vintage toys

[Kaela]

I think that one of the coolest things about Our Bygone Era was that it had the neatest toys! While in an antique store the other day, I saw a 1940s water pistol! All metal!! It was the most excited I think I've ever been over a toy! I remember, too, when I was 15 or so, I found a pair of spring-shoes, I don't know any official name, but they had springs in them and tied on to your regular shoes, they had "sprained ankle" written all over them, but I thought they were wonderful fun- no accidents yet! Let's see... the only other "vintage toy" I can think of is that awesome toy gun in "Rebel without a Cause" the little boy had it and screamed "the atomic age!"
Anybody seen some interesting finds out there? I think it might be surprising to see what we come up with...

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

I like electric trains, and have quite a few Lionel and Marx trains going back to the 1930's.

 

[Michael Mallory]

One of my prized posessions is a red rubber Flash Gordon helmet that I acquired when I was something like 18-months old (at least there's a picture of me wearing it then). Whether it was new then or handed down from the 30s I don't know. I can still get it on, too. As a rule I don't, at least not when sober, but I can.

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

vintage toys: record player

though generally try not to make a habit of playing with children's toys, couldn't help it with this one - restored & sounds great (electric motor)

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

Is that a Brunswick record I see?

What sort of player is that anyway? I have never seen one like it before.

 

[Sefton]

That record player doesn't look much like a toy to me. Real swell piece with a nice deco look to it (and it works to boot!) Good find! As for my own toy box: I don't have anything much older than the 1950s (a couple of tin trains that actually belong to my wife). I've got two late 60s G.I. Joes (one's a talking astronaut) and an totally out of control collection of Japanese toys. Go-go-Godzilla!

 

[Angelicious]

When I was younger, a Dutch couple gave my brother and I some puppets. I think they dated from the '50s, and they looked like ones I'd seen in some Hans Christian Anderson story movies of that era. They had grotesque (i.e. over-emphasised "Punch & Judy" type) faces and cotton "sack" bodies. They were quite horrible and unnerving for a small child, but fun!

I just bought my daughter "Candyland" - it's only just become available in NZ. I was disappointed about the illustrations though - they've updated it some time in the last few years (I believe last update was 20 years ago), and pictures are all busy, modern and airbrushed. A pity, considering it's been around for about 55 years.

Some other fantastic vintage toys are Dinky Di - the Fun Ho! toy museum is great if you ever get to New Zealand. I used to have an old, damaged tractor which I think was aluminium (dating it to 1942 - 1970, but since these things are indestructible and mine was falling apart, I would guess closer to '42 than '70) - I wish I knew what happened to it...

 

[Minnesota_Jones]

I'm a huge Lionel Train nut myself. Mainly O Gauge, but I was just out in York PA for the semi-annual train show/sale, and it's the largest in the country. Anyway, I picked up Lionel's 1990 reproduction of the 1930's era Lionel Blue Comet in Standard Gauge. The engine's a monster, about 18 inches long by itself and about 20 pounds. Add the tender and 3 passenger cars, and it's probably about 9 feet in length. The passenger cars even have opening roofs and toilet seats in the cars that lift up, just like the originals. Standard Gauge was always beautiful stuff, all tinplate, very bright enamel colors. And the Blue Comet is probably one of the most beautiful toy trains ever made. I did see a couple original Blue Comets out there in great shape, but I didn't want to spend the $14,000 one guy wanted for it! Now I just have to find a spot to run it in the house.... cuz it won't fit on my O Gauge layout...

 

[DanielJones]

Old toys and childhood memories...

Heck, in my child hood I grew up with my mom's old roller skates. The kind you strap onto your shoes and tighten with a key. They have the metal wheels too. Come to think of it, they may still be around my Pops house in storage somewhere. There were so many toys that I had never thought of as old. They were just around. They either had belonged to my folks, or my older sister. I remember some plastic horses that were a han-me-down from my sister. The looked just like the real horses we had so it made it more fun to play with them. It, sure brings bach great memories thinking about all the old toys.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Big Man]

Lincoln Logs

I grew up playing with my Dad's old Lincoln Logs. I remember they were stored in an old pillow case in the closet under the stairs at my Grandmother's house. There are still some of them left, and they have not changed that much from what you can get today.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Another prewar Lionel fan here, I have an original Flying Yankee streamliner, with a few orig. accessories, as well as some of the newer Lionel Classic & MTH pre war repro tin buildings, (Power station, Switchtower, 126 station & bungalows, etc.)

It's about time to set something up for Christmas soon.

 

[Doh!]

I grew up playing with my Dad's old Lincoln Logs. I remember they were stored in an old pillow case in the closet under the stairs at my Grandmother's house. There are still some of them left, and they have not changed that much from what you can get today.

I had Lincoln Logs when I was a kid, and I still remember making fun of my friend's set because it was newer and the red chimney that came with his was plastic, whereas mine was good, old-fashioned American wood!

 

[Zach R.]

Ah, Lincoln logs, even I grew up with those.

I remember I had like three sets of those big drums of logs and I would make castles almost 4 feet high with them.

My Chimney was plastic too.

 

[WetDog]

One of my boys has buckets and buckets of Lincoln Logs. Builds huge towers and then sics the dog on them. Sort of like Dogzilla.

When I was a kid, at a local auction my Dad won a child-size playset of WW 1 military gear ... probably from the late 50s or so. Came with a metal helmet, old khaki fatigues (no camo, but a jumpsuit), a gas mask, and a wood/metal rifle. Man, did I ever get some use out of that! Terror of the neighborhood! The Kaiser's soldiers were bearing down on our street and it was up to me to stop them.

 

[Lena_Horne]

Some pretty excellent reproduction toys from the Golden Era can be found at the Vermont Country Store.

Their book and games collection is out of this world as well. They even have the old fashioned Candy Land (albeit in special edition tin case) that you might have been looking for Angelicious.

L_H

 

[Lena_Horne]

Some really nice reproduction bicycles can be found here:

http://www.babyride.com/ks-pd16.html

And here:

http://www.babyride.com/aclk.html

L_H

 

[Braxton36]

Lincoln logs and etc.

I was a Lincoln logs lad as well. My chimney was all wood and the roof material had green slats. Guess I'm dating myself. My father's - which has a date of 1926 on the box, has a wooden roof as well in two pieces. I have all of that and my children have even played with it - though they don't think it competes with modern "toys" which are mostly not as much "toys" as "electronics."

During the recent hurricane we drug out my vintage Monopoly and Life games along with some ordinary playing cards of my grandmother's - probably circa 1940. Amazing how some things are timeless. Two months later they're still playing Monopoly and solitaire. I had to explain the add-on "Free Parking" bonanza rule that we adopted. Kids today. They don't know nuthin'.

I also fondly recall a chemistry set and an erector set which dashed forever any proclivities I had for engineering. (I didn't mean to kill the hamster with my newly-designed food supplement. I thought he'd like it! Honest!)

Now where in the hell are my Chinese checkers?

 

[ITG]

Restoration Hardware sometimes has repro style toys and other gadgets.

 

[Lena_Horne]

I've been visiting them for about a year now and I love their selection (although I think it was better last holiday season).

L_H

 

[Tomasso]

FYI

Lincoln Logs were invented in 1916 by John Lloyd Wright, a son of Frank Lloyd Wright. Who knew?!?! [huh]