Bertoia Toys, Banks, Trains, Robots Auction
Bertoia’s will host its Annual Spring Auction on May 29-30, 2026, featuring Part 2 of the Martin and Deborah Maloy toy collection; plus high quality toys, banks, trains, robots, and pre-war Japanese toys from the Bill Gallagher collection. In addition, the selection offers an assortment of German wind-ups, pressed steel toys, and more. In all, 1,000 choice lots will be up for bid.
The Maloy collection was gathered over a period of 60 years and grew to become a world class assemblage of European tin toys, autos and boats, biscuit tins, Marklin and other rare European trains, as well as early American Ives trains and accessories; airplanes, wind-up toys and more. Part 1 of the Maloy collection was featured exclusively in a December 13 auction at Bertoia’s that totaled more than $1.6 million.
Bill Gallagher is widely known amongst toy enthusiasts as being one of the truly legendary collectors. Along with his wife Jean Ann, Bill amassed several collections over the course of many years. These include vintage Japanese tin toys, N-Gauge, LGB and Z-Gauge toy trains; Howdy Doody collectibles, amusement park toys, toy buses, boats, and wooden toys.
One of the auction’s expected top lots is a Marklin clockwork-driven Jupiter luxury liner ship, a great example of fine German workmanship and the pride of the Maloy fleet. This style of ship is quite rare, as many children of the early 1900s would have preferred a toy battleship to a luxury boat. But as far as elegance in toymaking goes, this piece has it all. The 27-inch-long ship is in excellent to pristine condition and is expected to sail away for $12,000-$20,000.
A large Schoenner (Germany) 4-4-0, 80mm toy locomotive made for the American market, 17 inches long and larger in size than gauge 4, carries an estimate of $10,000-$16,000. This is a very scarce live steam train with the rare reverse feature, one of only a handful of its type known to exist. It is hand-painted and professionally restored, with a replica balloon smokestack made to the exact scale of the original. Features include a cowcatcher, a headlamp and large driven wheels. The tender retains the original paint.
A vibrant and handsome Horse Race cast iron mechanical bank by the renowned J & E Stevens Company is a straight-base version and should ring up $6,000-$10,000. This animated bank depicts two horses racing in a circle with a standing ticket collector to accept coin deposits. It is very colorful with delicate sheet metal horses. The 6-inch-long bank is in excellent to pristine condition.
A Nomura (Japan) battery-operated walking Batman, a fresh to the market piece from an overseas consignor, is in pristine to Near Mint condition and is expected to bring $6,000-$8,000. When activated, Batman’s face lights up and his arms and legs move to propel him forward. Twelve inches in height, the Caped Crusader retains his wonderful original cape and vivid colors to his head. An on/off switch is located on the front of the belt area. It’s a very desirable example with a replica box for nice shelf display.
An Ives boy on horse perambulator, patented in 1873 and listed as No. 1 in the manufacturer’s 1876 flyer, has a presale estimate of $5,000-$8,000. This is a wonderfully preserved, all-original toy. Three-wheel velocipede carts are iconic for the period, and the auction example, with its tin figural horse head, is a very scarce piece, especially in this fine a grade. The clockwork motor drives the rear wheels, which causes the boy’s arms to seemingly pump the wooden handles. It presents in excellent condition.
A 1/4-inch-scale salesman’s sample of a 1922 Autocar rotary dump truck, reportedly one of five known to exist, is massive, both in size (52 inches in length) and weight. It is powered by an electric motor that raises and lowers the dump bed, and displays incredible realistic detailing. The truck is mostly of brass construction, with cast aluminum wheels and leather window covers that roll up and store inside the cab roof. A very impressive toy in very good to excellent condition, it is estimated at $5,000-$8,000.
