Lehmann Swing Windup Toy, ca. 1890
Watch
GUEST:
My grandma had it at her house, and she gave it to me.
APPRAISER:
And just kind of passed it down?
GUEST:
Yeah, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
What I like about this, and I find very fascinating, is that we have a little note. Tell me about this.
GUEST:
My grandma left notes with everything she had, so...
APPRAISER:
Really?
GUEST:
It made it real nice when we went through her house.
APPRAISER:
She has the date here of probably when she acquired it...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...Which was in the 1890s, and that it was marked $2.95.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Now, did she have a lot of toys?
GUEST:
No, she didn't, no.
APPRAISER:
And do you know who the manufacturer is?
GUEST:
I know it was made in Germany. Other than that, I don't know.
APPRAISER:
Right. Well, what's wonderful about the piece is that you have the original box, as well, with the label on it. Yeah. And it has the insignia right here, of the company that produced it.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Now, the company that produced it was Lehmann, and it started in about 1881. And it was started by a gentleman, Ernest Lehmann. Wonderful windup, tin-plate manufacturer. And what he did was, he captured the imagination of the life around him. He liked to reproduce tin-plate windup toys, very lightweight, transportation toys-- airplanes, vehicles, people, things like that that captured everyday life. And that your grandmother was able to keep the box, which you hardly ever see-- with the label intact, which I really like-- really makes it significant.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Now, if we look on the piece here, you can see where you would wind this up. Now, do you wind this at all and play with it?
GUEST:
No, I don't, no.
APPRAISER:
Very good, because Lehmann used very simple mechanisms to make the piece work, and if you over-wind it, you will risk damaging it.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
The other thing is, there are very little scratches or any kind of damage on the piece. Now, I sold one of these without the box at auction, and it brought $2,300.
GUEST:
(laughing) You're kidding!
APPRAISER:
And that's without the box, and without this lovely note that gives us an actual date of when this was acquired. I would estimate that this would sell, or could sell at auction in the $3,000 to $4,000 range.
GUEST:
Really?
APPRAISER:
Yes.
GUEST:
(laughs) Oh, my. I had no idea.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. Well, we thank you so much for bringing it in today.
GUEST:
Well, thank you.
APPRAISER:
Thanks a lot.
Appraisal Details
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