Scoop is saddened to report the passing of author, collector and
noted antique toy dealer William F. “Bill” Weart.

In 2000,
Weart co-authored Cast Iron Automotive Toys, a reference that has proven
invaluable to serious collectors. He belonged to the Antique Toy Collectors of
America, the Mechanical Bank Collectors of America, the Train Collectors
Association and the Antique Automobile Club of America.

A graduate of
Drexel University and the Wharton School of Business, Weart became an executive
engineer with the Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn, Michigan. After his retirement in
1986, he and his wife Stevie Gay turned their attention full-time to collecting,
studying and documenting antique American and European toys. They also developed
their antique toy business through private sales and at better
shows.

Weart died at his home in Allentown, Pennsylvania on August 3,
2005. He was 65. A memorial service was held August 7. The family asked those
wishing to do so to make a contribution to either Animals in Distress, P.O. Box
609, Coopersburg, PA 18036, or the Humane Society of Lehigh County, 640 Dixon
St., Allentown, PA 18103.