Presidential Cabbage Patch Kids Raise Money for Toys for Tots

I remember standing outside a Montgomery Wards Store in New Jersey, can’t remember if it was in ’82 or ’83, but it was cold outside and we were about the tenth in line at the ungodly hour of 4 am. Our friends had accompanied my wife and I and we were drinking steaming hot cups of coffee from thermoses, chatting and eagerly waiting for the doors to open at 6 am. No, we weren’t waiting to buy an X-Box or a new computer, they hadn’t even been invented yet. What we were waiting for on that cold and dank morning was the right to purchase the ugly but short supplied Cabbage Patch Kid doll.

When the store employees finally came out of the store, everyone in line crowded forward and I thought we were going to die as the people crushed us to get their hands on a slip of paper that was the “license” to buy the dolls. We did manage to come out of that mess alive, each with armed with two licenses. When the manager flung open the doors at 6 am, thermoses and coffee long forgotten, we raced back to the toy section so we could have the best selection. The only time I have seen people run faster is at the running of the bulls in Spain, except that we were the ones that looked like the bulls.

In any case, we did manage to get four of the ugly cabbage patch dolls, which we quickly turned around for a nice profit. At the time I believe we paid about $25 for the Cabbage Patch Kids at Montgomery Ward and we sold them each for an average of $125 at a flea market in New Jersey. Essentially, we made $400 by standing in the cold and risking life and limb from crazed “bulls” that wanted to stampede past us so they could get the prettiest of the ugly dolls.

Today however, there are no shortages of Cabbage Patch Kids and prices for a new doll hover around $50 for a brand new one and vintage ones from the late 70’s and early 80’s bringing in hundreds of dollars at auctions. One particular auction on eBay, today featured one of a kind 25th Anniversary Cabbage Patch Kids that were made to look like our presidential candidates McCain, Palin, Obama and Biden. I have to say that they probably didn’t have to do too much creative design to Palin’s doll since she kind of looks like a Cabbage Patch Kid anyway.

The auctions, that ended today, the same day in which we will vote for our next president, were spirited as presidential memorabilia buffs tangled with Cabbage Patch Kids collectors, vintage toy doll collectors, vintage toy collectors and plain ordinary folks who want a piece of history. This time the profits however will not go into someone’s pocket, like ours did oh so many years ago. This auction that raised a total of $36,000 benefits the Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation, which raises money every year to help provide gifts for needy children.

Collectible Lenci Dolls were Madame Alexander’s Inspiration

Many of us have heard of Madame Alexander dolls, which are very collectible, but few of us realize that a lot of the inspiration for these dolls came from Elana Scavini and her creation, the Lenci doll. Scavini and her husband started their doll company as early as 1918 in Turin, Italy and became a huge success throughout the world. Although all Lenci dolls are valuable as a collectible, the ones made in the early 20’s and 30’s are the most sought after.

Lenci dolls were very well designed and constructed. Lenci dolls were made of felt and had faces that were painted with oil based paints. Usually the ears were sewn on individually and were made of double felt. What is interesting about these dolls is that they were jointed in such a way that the heads, shoulders and hips swiveled and then they were dressed very finely and elaborately dressed. The dolls also usually feature eyes that look off to the side.

Because the Lenci dolls are made of felt, condition problems may occur which will affect the bottom line of the doll as a collectible. Many of their earlier dolls whose clothing were also made of felt and sewn directly onto the doll are in the worst condition because the clothing is not removable. The Lenci-Dolls.net offers 12 Tips for Cleaning and Care of Lenci Dolls.

George Vlosich III – Vintage Etch a Sketch Toy on a New Level

I was reminiscing the other day about being a kid and not having a care in the world and playing with my toys. One such toy I remember getting one Christmas from my Aunt Lucy in New Jersey was an Etch a Sketch. I remember playing with that toy for hours, trying to “draw” animals and cars and such. The catch to this toy was that you had to be creative, because it was not like drawing on paper where you could lift your pencil; you had to draw with one continuous line. This is a difficult process at best, unless your name is George Vlosich III.

Mr. Vlosich has taken Etch a Sketch drawing to a higher level and it all started in 1989 when on a trip to Washington D.C., he started drawing the U.S. Capitol on his Etch a Sketch. He has now been perfecting his method of art and has been featured on many television programs to include, Inside Edition and American Journal as well on many news programs on all the major networks. He has created portraits of many different celebrities to include, President Clinton, Elvis Presley and the cast of the Andy Griffith Show. His works, which can take anywhere from 50 to 70 hours to produce, are just unbelievable. Click on the picture above to view his amazing work . . . .

NOVA-Antiques Newsletter Archive December 1, 2005 . . . .

Lordy . . . Lordy . . . Looks Who’s 40 – Hot Wheels Having a Birthday

One Christmas I remember that I couldn’t wait to open my presents that were under the tree. I had asked for a special present and was sure I was going to get it because I had been "a good little boy"if there is such a thing. In any case, our family tradition was to all get together on “Noche Buena” or the Christmas Eve and after what seemed like a long night to us kids of dancing and eating, we would all gather and open our presents. The night, I was not disappointed, I opened the colorful wrapping to reveal my Hot Wheels race track and cars.

Of course, my brother and I could not clear enough space on the floor in the family room that evening to set up the track and play with my present so we had to wait until the next morning. I can still see us pushing the Hot Wheels cars thru the garage portion of the track that also housed “the engine.” It was nothing more than two large rubber bands spinning the cars our other side with what was hopefully enough force to send it around the singe track one complete time. If it did, the car would theoretically continue to spin around the track. Unfortunately, in most cases the cars would either stop short of the garage entrance or would careen off the side of the track onto the carpeted floor.

I’m sure that Hot Wheels, which are die cast toy cars, brought many children happiness in those times where things seemed simpler; we didn’t have video games or computers to complicate our lives. Hot Wheels were simple toys where kids had to use their imagination and creativity and were introduced in 1968 by Mattel Toys. The first car ever produced was a custom Volkswagen along with 15 other different models. Its top competitor at the time was Match Box, of which my brother and I owned some, but nothing compared to the designs of the Hot Wheels, that were designed by Harry Bentley Bradley.

Mattel will hold a kickoff ceremony at its El Segundo, California headquarters followed by a countrywide tour of life sized versions of their famous cars. You can look at the cars and join the festivities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on August 30th, Detroit’s Automotive Hall of Fame on September 1st and at Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival on September 5th. The celebrations will also include Hot Wheels memorabilia, autograph sessions with different designers and many other things, including the display of a one of a kind diamond encrusted Hot Wheels car created as a memento to their four billionth car.

Collectible Cast Iron Toys

The first cast iron toy to be patented in the U.S. was known as “Hall’s Excelsior Bank” named after the inventor of this toy, John D. Hall, in 1869. Today, many collectors look for company names such as, Carpenter, Welker Crosby, and Wilkins, that produced many of the now collectible cast iron toys in the 1880’s and 1890’s. Many of these cast iron toys reflected life in America; horse drawn carriages, animals, and trolleys were the norm.

Once America moved to power driven automobiles and aircraft, so did the cast iron toys. One of the best known cast iron toy collectors was a man name F.H. Griffith, whose collection was sold at Sotheby’s in 2000. His collection of 126 lots of cast iron toys brought in more than $600,000.

NOVA-Antiques Newsletter Archives July 7, 2005 . . . .