Bertoia’s Nov. 22-23 auction welcomes holiday season with pedigreed antique toys, trains and banks of superlative quality

Featured: Stunning Marklin Oceanliner Amerika, $80K-$120K; newly discovered Ives Cutter Sleigh with rare original figure, $50K-$100; Bill Becker’s Issmayer trains, Ron Sieling’s cast iron toys & trains

VINELAND, N.J. – No other collector-focused event embraces the arrival of the holiday season with as much spirit as Bertoia’s Annual Fall Auction, which will be held this year on November 22 and 23. Collectors know they can count on the Bertoia family’s final antique toy sale of the year to include rare and exquisite pieces from decades-old collections. 

The auction’s long list of featured collections is crowned by Ron Sieling’s ultra-rare Vindex and other cast-iron automotive toys; Bill Becker’s fine Issmayer trains and stations; cast-iron floor trains from the Rick Ralston and Cantey Johnson collections; and Bob and Dee Vicic’s still banks. Additionally, there are European tin, Lehmann and comic character toys; German boats, delightful penny toys, and the final offering of spelter banks from the Jim & Genia Willett collection. Blue-chip provenance underscores the impressive auction trove, which is backed by a who’s who of past owners that includes Donald Kaufman, Dick Ford, Fred MacAdam, Bill and Lillian Gottschalk; as well as other visionaries who were active during the golden era of toy collecting.  

The Ron Sieling collection reflects 50 years of careful acquisition and is represented in 300-400 lots of cast-iron automotive and tin toys plus another 40 lots of mechanical banks. Especially prized amongst the cast-iron vehicles are Sieling’s half-dozen original Vindex showroom samples with original paper tags, including a Henderson motorcycle with sidecar formerly owned by Dick Ford and Fred MacAdam. It is entered in the sale with an $8,000-$12,000 estimate.  

The factory-samples grouping is one of only two known complete sets of its type. As Sieling noted, “All are full-size toys that a Vindex salesman would have carried in a case. Vindex toys are very rare because the manufacturer was only in business for three years before the Depression put them out of business.” The cherished samples are flanked by dozens of other unplayed-with, mint-condition cast-iron vehicles. 

Horse-drawn cast-iron toys include Pratt & Letchworth and oversize productions, as well as a few classic Hubley brakes (two-, three- and four-seat variations), but setting the pace for the category is a handsome Ives Cutter Sleigh with its extremely rare original factory figure. Until its discovery in a Virginia residence in 2023, only one other Ives Cutter Sleigh with its original figure had ever been documented, and that was the one famously owned by early American toy collector LC “Covert” Hegarty (1902-1968). Sure to deliver excitement to the Saturday session, the 21-inch-long sleigh consigned to Bertioa’s is expected to dash away for $50,000-$100,000.

The selection of cast-iron mechanical banks includes a Darktown Battery, Professor Pug Frog, Dentist, Panorama, and an Atlas bank with paper globe that is one of the nicest ever to reach the marketplace. Nearly all mechanicals entered in the sale are graded Pristine to Near-Mint. And speaking of condition, it would be a challenge to find fault with the Shepard Hardware Jonah and the Whale bank estimated at $10,000-$15,000. Its rich colors and crisp casting truly must be seen to be believed. 

Figural cast-iron doorstop collectors will have their pick of rare and expertly-curated pieces. November highlights include a three-dimensional 12.5-inch Hubley Giraffe, $6,000-$8,000; and an all-original Uncle Sam produced with the words ‘FOR THE OPEN DOOR’ stenciled on its base, a reference to America’s “Open Door” trade policy with China. Estimate; $6,000-$10,000

The Bob and Dee Vicic collection of cast-iron still banks was established in 1969 and grew to include a great variety of forms, e.g., figures, animals and buildings, with the common thread being color and visual appeal. One of their great favorites is an AC Williams’ arch-top auto with passengers that took the couple 20 years to track down. Its auction estimate is $1,000-$1,500. Two Arcade Taxi Cab still banks – one in dark green/black and the other in orange/black – are similarly estimated at $1,000-$1,500. In addition to the Vicics’ many rare and choice banks, the sale includes the final installment of Jim and Genia Willett’s German spelter banks.

The November auction will present the extensive Bill Becker collection of Issmayer trains and train stations. Exhibiting high condition throughout and boasting numerous published examples, the Becker collection easily warrants the description of “world class.” Several of Becker’s trains were photographed for inclusion in highly-regarded British reference books about Issmayer. 

The fall auction will also formally introduce the Lionel train and trolley collection of the late Bradley Kaplan, a well-liked and highly respected member of the Train Collectors Association (TCA) who was known for buying only the very best. One of the fine, early trolleys that took pride of place in Brad’s collection is a boxed Lionel No. 1 with its original “people catcher.” Displaying the sort of primitive charm so appealing to collectors, its sides are marked No. 1 Electric Rapid Transit No. 1. The 9.5-inch trolley in excellent condition could ring the auction bell in the $4,000-$7,000 range. In addition, the category features cast-iron trains from the Rick Ralston and Cantey Johnson collections, including productions by Carpenter, Kenton, Secor and Wilkins. 

Fans of top-shelf German-made Marklin trains are always on the lookout for railroad cars with eye-catching advertising on their sides. In their November auction, Bertoia’s answers the demand with an all-original O gauge car advertising “Schlitz The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous.” In excellent condition, this colorful piece has a long family provenance and has been consigned by a grandson of its original Midwest USA owner. Estimate: $8,000-$12,000

Pressed steel devotees can look forward to bidding on scarce SturdiToy, Buddy ‘L’ and boxed Smith-Miller vehicles. Two excellent American National Packards – one of them being the incredible ex-Donald Kaufman Fire Chief car, estimate $10,000-$15,000 – round out the category in high style. 

Antique and vintage tin toys of every imaginable type will be offered, including Japanese battery-operated robots and space toys. A boxed Nomura battery-operated Walking Batman with an illuminating face will stride across the auction block in Near-Mint condition. Estimate: $6,000-$10,000 

European productions include German-made Lehmanns (Lo-Li, Primus roller skater, etc), automotive toys, windup motorcycles and early German boats. A spectacular early-20th-century Marklin Oceanliner Amerika, a four-funnel, clockwork-powered tin vessel in unimpeachable condition, retains its original lifeboats, masts and upper-deck appointments. A stately 38 inches long, it carries an $80,000-$120,000 estimate. 

Desired by collectors of both German automotive and Christmas antiques, a Tippco lithographed tin windup Santa Claus Driving Auto is in bright, all-original condition and decorated with wonderful graphics of Christmas toys. The 12.5-inch-long convertible in Pristine to Near-Mint condition was formerly in the Curtis and Linda Smith collection. Estimate: $20,000-$40,000

Bertoia’s Friday/Saturday November 22-23 Annual Fall Auction will take place at the company’s spacious gallery located at 2141 DeMarco Drive, Vineland, NJ 08360. Start time: 10 a.m. ET each day. Bid absentee, by phone, or live online through Bertoia Live or LiveAuctioneers. An open preview will be held daily during normal business hours during the week prior to the sale. Preview privately by appointment only. For additional information on any item in the auction, to organize a private preview or to reserve a phone line for bidding, please call +1 856-692-1881 or email [email protected]. 

Michael Bertoia, welcomes the opportunity to discuss the consignment process with collectors, whether they wish to auction a single piece or entire collection. All enquiries are kept strictly confidential and there is never an obligation to consign. Visit Bertoia’s online at www.bertoiaauctions.com.