c.1929 Buffalo Toy & Tool Mfg., Airport Service Garage in Original Box
I'm proud to present this remarkable early toy playset for auction. Called the Airport Service Garage it was manufactured by the Buffalo Toy & Tool Works Company, Buffalo, NY. The set comes with three pressed steel clockwork vehicles housed inside a heavy cardboard box. The box folds up into the shape of an airport hanger garage complete with hinged barn doors and restrooms. Also included is its original die cut insert, tear out instruction card and key. Just as amazing is the condition of the set; near mint and never played with. Despite nearly half a century of production, Buffalo Toy & Tool toys are extremely difficult to find in good working order, while original boxes are almost non-existent. Over the past eight years I've found only three original boxes with working toys. This set contains three different, tear drop shaped, pressed steel clockwork vehicles with drivers. The largest is 10" long and 5½" wide and includes a driver and mechanic seated in a yellow cockpit. A metal roll bar encircles the rear of the car. The entire car is protected with a rubber bumper which, although has hardened over the years, is still 100% intact. It has a separate metal frame windshield complete with original celluloid "glass". The key located on the top front hood is detachable and a stop/start switch is on the right side. It has four wooden wheels. The two up front rest on a stationary axle which is directly geared to the motor. The rear pair of wheels are also controlled by the motor, but these are not stationary. Grooves cut into the chassis allow the wheels to make alternating 90° right and left turns. The second vehicle resembles a three wheel dodge-em car. The shape is identical to the large vehicle, but it measures only 6½" x 3½". It has a single driver seated in a shallow depression. It has no cockpit. It too has a metal frame windshield, but apparently the celluloid "glass" was never factory inserted. A small clip which would have held the glass in place was never used. It also has three holes behind the driver that would have contained a metal roll bar similar to the large car. The condition of the surrounding paint and metal indicate that the bar was never inserted into the vehicle. These pieces are not missing. They were left off at the factory, possibly intentionally. It has two wheels in front and one in the rear. All three are different sizes which gives it different "grab" properties to allow it to make random right and left turns. The key is attached and located on the right side. The last car is more triangular shaped. This is the only one of the three toys that I've seen previously with original box. It measures 6½" x 3". Called the "Bathing Beauty Scooter Bike" it features a separate, three dimensional woman figure dressed in a two piece bathing suit and cap. She attaches to the scooter through slots in the seat, while the hands fit around the handle bar steering wheel. Three wheels located under the seat compartment provide movement similar to the "dodge-em" car, however their position is reversed (two rear, one front). It makes sharp, random right and left turns like the dodge-em car and uses an attached key. The single front wheel is stationary. As I mentioned I've previously found the Bathing Beauty vehicle as a single toy complete with the original box. I've seen the dodge-em car before, but never an original box. This is the first time I've seen the large car. I believe that the dodge-em and large two-man cars were also sold separately. You could consider this toy playset as a "deluxe 3-piece combination set". The box itself is a hanger-garage. When it's not folded it looks like a typical attaché size container. Lifting the lid while folding up the inside front panel, and tucking in the two side flaps transforms it into an angled roof airplane hanger. Printed on the outside is a manual crank gas pump, a display of old style funnel shaped oil cans, and a large front window advertising that "We Fix Flats". The instructions are included on a perforated card in the center under the Service Garage sign. They instructions indicate that they should be torn along the perforations to reveal the barn doors beneath them. They've never been removed. The entire roof panel was printed with shingles and a silhouette of a large monoplane. The three vehicles are displayed inside the box with the original die cut insert. Size: Box 14" x 11" x 4". Sold: Nov. 2005 Note: as of Sept. 2012 this remains the only example of this toy set I've seen.
Price Sold: $ 1151
