What gems has Oz uncovered this month on his travels?
Our monthly gaze into the weird but wonderful world of collector/dealer Obsolete Oz. Buying and selling since the 1970s, Oz has developed a great knack for unearthing some amazing finds from flea markets, antique fairs, car boot sales, rubbish skips and e
Hi folks! The last few months have reminded me of a line in that classic Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi: ‘Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone’. That’s certainly been the sentiments of most of us in the collecting world recently. I never imagined I would miss our little world so much. With no toy fairs, collectors markets, antique fairs, antique centres or car boot sales to explore we have been left to reflect on how important they all are to us. As was not being able to get down to the local to have a pint or two and exchange a bit of banter with the lads! Thankfully though we are now back up and running and what a tonic that has been.
The first few events I have been to since restrictions were lifted have gleaned some nice bits and bobs and it’s just been great getting back to bagging a few bargains and entering into a bit of haggling with fellow traders and collectors’ once again. Let’s hope that we have now seen the end of Lockdowns for good.
The big IACF fair at Newark proved a particularly good hunting ground for toys, which came along at some very reasonable prices. They included a nice green plastic friction drive London Routemaster carrying adverts for ESSO and Embassy cigarettes respectively. It’s a nicely proportioned toy with good detail and proper rubber tyres and almost certainly would originally have had a box which has long since gone. It was made in Hong Kong by Telsalada and was a great buy for a fiver.
Plastic was plentiful at the Newark Showground and another nice old toy came along in the shape of a FROG Penguin Maserati racing car still with its original box which was bagged for fifteen quid. This was the first of a series of models which were powered by an elastic band - which was still in place and ready to wind, although I did resist trying it as I know the perils of tampering with old toys all too well!
Memories of England’s fine victory over West Germany in the World Cup Final of 1966 came flooding back with a World Cup Willie stuffed toy that might well have been made by Chad Valley. I have had a few of these over the years in varying conditions and they are hugely popular with doll colletors’ and football fans alike. Hence I didn’t hesitate at snapping him up for twenty quid… another nice bargain!
An unusual find for a couple of quid at the first boot sale I went to this year was a glass ash tray showing a 3-ton British Road Services delivery van of the type they affectionately nicknamed the ‘Noddy Van’. These 600cu capacity workhorses were specially designed by BMC and supplied to British Road Services in the late 1950s. I’d not come across one of these BRS ashtray’s before so I’d imagine they are fairly uncommon. Now all I need to do is find someone who owns a Noddy Van, or collects Noddy Van memorabilia – wish me luck!
One of my best recent finds was a pre-War Dinky army truck which was bagged for the princely sum of a fiver – yes I said a fiver! It was lying in a large box of mixed Dinkies but I soon recognised the tell-tale signs of its early origins not least by the smooth wheel hubs and rock hard tyres. It still has the tinplate insert for the soldiers but sadly the driver has lost his head! Still a good pick-up for a fiver.
Still on the subject of army lorries a Corgi Bedford QLD lime spreader sold for a tenner without its original box. You usually only find the QLD in military livery so it was great to see Corgi create this post-War version of an exmilitary truck turned to civilian use, spreading lime on the land in Somerset. It was part of the Corgi Road Transport Heritage series.
Another unboxed Corgi Toy toy to find a new owner was a Massey Ferguson 165 multipower tractor, unboxed but in very good condition. It was snapped up for fifteen pounds by a young lad keen to build up a nice tractor collection.
Keeping on the subject of diecast a rare little gas cooker, made in the late 1940s, was quickly snapped up for a tenner by an avid collector of dolls house furniture.
Nice old tins are getting harder and harder to find these days and the more unusual ones sell quickly. A good decorative mathematical instrument set, with its original contents, didn’t hang around for long and was bought for twenty quid.
Last, but certainly not least, was a 45rpm record by the great Roger Moore with a nice picture sleeve. The track was from the film Where Does Love Go which was released in 1965. Mr Moore has quite a following on the collecting scene and this disc was snapped up for four quid by a lady with one of the largest collections of Roger Moore memorabilia in Britain.
Well that’s about it for this month folks. We are back up and running again at last so may I wish you all safe and happy hunting wherever you go… and be lucky!