Vintage Toys & Models Find New Homes for Christmas

The market for Toys, Models, Collectables and Sporting Memorabilia at auction remains very buoyant, as proved by Tennants Auctioneers’ specialist sale on 9^th December. The diverse 672-lot sale achieved a remarkable 97% sold rate, with a total hammer price of £112,720 – well above the pre-sale estimate.

The top lot of the sale was a Bing Live Steam Horse Drawn Fire Engine, hand-painted in red. Measuring 28cm high, the engine beat its £400-600 estimate to sell for £3,500 (all figures quoted exclude buyer’s premium).

Tinplate toys performed particularly well, topped by a CIJ P2 Alfa Romeo in cream which sold for £3,000. Also selling strongly against estimate were a Josef Neuhierl Furth (JNF) clockwork Auto Union Racing Car in silver, which sold for £1,600, a Meccano No.2 Constructor Car, which sold for £900, and a Meccano Non-Constructor Car, which sold for £800. A rare Hornby Speedboat No.1 modelled as a duck sold well too, with a hammer price of £750.

A rare Apollo Moonwalkers Framed Autograph Montage consisting of autographs of the twelve astronauts who walked on the moon sold for £2,300. Included were the signatures of Neil Armstrong, written on an Apollo 11 envelope franked ‘Patrick Air Force Base Jul 24 1969’, and Buzz Aldrin. The lot was sold with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Four lots of French Railway Posters attracted a good deal of attention, too. The top lot being a group of three posters advertising destinations in Avignon, Saint-Flour and St Lunaire and Longchamp, which sold for £750 against an estimate of £80-120.

Entries are now being accepted for the next Toys, Models, Collectables and Sporting Sale on 16^th April.

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