A circa 1910 Roullet et Descamps (France) Le Paol Marchant (Walking Peacock) automaton, 18-1/2 inches tall, with elegant peacock plumage, glass eyes, articulated neck and brass feet, should strut to a winning bid in the $5,000-$7,500 range. The windup action causes the bird to walk forward while looking side to side, pausing to fan its beautiful tail feathers before resuming its walk. This dazzling work of art with wonderful realistic mechanical motion and fabulous coloration is in excellent to pristine condition.
A 2-inch gauge Voltamp Pacific Fruit Express car, No. 6719, has an estimate of $4,000-$7,000. Voltamp made only 30 of these cars for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Expo in San Francisco, making them difficult to acquire today. This one is of hand-painted tin with a wood frame and early spring-axle trucks. It is 12 inches long, all original with great stenciling, and is in excellent condition for such a rare and early car.
A museum-quality, circa 1907 Martin (France) Le Petit Diabolo sticks player – an incredibly well-preserved, complete example of a desirable toy, housed in a crisp, rare box – is expected to fetch $3,000-$5,000. The wind-up causes the child to raise and lower her arms, enabling side-to-side tricks with Diabolo sticks, while simultaneously leaning forward and back in a lifelike motion. It is in Near Mint condition and would surely appeal to even the most advanced European tin toy collectors.
A circa 1920 Gunthermann (Germany) wind-up, motor-driven motorcycle with driver, a complete and all-original bike that shows hardly any play wear, should roar off to a new home for $3,000-$5,000. Measuring 7 inches in length and assessed in pristine to near-mint condition, it is a fabulous example of a desirable early touring toy motorcycle.
The Annual Spring Auction will be held live at Bertoia’s gallery, at 2141 DeMarco Drive in Vineland, NJ, starting at 10 AM ET both days. Preview is by appointment only the week before the auction. Remote bidding options include absentee, phone, or online via Bertoia Live, LiveAuctioneers, or Invaluable. For additional information on any item, to leave an absentee bid, schedule a private-preview appointment, or reserve a telephone line for bidding, call (856) 692-1881 or email toys@bertoiaauctions.com and online at www.bertoiaauctions.com.
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Bertoia Toys, Banks, Trains, Robots Auction
Bertoia’s will host its Annual Spring Auction on May 29-30, 2026, featuring Part 2 of the Martin and Deborah Maloy toy collection; plus high quality toys, banks, trains, robots, and pre-war Japanese toys from the Bill Gallagher collection. In addition, the selection offers an assortment of German wind-ups, pressed steel toys, and more. In all, 1,000 choice lots will be up for bid.
The Maloy collection was gathered over a period of 60 years and grew to become a world class assemblage of European tin toys, autos and boats, biscuit tins, Marklin and other rare European trains, as well as early American Ives trains and accessories; airplanes, wind-up toys and more. Part 1 of the Maloy collection was featured exclusively in a December 13 auction at Bertoia’s that totaled more than $1.6 million.
Bill Gallagher is widely known amongst toy enthusiasts as being one of the truly legendary collectors. Along with his wife Jean Ann, Bill amassed several collections over the course of many years. These include vintage Japanese tin toys, N-Gauge, LGB and Z-Gauge toy trains; Howdy Doody collectibles, amusement park toys, toy buses, boats, and wooden toys.
One of the auction’s expected top lots is a Marklin clockwork-driven Jupiter luxury liner ship, a great example of fine German workmanship and the pride of the Maloy fleet. This style of ship is quite rare, as many children of the early 1900s would have preferred a toy battleship to a luxury boat. But as far as elegance in toymaking goes, this piece has it all. The 27-inch-long ship is in excellent to pristine condition and is expected to sail away for $12,000-$20,000.
A large Schoenner (Germany) 4-4-0, 80mm toy locomotive made for the American market, 17 inches long and larger in size than gauge 4, carries an estimate of $10,000-$16,000. This is a very scarce live steam train with the rare reverse feature, one of only a handful of its type known to exist. It is hand-painted and professionally restored, with a replica balloon smokestack made to the exact scale of the original. Features include a cowcatcher, a headlamp and large driven wheels. The tender retains the original paint.
