Gavels n Paddles

Freedman’s mechanical bank, $174,000, Bertoia Auctions

Recent Auction Results from Near & Far By Ken Hall All prices include the buyer’s premium An original Freedman’s mechanical bank, made circa 1880 by Jerome B. Secor (Bridgeport, Conn.), one of fewer than ten known, sold for…

Nick Boschetto
March 4, 2022

Features

The Emergence of Toys at Auction

by Dick Friz Dr. Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary, published in 1755, defined “toy” as a “petty commodity, a trifle; a thing of no value, a plaything or bauble.” Today, the good Doctor must be spinning in his grave. Toys, of almost…

Collector
July 19, 2016