Stockton-on-Tees

The importance of an original box in good condition to the value of a toy is well known. But what about a display without any toy in sight, box or no box?

The Doll & Bears Sale at Vectis (20.83% buyer’s premium) in Stockton-on-Tees included this rare Disney Donald Duck from the 1930s.

Although Gallipoli in the Great War became a defining moment in Australian nationhood and identity, the second Boer War from 1899-1902 featured the first-large scale involvement of troops from Down Under.

Showing little sign of their huge popularity slowing down, Star War figures made a significant contribution to a two-day TV and film-related auction.

Forget names such as Palitoy, Britains, Dinky, Sindy, Bing and Marklin for a moment – recent auctions have shown the demand that can exist for lesser-known manufacturers and brands in the toys world.

This Japanese ‘Super Car’ tinplate vehicle is an unlicensed model, probably based on the Supercar vehicle from Gerry Anderson’s 1960s UK television series.

To mark the new range of Star Wars toys that came with the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983, the Leicester firm Palitoy commissioned a series of hand-built and hand-painted store displays to send to some of its best retailers.

For most enthusiasts of Airfix’s plastic construction kits, it was the company’s dramatic box artwork that caught the eye when choosing the next model to make.

Considering that W Britain began making his revolutionary hollowcast toy soldiers only in 1893, a set dating from just three years later certainly deserves the tag ‘early’.