All About
Old Toys

Toys for Sale Toy Articles Toy Collections Services & repair Toy Research Toy Catalogs Toy Companies Toy Web Sites Toys Wanted Contact Us Search This Site

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WELCOME TO THE PLACE FOR OLD TOYS

For this site, an old toy is any push, pull, crib, or stand up children's toy made prior to 1945 and made of wood or metal. Most of the toys featured here were made between 1890 and 1935 but we do have pictures and descriptions of toys made up to the 1970s.   Your ALT-Text here

Here you will find toy photos, toy company histories, and online Old Toy Shops where you can buy great old  toys. New information is being added daily. Now we have over 460 pages of toy articles and identification guides with more than 10,000 photos of old toys and old toys catalogs. Most of these articles were written by toy researchers, toy collectors, and family members of the old toy companies. We now have the largest collection of Schoenhut circus photographs on the Web - and the best Humpty Dumpty circus identification guide too.
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We are now getting over 30,000 visitors a month. Thanks to our readers. Let us know what interests you.

You may search this site for your toy or article of interest by clicking on the "Search Site" navigation bar above.

A special announcement: 
Richard Mueller and I have agreed to merge our two Web sites under "All About Old Toys". Richard's site is "Antique Toy Collections" at  http://www.antiquetoycollections.info . He has great guides to over 250 American toy companies.  These company guides are now on this site.

Search All About Old Toys using this Google form:
( Google may return up to 3 paid advertisements followed by the results of its search of this site. )
See http://www.google.com/insidesearch/features.html for search tips.

 

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This page last updated: Monday, January 23, 2012

 

Our Toy Shops

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 Judith Lile's 
Antique Toys
Schoenhut circus and Teddy Roosevelt items bought and sold. Click on my logo to
see my current inventory.


I buy collections.

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I buy individual and collections of old toys 19th century through WWII.  


Click here to see toys I have for sale.

Schoenhut Circus pieces
 For Sale click here
 

 

Restoration Services 
We do restringing and cleaning of the Schoenhut circus, Jaymar, and other wooden toys and dolls. Prices range from $8.00 to $20.00 per item. Contact me for details. We have a list of recommended craftsmen for more extensive restorations. See all of our services here.

 

The Humpty Dumpty Circus

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Join the Schoenhut Collector's Club.
Whether you collect Schoenhut wooden toys, dolls, rolly dollys, or the Humpty Dumpty circus, you'll want to join the Schoenhut Collector's Club and meet other collectors with similar interests. 

 
The next convention will be in St. Petersburg, FL
Oct 5th and 6th, 2012.

 

Featured Articles

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O. Schoenhut Pinn Dolls
We have created a new page devoted to O. Schoenhut great Pinn Dolls ca 1936. See them here.

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Diane's Doll Collection
We have photographed the fabulous Schoenhut doll and toy collection of Diane Dustir. See her collection here.

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European Humpty Dumpty circuses
The popular Schoenhut's Humpty Dumpty circus was copied by several European toy makers. See their story and pictures of these circuses here.

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1931 Toy Catalog
We have scanned all 350 pages of the 1931 Supplee-Biddle Toy Catalog. This amazing catalog shows samples of almost all of the toy types being sold at that time. See this catalog here.

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Wright Dayton Seaplane
Dave Pecota has discovered a remarkable early glider. Read about it here.
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We have updated this very popular article comparing the Schoenhut Humpty Dumpty circus with the early great American circuses. Click here

A Punch and Judy History

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Judith Lile has written a fascinating article about the history of Punch and Judy plays. Read it here.

 

O'Brien's "Collecting Toys" 12th Edition Your ALT-Text here
 is now shipping. Click on the cover at left to buy your copy from Amazon.com. We have an updated chapter on wooden toys in this edition. Karen O'Brien is the editor. There are 792 pages of old toy information. 

Antique Toy Books

 We have a page with our recommended antique toy readings with ordering linksBuy antique toy reference books. to Amazon.com. We hope you will order any toy books you may want through this site as we are an Amazon.com associate and referral fees are used by us to support our wood toy research.

 

 

Schoenhut Toy Price Guide

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A beautifully photographed price guide for the Schoenhut circus is now available for $15 postage paid.
 Click here for details. 

Toy Company Histories and Toy Lists

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Histories
We have histories for over 50 early wooden toy makers.  
Click here for a list.

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Ready to Fly Gliders
Dave Pecota has written a fascinating article on Ready-to-Fly wooden gliders from 1915 to the 1950s. Dave has recently added some new information to his article. This is our most popular article. Read it here.

Wood Trains
Dave has also given us new articles about wood trains Read them here.

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S. A. Smith Co.
Family descendent Sanford A. Smith has written for us a new history of the famous American toy maker S. A. Smith. He has many photos of the old factories, catalog pages of their toys, and photos of toys and other items from his collection. Read his history here.
Click here see other old toy company articles.

 

Collectors and Authors wanted!!
We are looking for other collectors who would like to participate in this Web site. We need photos, price lists, and articles on pre-1950 toy companies.  
Click here for details.

 

Use of Photographs
The photographs in this Web site are protected under domestic and international Copyright laws. We often and generously grant permission for noncommercial use of our own photos. However, many of the photographs herein are not the property of the Web site but are being used with the permission of the owner. 
Please contact Jim at jlsneed2@bellsouth.net concerning any photographs for both commercial and noncommercial uses.

 

Contact Us

* Please contact us anytime as we are always interested your comments and questions.  We will need an e-mail photo of your toy if you want some information about it. 
* We sometimes buy toys or find buyers for your toy or collection. 
* We will do restringing of Schoenhut circus and certain other toys (usually $10.00 - $20.00 each) and some repairs.
 

Click here to E-mail Jim:  JLSNEED2@BELLSOUTH.NET
Be sure to indicate a "Subject:" that is old toy related so we can tell it is not junk email. Emails with no toy-related Subject will not be opened.

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