1950 Buddy L No. 818-B Allied Van Lines In Original Box
Extraordinary pressed steel "No.818-B Buddy L Allied Van Lines" tractor and semi-van in near mint condition complete with original box! An incredibly beautiful vehicle with all original paint, decals, and parts. It was only after much researching that disclosed it was just as important, as it was beautiful. It's definitely a scarce toy. Searching back 10-15 years I could find no other reference to it. That includes the two Buddy L morgue auctions held in 2000, the Donald Kaufman collection currently being sold by Bertoia Auctions, the Dick Ford collection, Morphy Auctions, Kovel's, Worthpoint, the Internet, and several reference books. The single reference I found is a short paragraph in Albert McCollough's book "The New Book of Buddy L Toys, Volume 1" (see last photo). McCollough called it an "uncatalogued special" meaning that it was specially built as a promotional item and was unavailable to the public. The catalog number was unknown and there was no recent sale. The Story At first I thought the text was changed because Buddy L just wanted to make it different from the earlier model. However after many hours of research I discovered that Allied had changed their corporate slogan. in 1950 they replaced "Long Distance Moving" with "Nation-Wide Moving". Everything points to Buddy L producing a limited number of vehicles to promote the slogan change. Being absolutely faithful to Allied the word "Truck" was replaced with "Lines" because it was the precise title used on their real vehicles. A limited number were most likely produced only for Allied promotional purposes which would account for its scarcity. The Toy The Box Size: 29½" x 6-3/8" x 9½". Weight approx. 10lbs. Date Sold: Aug. 2010
Buddy L produced an earlier Allied Van semi in 1941. It was "No.918 Buddy L Allied Van Truck with Furniture" (see photo below for comparison). Besides the obvious design and color differences I noticed on the box that the word "Truck" was used in 1941, while the word "Lines" replaced it in 1950. This is in addition to the change made to the decal slogan on the trailer sides. "Long Distance Moving" was used in 1941. 1950 replaced it with "Nation-Wide Moving".
The van trailer and cab are solid orange and have a pre-war look to it. They probably were made pre-war, but painted post-war. In addition, the van roof is silver painted pressed steel (although the Buddy L book indicates it's aluminum). It has a wrap around polished metal grille and separate headlights. It has a pull-down inclined ramp rear door. The wheels are solid black rubber with silver painted steel centers and nickel plated hubs. It also has a pair of smaller, black rubber drop-down parking tires. Company decals are located on all sides of the trailer (includes the Good Housekeeping Seal). The Buddy L name was stamped on the trailer just behind the cab. The '41 version was stamped on the doors. It has its original black painted steel "Pull-n-Ride" handle. It looks like it might have been attached only a few times.
The company name, address, catalog number, and product name were printed on the two main panels. One of the narrow main panels was printed with the box manufacturers seal and the No.818-B catalog number. One set of endflaps is still factory sealed. The open flaps have the remnants of the original shipping sticker. One corner (approximately 30%) of one endflap was torn off.
Price Sold: $ 3000