A vibrant and handsome Horse Race cast iron mechanical bank by the renowned J & E Stevens Company is a straight-base version and should ring up $6,000-$10,000. This animated bank depicts two horses racing in a circle with a standing ticket collector to accept coin deposits. It is very colorful with delicate sheet metal horses. The 6-inch-long bank is in excellent to pristine condition.
A Nomura (Japan) battery-operated walking Batman, a fresh to the market piece from an overseas consignor, is in pristine to Near Mint condition and is expected to bring $6,000-$8,000. When activated, Batman’s face lights up and his arms and legs move to propel him forward. Twelve inches in height, the Caped Crusader retains his wonderful original cape and vivid colors to his head. An on/off switch is located on the front of the belt area. It’s a very desirable example with a replica box for nice shelf display.
An Ives boy on horse perambulator, patented in 1873 and listed as No. 1 in the manufacturer’s 1876 flyer, has a presale estimate of $5,000-$8,000. This is a wonderfully preserved, all-original toy. Three-wheel velocipede carts are iconic for the period, and the auction example, with its tin figural horse head, is a very scarce piece, especially in this fine a grade. The clockwork motor drives the rear wheels, which causes the boy’s arms to seemingly pump the wooden handles. It presents in excellent condition.
A 1/4-inch-scale salesman’s sample of a 1922 Autocar rotary dump truck, reportedly one of five known to exist, is massive, both in size (52 inches in length) and weight. It is powered by an electric motor that raises and lowers the dump bed, and displays incredible realistic detailing. The truck is mostly of brass construction, with cast aluminum wheels and leather window covers that roll up and store inside the cab roof. A very impressive toy in very good to excellent condition, it is estimated at $5,000-$8,000.
A circa 1910 Roullet et Descamps (France) Le Paol Marchant (Walking Peacock) automaton, 18-1/2 inches tall, with elegant peacock plumage, glass eyes, articulated neck and brass feet, should strut to a winning bid in the $5,000-$7,500 range. The windup action causes the bird to walk forward while looking side to side, pausing to fan its beautiful tail feathers before resuming its walk. This dazzling work of art with wonderful realistic mechanical motion and fabulous coloration is in excellent to pristine condition.
A 2-inch gauge Voltamp Pacific Fruit Express car, No. 6719, has an estimate of $4,000-$7,000. Voltamp made only 30 of these cars for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Expo in San Francisco, making them difficult to acquire today. This one is of hand-painted tin with a wood frame and early spring-axle trucks. It is 12 inches long, all original with great stenciling, and is in excellent condition for such a rare and early car.
A museum-quality, circa 1907 Martin (France) Le Petit Diabolo sticks player – an incredibly well-preserved, complete example of a desirable toy, housed in a crisp, rare box – is expected to fetch $3,000-$5,000. The wind-up causes the child to raise and lower her arms, enabling side-to-side tricks with Diabolo sticks, while simultaneously leaning forward and back in a lifelike motion. It is in Near Mint condition and would surely appeal to even the most advanced European tin toy collectors.
A circa 1920 Gunthermann (Germany) wind-up, motor-driven motorcycle with driver, a complete and all-original bike that shows hardly any play wear, should roar off to a new home for $3,000-$5,000. Measuring 7 inches in length and assessed in pristine to near-mint condition, it is a fabulous example of a desirable early touring toy motorcycle.
The Annual Spring Auction will be held live at Bertoia’s gallery, at 2141 DeMarco Drive in Vineland, NJ, starting at 10 AM ET both days. Preview is by appointment only the week before the auction. Remote bidding options include absentee, phone, or online via Bertoia Live, LiveAuctioneers, or Invaluable. For additional information on any item, to leave an absentee bid, schedule a private-preview appointment, or reserve a telephone line for bidding, call (856) 692-1881 or email toys@bertoiaauctions.com and online at www.bertoiaauctions.com.
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