Christmas is Coming Early to Pook & Pook

DOWNINGTON, PA — Pook & Pook is getting ready to help Santa and his elves again this holiday season.

Passionate toy collectors have eagerly been awaiting the next Antique Toy Auction with acclaimed antique toy expert Noel Barrett. Tucked between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the upcoming auction will be at 9 am EST on Friday, December 4, as a live salesroom event at the auction house’s gallery at 463 E. Lancaster Avenue in Downington. There will also be phone, absentee, and internet bidding and reservations are required.

As is typical, this Christmas toy sale is diverse in its offerings, presenting various collections from across the country. Numerous German composition Belsnickel candy containers, German Father Christmas toys, and ornaments abound. There won’t be an Elf on a Shelf, but how about an elf on a reindeer? Or a special Dresden Santa with a sack of toys and a feather tree that is estimated at $600-$900? Another top Yuletide piece is a figural milk glass Santa Claus miniature oil lamp from the late 19th century, with an estimate of $1,200-$1,600.

Spun cotton figural ornaments include a hiker, Geisha girl, and the Three Musketeers, and if you don’t want the trouble of decorating your own tree, pick one of the seven fully ornamented feather trees in the sale ranging from a charming eleven-inch blue tree to a six-foot tree decorated with well over 60 early glass ornaments. Another tree that’s three-and-a-half feet has over 50 Santas on its limbs, while another one that’s nearly six feet sports over 50 painted angles.

A perfect toy for under a fairly large tree is a Schoenhut Humpty Dumpty circus with a full contingent of performers and animals under the tent. Two much earlier animated clockwork figures rounding out the circus lots on offer are a striding leopard measuring a fearsome 26” long and a slightly more friendly looking tiger atop a wooden ball advertising Hagenback circus – both key-wind with nodding head action.

Also bringing the whimsy of Christmas past is a Noah’s ark with countless critters on board, two by two. Toys for well-behaved little boys and girls include a fully outfitted school room with a teacher and seven book-covered desks, and for the well-behaved chef is an astoundingly detailed German-made stove in heavy steel furnished with more than a dozen brightly polished copper accessories.

No toy sale is complete without a grouping of trains, and this auction includes a Lionel Blue Comet, a Carpenter cast iron floor toy and a scarce Beggs-style loco and tender, style #2 by Garlick, who worked for Beggs.

Pressed steel is also a must in a well-rounded toy auction and more than twenty will be offered including items by all the great makers of Buddy L, Kelmet, Sturditoy, etc. One of the highlights is a Keystone ambulance in the original box.

The highlight of the aeronautical toy collection of the late Harry Nowak is a Kenton Flying Boat with “FOKKER” lettering on the wings and nickel-plated wing-tip pontoons. Kenton’s unlettered version of this toy is scarce and possibly a new find.

Always popular when they turn up at an auction are Baranger motions, colorful and cleverly electric animated window displays that were rented to small-town jewelry stores from the 1940s to ’60s. There are five of them in this auction, the highlight of which is a lovebird carnival display featuring a placard that reads, “You can be her Love Bird - Buy that Diamond Now.”

The Pook & Barrett team anticipates high interest in this sale and tremendous interest from internet bidders. To encourage easy access for cyberspace bidders, online bidding will be offered on two separate bidding platforms, including Bidsquare and LiveAuctioneers, as well as in-house absentee, live, and phone bidding.

Prior to the auction, gallery exhibitions, by appointment, will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. EST Tuesday, Dec. 1, Wednesday, Dec. 2, and Thursday, Dec. 3; and 8-9 a.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 4. 

For more information and to see more lots, visit pookandpook.com.