Reproduction Pull Toys and Bell Toys

[Robert Watrous]

Shown above are some of the cast iron reproduction pull and bell toys and then three of the many wood and paper pull toys that have been recently made in China. The top photo is a reproduction of a Gong Bell 1936 Scrappy Band. Below that is a Bucky Burro reproduction of the Fisher Price toy, and below that is a reproduction of Peg Leg Pete, another Gong Bell toy.

Many cast iron toy reproductions have been made but only a few cast iron bell toys have been reproduced. Most were produced since the 1980s. While cast iron toy reproductions have been commonplace for over twenty years, the paper lithograph over wood pull toys have only recently been reproduced. The reproduction of these toys comes as prices for the originals have gone up, and scanning and photocopying technology has improved. The reproductions are a reflection of the nostalgic appeal of these toys. There are now quite a few reproductions of N N Hill Brass, Fisher Price, Gibbs, Gong Bell Mfg. Co. and other manufacturers' toys on the market.

Other modern toy makers have also copied or reissued classic toys. Fisher Price has reissued many of their classic wood and paper lithographed toys. They have also begun reproducing some other classic pull toys such as All Fair's ABC Giraffe. Schylling produced a reproduction of a Gong Bell Tractor with a farm boy and his dog. (see the picture below) Considering N N Hill also borrowed inspiration from (copied) this toy from Gong Bell (or was it the other way around) this should not be a surprise.

One very ethical seller on eBay thanked me for the information I gave him about the reproductions he had listed and then told me "Some of them come from a home decor manufacturer/distributor called Pacific Spectrum. They are very specific about these items being new, reproductions when they wholesale them at gift shows etc. In addition each is marked with country of origin China and "this is not a toy, for display purposes only"." These markings are rarely found on the toys that are resold on the secondary market. The buyers of these toys that get disapointed when they find out their new treasure is a reproduction may never buy another toy. This hurts the hobby of collecting.

Collectibles, in a recent study, was the area with the most complaints of fraud for internet purchases, and these reproductions are a major reason. Lots of these toys can be found on ebay. In the past ten months I have racked up 95 emails to and from people selling reproduction pull toys on ebay. While many of the reproduction toys being offered on the secondary market are advertised correctly, there are some advertised incorrectly because a seller has found one of these toys at a flea market or tag sale and honestly thought they had an original. Unfortunately there are some sellers that knowingly try to pass these off on unsuspecting buyers as originals.

On eBay one such unethical seller goes by the name Bric-a-brac-Baron. They have been informed numerous times by myself and others that the toys they are selling are reproductions. It's impossible that they did not already know. One can't find so many reproductions at flea markets and tag sales without finding some originals, and they have no originals for sale. After numerous complaints to eBay's fraud department, they have moved their listings out of the antique category, but continue to advertise them with deceptive text, calling them In "pristine condition" insinuating these toys are old. Of course a newly made reproduction toy is in pristine condition, so that text is intentionally misleading. They also write, "Condition: Please view the photos closely as I do not generally deal in toys so I am not familiar with how collectors rate them, this item is as shown. Several ebayers have emailed and said that it appears to be an hand made item. Another Divine Dixie Find From The Bric-A-Brac-Baron!" Saying they generally do not deal in toys is an outright lie. They have many of these reproductions for sale on eBay on any given day. On the day I checked, 9-22-2008, they listed 21 reproduction toys, plus 19 cast iron toy banks, all reproductions. They also write in their listings, "If we know the history of an item it will be stated in the listing, so please do not assume that an item is old unless we state that it IS in our listing." This too is a lie. When we have told them the history of the toys, they have not added it to their listings. They also give the sources of their items as estate sales and flea markets, etc, never mentioning that they buy new items from wholesalers in China. They are one of the worst sellers on eBay. They would threaten or give buyers a bad rating if the buyer was upset with an item. By delaying the shipment, an item would often arrive so late that by the time they found out it was a reproduction it was too late to file a complaint. Because of a few unethical sellers using tactics like his, eBay had to change their rating system to only allow sellers to give buyers positive feedback. The Bric-brac-baron has sold over 7,000 items on eBay, mostly reproductions. How many toys they have sold, I don't know, but I do know of some collectors that were duped by them. On December 11, 2007 Bruce Wescott filed a formal written complaint against the BRIC-A-BRAC-BARON with the Attorney General in Boston Massachusetts, accusing this seller of false and misleading advertising. Recently the Bric a brac Baron modified their listing of some of their toys to read "Thanks to fellow ebayers I have learned that this is most likely an handmade item of some sort."

