June 24-26 2016 Premier Toys, Dolls, Marbles & Figural Cast Iron
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/25/2016
Dent Hardware created some of the finest automotive toys during the 1930`s! This company produced toys in cast iron as well as aluminum such as is the case with this example. It was much cheaper to ship aluminum(weight was far less) and they were actually easier to produce however consumers still preferred cast iron over cast aluminum toys. This toy was a replica in miniature form of a real bus that had a route between New York City and Chicago. Interestingly the factory catalog specifies that various vibrant colors were utilized but this specific toy has only been found in orange.. In the 1950`s Colbert Hegarty, an old time bank/toy collector from western Pennsylvania, purchased a large quantity of Dent toys from the Dent factory. These toys had been stored, by Richard Dent before he went off to fight in WW11, on the 2nd floor in one of the three steam ovens that were used to “dry” the paint after they had been painted. More than likely this bus was one of those toys & it still has its original factory sample tag. The bus is in virtually very fine plus - near mint all original condition with a few tiny chips on the black roof, minimal side edge wear and some minimal paint flaking to the tin underside. A great toy in great condition and one should not be put off by the fact that it is aluminum rather than iron.
Item Dimensions: 10" L.