Auction Finds - Children's Edition (I think?!)

People love to collect vintage toys, as it reminds them of their childhood. This is where the power of physical objects can't be denied. If we hold something, or look at it, and it evokes a feeling...say of comfort, happiness or innocence, it is priceless. However, there is one item I've shared here that I find disturbing...(though it was quick to sell.)

What better way is there to introduce your children to betting on the horses?!!!

I find Black Peter kind of lewd and disturbing. Is this because of the pedogate atmosphere now? I'm not sure, to me it looks wrong, even for the time. It does NOT evoke a more innocent era and child abuse is not just a symptom of our current times. The characters all look rather sneaky and horrible too!!!

This pack of playing cards is a LOT better. Playing cards, as a collectible genre, are really popular, and can be worth a lot of money.

These Paterson Blick Instant Picture books are worth a fortune if you find them new and in their packaging, but even partly used they are worth a couple of dollars. I saw a brand new (but vintage) one titled The Battle of Britain selling for $4000!!! Unfortunately, kids would use these rubdown stickers to decorate furniture, walls and built-in cupboards (I may even have been responsible for some myself) and they are hell to remove!!!

Scalextric, ever collectible, an ultra sell-able. The pieces are very easy to price if you take a quick tour through ebay, or related sites.

Vintage train sets are even more collectible. I would say they might be one of the most popular toy categories to own, and passion for the pieces run high, which translates into value. The trains pictured above are NOT collectible. Many bookshops run series like these, where you a buy a magazine, with a piece of a collectible set. Possibly a few of these magazine sets might become future collectibles, but the majority won't. I do try and sell these pieces when they are still in their packaging, in the hopes that someone started collecting a set, but never completed it, but it is pretty hit and miss.

Old school readers. For me they are very evocative. What struck me is the massive difference there is in the type of reading material provided to children, in a relatively few years. From the pictures you can see these books were used in government schools from the 1920's right through to the 1980's. I remember reading material like this, and I finished school in 1989. I think technology has changed our world so much, that the material in these books would be totally unrelatable to today's children. If I look at what is available to my children, it seems to lack nuance and subtlety, maybe cartoon-like images and story lines are needed to keep their attention? I am not one of those who say the past was better, who knows if it was? But it is definitely different, and I think the differences will be even greater with the next generation, as the pace of technological advancement speeds uncontrollably! I do mourn the loss of vocabulary, as an exact word can express a moment perfectly.

@onetree