40 12th March 2011 toy reports Floating the Forbes boats
Highlights from the Malcolm Forbes collection sold by Sotheby’s New York on December 17. Rock and Graner tinplate boat c.1880, $110,000 (£73,350). Märklin cruise liner, the Lusitania, $160,000 (£106,650).
■ Sotheby’s sell model boat collection of New York publisher
Roland Arkell reports
“TOY boats in the Forbes family were more prized than electric trains or other playthings,” wrote publishing magnate Malcolm Forbes (1919-1990) in the introduction to Toy Boats: 1870-1955, A Pictorial History, 1979. “We were forever sailing them in
nearby brooks and streams and in the summers on lakes and oceans. Not one survived to be part of this collection. But the memory of them and the joy of them account for its formation.” The Malcolm Forbes collection, housed
for 25 years in the Forbes Galleries on 5th Avenue, New York, ranks among the finest collections of tinplate toy boats ever assembled. Alongside the tail end of a famous collection of toy soldiers (more than 100,000 of them, billeted in a Moroccan palace, were dispersed following Forbes’s death) and other toys reflecting the owner’s interest in motorcycling and the game of Monopoly, more than 500 of them were offered in
Märklin steam-powered boat the Priscilla, $55,000 (£36,650) at Bertoia.
180 lots by Sotheby’s New York on December 17. It gives some idea as to the quality
of material on offer, firstly, that Sotheby’s (who sold the Forbes family Fabergé) were asked to conduct the sale and, secondly, that two boats achieved six-figure dollar sums. These included a magnificent toy
from the first generation German tinplate boats in the 1880s. In contrast to the lifelike precision of later models, the style with its exaggerated castle-like gun turret and exotic colouring is much more toy-like and whimsical. Much of the work on this boat (pictured in The Art of the Tin Toy by David Pressland) was done by hand, including the painted rectangular portholes and the side-mounted gun bays, which are pastel pink with trompe l’œil depictions of smoke-filled muzzle explosions. A rear-mounted star-within- star American flag indicates the market for which it was made, while the survival of the original cradle and original clockwork key that measures nearly 12in (30cm) long are icing on the cake. Who made it? For years the quality and
beauty of this boat have led experts to attribute it to Märklin or Lutz, and this is how it was catalogued in the Blair Whitton collection. However, in 1992 two original catalogues from the period 1875-1880
emerged in the antiquarian book trade which indicates that similar boats are the work of probably the oldest manufacturer of tin toys, Rock and Graner. Sotheby’s thought it might bring $150,000-250,000, but the air is thin at the top: it was permitted to sell at $110,000 (£73,350). A 3ft 2in (96cm) four-funnel cruise
liner, fired by an electric (dry cell) motor housed in the hull, was made at the height of the creative genius of the Märklin factory. It appears in the 1909 catalogue as model no. 5050E. With a deck finished in faux wood
planking, it is fitted with a host of elegant and intricate details, including working anchors and chain, a tall foremast fitted with searchlight, over two dozen ventilators of various shapes and sizes, a walkway incorporating a cabin and
domed panel skylight, and a ship’s wheel controlling the rudder bearing the Märklin logo. Adding to the toy’s realism on one hand while stirring the imagination on the other, there is a view of the lower deck made possible by small cutouts in the hull on both sides. However, to date this is the only known
example of this model that carries the iconic name of Lusitania, the upscale ocean liner turned First World War civilian transportation cruiser who made her maiden voyage in 1907. Last on the market in 1983 when it sold at Sotheby’s for $28,600, here it sold within estimate at $160,000 (£106,650), a record for a toy boat at auction. In all, the Forbes toy collection realised
$1.92m, although much more had been mooted before the sale.
Priscilla queen of the waves…
NOTHING ruins tin and paint like water, so it is little surprise that so few water-played tinplate boats survive in anything close to original condition. The premium to be placed upon century-old paint and accessories was seen at Vineland, New Jersey’s Bertoia Auctions on November 12-14 where the exceptional c.1909 Märklin steam-powered boat known as the Priscilla achieved $55,000 (£36,650) against an estimate of $35,000-$45,000. The 19in (58cm) vessel exhibited fine original paint and intact lifeboats, sailor figures and masts – just the sort of elements that are so often missing or replaced. The toy had been discovered many years ago in a Chicago attic and subsequently passed through
the hands of several owners before being acquired by the late Bill Bertoia, co-founder of Bertoia Auctions. “My brother held on to it for many years before selling it to the consignor,” said Rich Bertoia. “It’s
one of those great toys that was never shopped around. Collectors knew about it, but it never came up for sale. Finally it did, and now it’s the property of a private collector in Europe.” By way of comparison, the Forbes collection included a very good, if not outstanding, example of this model in similar paintwork named the St Louis. It sold at $32,500 (£21,650).
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96