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| Live Auction Talk: Hubley circus wagons |
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| Written by Rosemary McKittrick |
| Friday, 01 May 2009 09:14 |
 It was opening day of the circus on April 22, 1793, and everyone was talking. No one in Philadelphia had seen a circus before. The crowd lined up for blocks waiting to get into one of the largest rooms in the United States. Almost all of the 1,500 seats filled up immediately - except for two at ringside. People soon realized why. Down the aisle came President George Washington and his wife, Martha. Washington bowed as the crowd cheered. "President and Mrs. Washington, ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to present the Ricketts Circus, the biggest show on earth, and the very first circus in these United Stares of America," a man yelled from the floor below. Into the center of the ring galloped a horseback rider with a boy standing on his shoulders. Four turns around the ring and he was gone. The next rider came out and dove through a ring of fire. The next entered the ring riding on his head. The tumblers came next, spinning and diving off the seesaw as the clowns mocked them. Above the crowd the tightrope walker balanced his chair on two legs as he sat reading a book. One by one the acts appeared and disappeared as the audience cheered, chuckled and gasped. The president was so impressed the following day he gave the circus owner Jack, his 28-year-old horse. "I love the animal ... He carried me through many a battle ... He could be part of your show. He is not strong enough to be in your acts. But perhaps people would just like to look at him," Washington said. And so it was. The early circus taught people how to dream and reach beyond the limitations of their small world. Intimate shows-in-the-round, the circus was full of mystery and drama. It was the same place Huckleberry Finn dove under the tent for so he could feast his eyes upon "the splendidest sight that ever was." No surprise circus devotees translate that love into toys. Toys and memories are inescapably linked. Toys are part of our best childhood reminiscences. The emotional tug lasts long after the toy box is gone. No one understood this better than Donald Kaufman. Kaufman, 78, assembled a collection of vintage toys over an almost 60-year period that would make any adult-kid collector drool. No kidding. Talk about focus and a grasp of delicate distinctions. Kaufman's vision was to build the finest toy collection possible. If bidders were voting on this one, then paddles were up in the air on March 19-21 at Bertoia Auctions in Vineland, N.J., as nearly 1,500 of Kaufman's toys went up for sale. His love of cast-iron beauties was obvious. If Kaufman's collection of vintage circus wagons was any indication, I'm betting he still has a warm heart for the dim lights, blaring trumpets and rope-walkers of some big top circus somewhere. Here are current values for Hubley Toys famed Royal Circus line sold from the collection. Cast Iron Circus Wagons (Factory Showroom Samples) Rhino Wagon, seated driver and team of black parade horses, circa 1920s, 16 inches long: $10,350. Calliope Wagon, interior bells and cast organ pipes, organ player, seated driver holding reins to two-horse team, circa 1920s, 16 inches long: $17,250. Giraffe Wagon, giraffe housed in wagon, driver holding reins to two-horse team, 16 1/2inches long: $19,550. Mirrored Van Wagon, depicts angelic trumpeters, seated rooftop driver to two horse team, circa 1920s: $20,700. Band Wagon, driver holding reins to four-horse team, 30 inches long: $29,900. Monkey Cage Wagon, revolving, moneys perched on tree housed within mesh wire cage, driver holding reins to two-horse team, circa 1920s, 16 inches long: $97,750. Rosemary McKittrick has provided information and analysis on thousands of antiques and collectibles sold at auction since her LiveAuctionTalk column started 18 years ago. She received her training in the trenches, as a professional appraiser. Visit her Web site at www.liveauctiontalk.com.
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE 
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| Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 July 2009 14:14 |
Rosemary McKittrick has provided information and analysis on thousands of antiques and collectibles sold at auction since her LiveAuctionTalk column started 18 years ago. She received her training in the trenches, as a professional appraiser. Visit her Web site at 
