Hubley Cast Iron Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Parcel-Post Sidecar and a Raymond Loewy Colonial Model 700 Mephisto Bakelite Globe Tube Radio
by Jessica Kosinski
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$1,275 (Bids 63, Bidders 21) RARE Large Antique Hubley Cast Iron Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Parcel-Post Sidecar. Marked Harley Davidson on the tank of this large, circa-1930s Cast Iron Toy Motorcycle was made by Hubley. The motorcycle alone measures 9” long by 5 1/2” tall to the top of the driver’s hat. The 2 1/2” diameter tires are original and complete, but there are a couple of fine, firm shrinkage line, and one tire has a flat spot. Attached to the side is a 5 1/2 long by 2” wide by 4 1/2” tall sidecar marked Parcel Post on the side. The back retains the original lift-up, US door. The driver has some wear to the original paint, and the Harley Davidson on the gas tank is partially worn away from years of taking off and adding the removable driver. … Overall, this rare large Hubley Cast Iron Harley Motorcycle Toy is in very good original condition, and there are no restorations.
$1,275, RARE Large Antique Hubley Cast Iron Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Parcel-Post Sidecar.
JK: Hubley is a huge name in the toy-collecting world, particularly for those who collect cast-iron toys. The first Hubley products were produced after John Hubley founded the company in 1894. Hubley Manufacturing Company was based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Some of the earliest Hubley toys were trolleys and trains made from cast iron. They were unique and interesting because they had moving parts. They were sometimes powered by electricity, but were also often powered by either springs or steam.
Banks, stoves, cap guns, and even dollhouse appliances soon followed. However, by the 1930s, toy vehicles made by the Hubley Manufacturing Company were becoming increasingly popular. Hubley wasn’t just popular for motorcycles like the one above, but also cars, trucks, and tractors. Even so, the motorcycles were clear favorites then and still are today. Many times, they had attached delivery vans like this one with sayings painted on them.
This Hubley motorcycle is in great shape, especially for being almost a century old. The things that attracted 21 bidders to it are most likely the same things that attracted people to it when it was first produced. One of those is the unique beefed-up bulkiness of the molds used to produce the toys made by Hubley. The company’s production process made all of its toys more durable and solid than many other toys of the time period. Another is the intricate paint jobs and detail work that went into making each toy.
It is fairly common for Hubley toys like this one to sell for up to $2,000 or so these days, so the winner of this auction definitely got a deal. However, detachable sidecars and drivers are often misplaced over the years. The fully intact toys obviously tend to sell for higher amounts and attract more prospective buyers. Although some collectors like to buy individual components to try to piece together complete vehicles, too.
$2,390 (Bids 71, Bidders 20) RARE Antique Raymond Loewy Colonial Model 700 Mephisto Bakelite Globe Tube Radio. This auction is for an antique, 1930s, Model 700 New World Globe Tube Bakelite Radio, also known as the “Mephisto.” Measuring 16” tall by 11” in diameter, this radio was designed by Raymond Loewy in 1933 and made by Colonial Radio Co. of New York. This radio is made of brown Bakelite and has a textured gilded map and axis lines on the globe. There is some minor wear to the gold. The base is the speaker, with four cutouts on either side. It still retains its original speaker fabric; however, it is dingy, and both sides are detached at the bottom. This radio still retains the two turning knobs on either side of
the pewter equator axis, as well as the finial at the north pole. The Brown Bakelite World Globe Radio case is in very good condition; however, the wiring is not, so we cannot test it. We opened this radio to show that the inner works are complete, and it includes its original paper label inside. We guarantee this radio is complete; however, it will need to be rewired adequately before working properly once again.
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JK: Some bidders may have been attracted to this radio because it is so unique-looking. Obviously, you don’t see radios shaped like globes every day. However, most bidders were probably more attracted by the Loewy name.
The seller did a great job of describing this radio, but they failed to mention Raymond Loewy, a French-American who started working for Vogue magazine in 1919 as a fashion designer. Later, he switched gears entirely to industrial design, and he did so in a spectacular way. By 1945, he and his five partners were operating the world’s largest industrial design firm. Loewy, who had started out designing such things as an improved copier for Gestetner and a refrigerator for Sears, went on to work on projects ranging from buses to trains with his partners.
Of course, their company, Raymond Loewy Associates, also made many everyday products for individual people. Radios like this one, ballpoint pens, electric shavers, and more were streamlined using his unique vision and sense of style. He is even the one who gave the classic glass Coca-Cola bottle we know and love its unmistakable shape, which is immediately recognizable all over the country and many parts of the world today. That’s why it’s no surprise that this Loewy radio attracted so much attention.
Jessica Kosinski has been a freelance researcher and writer since 2001. She developed a passion for 1980s pre-1980s TV and films as a kid, and she has never grown out of it. Recently, she turned that passion into a retro TV and film blog. Follow along with her at medium.com/@jkos_writing, as she dives deep into the characters, actors, quirks, and trivia that brought us some of the greatest films and shows in TV history and also discusses some of the more obscure films and shows most of us may have forgotten.
