1926 Reeves, The Midget Roller Coaster In Original Box
The Reeves Mfg. Company, of Milford, CT. produced this unusual steel litho "Midget Roller Coaster". Like the other few Reeves toys I've found, I've never seen or heard of it before. It's beautifully made and uses a simple garage-type elevator lift. It comes complete with it's original "midget" coaster AND also with its original box! The toy is a 3-tier looping track supported by 3 triangular shaped girders. In the center between the girders is an elevator shaft with a single car. The coaster begins and ends its journey inside the small car which is raised manually by pulling up on a 9¾" long metal handle that connects to the roof. Once at the top the coaster automatically exits and starts rolling down the track. You, as the operator, release the metal handle. Of course it falls to the "ground floor", and awaits the coaster which is making its way down the ramps. To my knowledge Reeves produced only a few well-made toys, although there's probably several more that I'm not aware of. Over the past 18 years I've found only 6 other Reeves toys in high grade condition with their original box. Of those six, four were the Air-E-Go Round. An illustration of the Air-E-Go Round was lithoed onto the banner or arch on the Midget Coaster. Another Reeves toy pictured on the arch is the Giant Roller Coaster. I've also found that toy once with its box. The arch shows two other toys; a ferris wheel and a toy school building. I've never seen or heard of either one. The Midget Coaster comes with its original one-man roller coaster. It's the smallest coaster I've seen for a Reeves toy measuring only 1¼" long. And then there's the original box. Similar to the other Reeves toys I've found it was printed with and black diagonals on the sides along with the toy name. An illustration of the coaster was printed only on the box top. Size: 10¾" tall x 11¾" x 5¾" Date Sold: Mar. 2011
Price Sold: $ 700
