Car

The highly imaginative post-war toys made in Japan for the US market are sought-after lots at auction

Such was the renown of toy collector the late Jack Tempest that when his collection came up for auction many of the bidders who flocked to the sale on November 10 recognised a lot of the items on offer.

A model example of trans-European trucking, this diecast van advertising a Swiss company was made in Italy and sold to a German buyer at the Runcorn rooms of British Toy Auctions (18% buyer’s premium).

Detailed down to pneumatic tyres, knock-off hub caps and rack-and-pinion steering, the clockwork toy of Alfa Romeo’s P2, the world-beating racing car between 1924-30, was produced by CIJ (Compagnie Industrielle du Jouet) from 1924-35.

A two-day sale to be staged by Morphy auctions in Denver, Pennsylvania on December 16-17 offers almost 1000 lots of antique and vintage toys, juvenilia and ephemera.

Highly collectable in itself, this 1920s car showroom lightbox advertising sign, right, had extra appeal to one bidder at automobilia specialists Richard Edmonds’ (20% buyer’s premium) sale at Chippenham on June 16.