The Power of Nostalgia
5 OCTOBER 2020
The place of antique teddy bears and dolls in the antiques market.
Poppy McKenzie Smith
Poppy McKenzie Smith writes for The Telegraph about old, fast cars and spends most of her time at auctions encouraging other people to buy them. In 2018, she was involved in the sale of a 1961 Aston Martin which became the most expensive British car ever sold in Europe.
A German clown teddy bear, probably Jopi, 1920s.
Image courtesy of Daniel Agnew.
There are few happier childhood moments than tearing the wrapping from a present and realising that your endless hints about this year’s must-have toy have been noted. Such excitement is sadly rarely matched later in life as we enter adulthood, and gifts take on a more practical bent. In place of a grappling hook Action Man you are now more likely to be presented with a new ironing board, and the latest scalextric set has somehow morphed into some new tiles for the bathroom.
Indeed by their mid-teens, most people have accepted that their toybox days are behind them and begin to seek pleasure elsewhere. However, there is a growing community of adults who refuse to lock up their miniature garages and dolls houses for good.
Across the globe, toy collectors of all ages and backgrounds are united by their love of rare and interesting playthings and their desire to procure them. The subsections of toy collecting are myriad, ranging from porcelain dolls and tiny tea sets to mechanised motorcycles and talking teddy bears. Far from being child’s play, particularly rare toys can command prices more commonly associated with fine art or jewellery, and the most ardent collectors will willingly fly across the world to secure an important piece.
To an uninformed outsider, this seemingly juvenile passion is baffling. Most people can appreciate the hefty price tag of a spectacular Monet or a thundering Porsche 550, but would balk at the idea of paying thousands of pounds for a pristine set of Victorian tin soldiers or a one-off model Spitfire. Yet their value stems from the same three principles as any collectable item: rarity, beauty and condition. If a particularly important racing car can ‘spark joy’ to the tune of a million dollars, then why not a treasured child’s toy?
In fact, such prices are already being commanded by toys, games, and children’s entertainments. In 2014, pannapictagrapists scrambled to bid on a 1938 copy of Action Comics No.1, the first comic book to ever feature Superman and one of only 50 in existence. It eventually achieved $3.2 million at auction making it the most expensive comic book ever sold. At the time of publication, it would have cost its eager young readers no more than 10c.
A Chad Valley 'Buttons' pantomime toy 1930s.
Image courtesy of Daniel Agnew.
Teddy bears, collected by arctophiles, have similarly joined the ranks of ultra valuable objects more traditionally found in the nursery than the saleroom. In 2017, a financier accused of fraud was forced to surrender his assets, including his treasured collection of rare Steiff teddy bears which was sold for just over $1.7 million.
While it is perhaps easier for the uninitiated to understand a compulsion to collect amiable looking teddy bears, it is somewhat more difficult to extend this to plangonology, or the collection of dolls. Despite their slightly sinister reputation in popular culture, porcelain dolls remain one of the most valuable collectable toys. Kämmer & Reinhardt, a German doll producer between 1886 and 1932, is the most revered name in the market, and the only known example of their Life-Like Doll last sold for $400,000. The price achieved is perhaps reflective of its rarity and condition rather than its visual appeal.
Yet beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and putting aside personal aesthetic preferences, it is easy to see why antique toy collecting makes financial sense. Pieces that were originally worth pennies are now achieving six and seven figure sums, a value increase that puts the margins on antique silver, furniture, and fine art to shame.
However, as any true collector knows, financial gain should only be considered an added bonus if you choose to part with your assemblage. So what is it that draws toy lovers to the model cars, antique board games and wind-up animals that line shelves and populate glass cabinets across the world?
A Meir (German) Penny Toy horse on wheels, 1910.
Image courtesy of Daniel Agnew.
Nostalgia plays an obvious but fundamental role. Childhood is, or ought to be, a time of carefree bliss, and the toys and games of our youth provide a physical link to the happiest times of our lives. Toy collectors aim to rediscover that profound joy by acquiring the best and rarest examples of their most adored childhood possessions, objects that existed purely for amusement. While a handsome antique hatstand can bring a room together, or an elegant silver dinner service can spark conversation at supper, they remain functional items which happen to be beautiful. Toys, on the other hand, were created solely to delight.
If one particular toy brought you hours of fun as a child, why would you not seek to amass more? A typical frustration of the average child is a lack of disposable income and parental control, and with both of these worries typically dispensed with by adulthood, there is nothing to stop you from filling your house with toys that bring you nothing but pleasure.
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