to a few trucks and steam shovels, gradually evolving into
the company we know today. Oil companies with their tankers, are
highly collectible with the petrolia fans.
Models
Models
are the easiest to describe. If the car or truck looks real; if the wheels
turn, if doors open and shut, trunk and hood open, it is a model. Depending
on the size, anywhere from 4 inches to 20 inches, detail may vary with
100's of parts carefully assembled. Dash board and movable steering add
to the charm and mystique. Paint is professionally applied, with waxing
if necessary. Tires are real rubber and free rolling; identifiable names
are just like the real thing. Too bad, but these are not for children's
play. Some of the higher end scale models have operating engines. Ertl
began as a sample company to show farm equiptment by travelling salesmen.
Gradually, these "working models" grew into an exacting line of cars, trucks,
tractors.
Odds
and Sods
This
is the category that I have the most fun with. These are the orphans of
the toyworld. Wooden, hand made trucks evoking a more simpler age of mass
production. Unique packaging such as the tinplate French cookie box, complete
with lithographed passengers. The brass and copper firetruck that plays,
Cole Porter's , "Smoke gets in Your Eyes".
While
the ladder raises and drops, The Coca Cola racer made of empty cans. The
Third World wooden trucks, the Disney characters with the early Muppets.
Motorcycles and hubcaps...anything and everything based on the automobile
industry. Soon a separate page of car painting situations done in my own
pseudo-naïve style will follow. Nothing in life is perfect, and we
just plod along for the ride. Collecting gives us that challenge; to find
that special toy, and then, on to the next ! |
Now lets have a look at the toys.
Click on one of the links
below to view that category of toys
as explained above
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