1950 Chein, No.385 Merry-Go-Round in Original Box
Incredible near mint+ example of Chein's popular mechanical tin litho Merry-Go-Round complete with original box. One of the highest grading toys' of it's type I've seen. Super rare white version with key-wind through the roof! Have you ever seen a color combination of brilliant red, white, and blue? Yellow has been completely substituted for white. In fact, I, know of no other Chein amusement park ride, spinning or otherwise, which used white as a primary color other than the Ski Ride. I looked through all of my book references, including archived auction catalogs, and ebay, but could find no mention of it. As far as I know, there is no other Chein circular spinning, amusement park toy where the moving components are almost all bright white! There are two documented versions of this toy. One has its attached key mounted horizontally into the base. It has a red base, yellow floor, and red, blue and yellow canopy (version 1). A second scarcer version has its wind-up key protruding out from the top of the canopy. It has a blue base, yellow flooring, and a red, yellow, and light blue canopy with a yellow embossed center (version 2). White was used around the sides of the canopy. Both versions were modified in 1952 to include lithographed "Playland-Merry-Go-Round" text around the base. The earliest examples do not have this text. This toy is completely different from either version. It has a red base identical to that used in version 1, but the flooring is white, not yellow. The canopy is red, white, and blue with a white embossed center. All yellow, except for underneath the base, was replaced with white. No other Chein toy that I know of has this. All of the published references I own including Alan Jaffe's excellent book on Chein toys have no mention of it. The riders and horses of all three versions are identical. The center column calliope and yellow lithography underneath the base and canopy are also identical. Of course, an internal bell rings as it turns. Best of all it works great!The original box was printed with the "Playland" base version on two panels. The toy name, manufacturer, and address were also included. The other two panels are blank. The top flaps fold in to form it's own insert. It's original $2.79 price written in grease pencil is easily readable. Size: 10" tall, 11" diameter. Sold: Feb. 2007
Price Sold: $ 788