How to tell the bell toy or pull toy is a reproduction:

For cast iron toys there are a few clues to tell reproductions from originals. Look for screws holding parts together where the originals had solid steel rivets. Look at the wheels. The originals had fine thin castings. The reproduction wheels are much thicker in every way. The other thing to look for is the casting quality. This is difficult for those that have not looked at a lot of iron toys,and it is difficult to discern from photos. The originals were cast using very fine sand which gave the toys a smooth highly detailed finish. The reproductions are much more sandy in feel, and the cast parts often do not retain the details and do not fit well together. Also, if it is a bell toy, look at the bell. The original Gong bell The Acrobats had very fine brass hawk bells. The N N Hill toys had fine steel bells. All of the new bells are stamped steel with a vertical tab. All the original bells had a simple hole at the top, with the staple going through the bell to connect to the jinglet inside the bell. According to the D. Lawless Hardware website "These exclusive faithful reproductions were made in quantities of 600 each in 1985. About half of these were sold at the time, and D. Lawless purchased the balance of the stock. There have been none made since." Despite the claim, they are crude castings and painting compared with the originals. Reproduced were the N N Hill Monkeymobile, Jonah and the Whale, and their Elephant, and Gong Bell's The Acrobats, their Cat and Dog, and Eagle. There is also a swan Chariot and a Punch and Judy. One cast iron and brass tap bell of a kicking mule made by Gong Bell was reproduced. Here are a few links to sites that still sell these reproductions:

http://www.olesmoky.com/p_toys.htm

http://www.veghead.com/iron/misciron.html

http://www.dlawlesshardware.com/catdogliedpu.html

http://search.store.yahoo.net/cgi-bin/nsearch?catalog=dlawlesshardw...

For reproduction wood steel and paper toys there are three major clues to tell these from the originals.. The first clue I notice is that there are pressed steel wheels where there would be wooden ones. Many of these reproductions bell toys have the same style pressed steel wheels, painted to look like they are old. Another clue is screw and nut connections where rivets would have been used. Another clue is the paper pasted on the wood is a photocopy of a used and worn original. The photocopy shows the wear and age. Note that the paper is not worn where it should be. Sometimes these toys are purposely scuffed and rusted to make this more difficult. The paint is often sprayed on the axles which would have been nickel plated originally. One N. N. Hill Roy Rogers reproduction has the figure with the same lithograph on both sides so you can't tell if he's riding forward or backwards! Click on the images listed below for more examples of the reproductions.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Felix-The-Cat-Drummer-Tin-Wood-Pull-Toy_W0QQite...

I hope this helps some people avoid disappointment.

Life is good,
Bob Watrous

[BellToyBoy]

[BellToyBoy]

This is an original Gong Bell Tramp bell toy. The tramp toy is similar to the Acrobats bell toy. It used the same figure. Notice the fine cast iron heart pattern wheels, and the fine character and frame castings. This toy has had the wood bell support replaced and is missing the finial above the bell.

[BellToyBoy]

A seller on ebay helped me with some information about these reproductions. This is the text from ebay seller vintagelinens09:

"Victorian Firemen Bell Ringers Pull Toy

Description

Victorian Firemen Bell Ringers Pull Toy

Dancing Victorian Firemen Bell Toy. These guys seem to be having a little bit too much fun to be Victorian. Bell toys were the most engaging and popular of Victorian toys. Most of the cast iron bell toys were produced between 1890 and 1910 in the Northeastern United States. These exclusive faithful reproductions were made in quantities of 600 each in 1985. About half of these were sold at the time, and There have been none made since. We have sold these on a limited basis to collectors until now. Our stock is not large. Originals sell for thousands of dollars.

Now is your chance to enjoy a little bit of toy history, or to present the most unusual gift to a friend or relative that they will ever receive.

All Cast Iron, measures 8 1/2" x 5" x 8". Pull toy, no movement except for bells when pulled. Men will turn in a circle but must be turned by hand. Not a child's toy by today's standards. For collectors and admirers of the past only."