HARRIE VAN DE BOSCH DINKY TOYS COLLECTION SELLS AT VECTIS

An impressive single owner collection went under the hammer at Vectis Auctions this month.The Harrie van de Bosch Dinky Toys Collection sale included 689 lots of amazing toys, and achieved a very credible £75,500 (including buyers premium).

Harrie van de Bosch was born in 1944. During his childhood, shortly after the end of World War Two, Dinky Toys were rather expensive toys, so his parents could not afford to buy them. He never owned Dinky Toys as a child, although he did like them. Much later, when Harrie became a father himself, he bought Matchbox cars for his son and later Corgi Chipperfields models.

In the early 1990s, Harrie met Paul Majoor, a now wellknown Dutch Dinky Toys trader, who sold his collection at Vectis Auctions in 1998. He drew Harrie's attention to the Houten Toy Fair. During his visits there, Harrie was especially impressed by the Dinky Toys for sale. He started visiting other toy fairs as well and bought his first Dinky

Toy, a Citroen Philips Van, at the Koepelbeurs Toy Fair in Raamsdonkveer. From there on, his collecting adventure started.

Harrie's Dinky collection today consists of more than 800 models, mainly boxed, preand post-War models. Items include a pre-War No.12 Postal Set, No.45 Garage and No.48 Petrol Station, all boxed.The complete range of GuyVans including the Guy Warrior Heinz Van, Gift Sets like a Site Building Set or a nice Fun A'hoy Set also appear.Around 120 boxed French Dinky Toys including both Pinder Circus Sets and a rare Dutch ANWB livery CitroenVan round out the line-up.

Top lots on the day included: • Lot No. 396 Dinky Toys GS4 Gift Set "Racing Cars" comprising of 5 x models

(1) Cooper Bristol - green, silver trim, white driver figure & racing number 6; (2) Alfa Romeo - red including ridged hubs with grey treaded tyres, silver trim, white driver figure and racing number 8; (3) Ferrari - blue, yellow nose, racing number 5 and ridged hubs with grey treaded tyres; (4) HWM - pale green, silver trim, white driver figure, yellow racing number 7, midgreen ridged hubs with grey treaded tyres; (5) Maserati - red including ridged hubs with grey treaded tyres, white front flash and racing number 9 black treaded tyres.Excellent to excellent plus, clean bright models with a generally excellent lovely bright example blue and white striped lift off lid presentation box (couple of small marks on side) without inner tray. Estimate: £500£600 Sold for: £1041

• Lot No. 396 - Dinky No.900 "Site Building" Gift Set which includes (1) Euclid Dumper Truck with windows (2) Blaw Knox Bulldozer - Yellow, black rollers and grey blade (tracks have are badly perished); (3) Muir Hill Dumper;(couple of small paint touch-in's), (4) Muir Hill Tractor and (5) Albion Chieftain Cement Mixer - conditions are generally good plus to excellent unless stated in a generally good presentation box - hard issue to find. Estimate: £500-£700 Sold for: £918

• Lot No. 321 French Dinky Toys 882"Pinder" Peugeot 404 & Caravan - Red, yellow, light beige interior, concave hubs & Caravan yellow, red, cream rood and concave hubs - good plus to excellent in a good (slightly grubby) yellow and red carded picture box, inner tray is good plus. Estimate: £280-£360 Sold for: £833.

You can view more lots, and the prices they achieved, in this month's Auction Price Guide,

starting on page 67. ■